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Potential of Bioassays to Assess Consequences of Cultivation of Acacia mangium Trees on Nitrogen Bioavailability to Eucalyptus Trees: Two Case-Studies in Contrasting Tropical Soils.
- Source :
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Plants (Basel, Switzerland) [Plants (Basel)] 2023 Feb 10; Vol. 12 (4). Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Feb 10. - Publication Year :
- 2023
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Abstract
- We hypothesized that the nitrogen-fixing tree Acacia mangium could improve the growth and nitrogen nutrition of non-fixing tree species such as Eucalyptus . We measured the N-mineralization and respiration rates of soils sampled from plots covered with Acacia , Eucalyptus or native vegetation at two tropical sites (Itatinga in Brazil and Kissoko in the Congo) in the laboratory. We used a bioassay to assess N bioavailability to eucalypt seedlings grown with and without chemical fertilization for at least 6 months. At each site, Eucalyptus seedling growth and N bioavailability followed the same trends as the N-mineralization rates in soil samples. However, despite lower soil N-mineralization rates under Acacia in the Congo than in Brazil, Eucalyptus seedling growth and N bioavailability were much greater in the Congo, indicating that bioassays in pots are more accurate than N-mineralization rates when predicting the growth of eucalypt seedlings. Hence, in the Congo, planting Acacia mangium could be an attractive option to maintain the growth and N bioavailability of the non-fixing species Eucalyptus while decreasing chemical fertilization. Plant bioassays could help determine if the introduction of N <subscript>2</subscript> -fixing trees will improve the growth and mineral nutrition of non-fixing tree species in tropical planted forests.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2223-7747
- Volume :
- 12
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 36840150
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12040802