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1.
Observations on the growth performance, rooting behaviour and distribution of fine roots of five tree species viz., Bauhinia purpurea, Grewia optiva, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Leucaena leucocephala and Ougeinia oojeinensis (Family: Papilionaceae) are being presented here. Roots were exposed at the time of planting, 6 months, 16 months, and 28 months after planting. Total root weight and root volume were highest in Eucalyptus tereticornis and lowest in Bauhinia purpurea. Major part of the root system confined within 90–120 cm soil depth in case of Bauhinia purpurea, Grewia optiva and Leucaena leucocephala but Eucalyptus tereticornis and Ougeinia oojeinensis strike their roots to deeper depths. Bauhinia purpurea had its roots evenly distributed down to 120 cm. In general, the vertical distribution of fine roots (< 2 mm in diameter) of the five species indicate that more the depth, fewer the number of roots. The observations on soil binding capacity, indicated that Ougeinia oojeinensis had the maximum and Eucalyptus tereticornis had the minimum binding value. Due to leaf shading and other litter fall significant increase of nutrient components in soils under the tree canopies has been observed. The study indicates that bulk of the roots of the five tree species are found near the surface, but observation on soil moisture and nutrient content does not indicate variation under the tree canopies and in open, hence there may not be root competition in initial years of plantation.Authorised for publication by the Institute as contribution No.3311/239/89. 相似文献
2.
In order to assess the possibility of root competition in agroforestry, the vertical distribution of fine roots (< 2 mm in
diameter) of five tree species in pure two-year-old stands was compared to that of mature maize.Cassia siamea, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Leucaena leucocephala andProsopis chilensis had a rooting pattern similar to that of maize, i.e. a slow decline in fine root mass from 0–100 cm soil depth.Eucalyptus camaldulensis had its roots evenly distributed down to 100 cm. On an average, the fine root biomass of the tree species was roughly twice
as that of the maize. We conclude that the studied tree species are likely to compete with maize and other crops with a similar
rooting pattern for nutrients and water. 相似文献
3.
In order to assess the possibility of root competition in agroforestry, the vertical distribution of fine roots (< 2 mm in diameter) of five tree species in pure two-year-old stands was compared to that of mature maize.Cassia siamea, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Leucaena leucocephala andProsopis chilensis had a rooting pattern similar to that of maize, i.e. a slow decline in fine root mass from 0–100 cm soil depth.Eucalyptus camaldulensis had its roots evenly distributed down to 100 cm. On an average, the fine root biomass of the tree species was roughly twice as that of the maize. We conclude that the studied tree species are likely to compete with maize and other crops with a similar rooting pattern for nutrients and water. 相似文献
4.
Root biomass and distribution of five agroforestry tree species 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
Knowledge of the quantitative assessment and structural development of root systems is essential to improve and optimize productivity
of agroforestry systems. Studies on root biomass recovery by sieves of different mesh sizes (2.0, 1.0, 0.5 and 0.25 mm) and
root distribution for four-year-old individuals of five agroforestry tree species viz.; Acacia auriculiformis A. Cunn. ex Benth, Azadirachta indica A. Juss, Bauhinia variegata L., Bombax ceiba L. and Wendlandia exserta Roxb. were conducted at the research farm of Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar, India. The results indicated
that the 0.5 mm sieve was adequate for recovery of the majority of roots. All the tree species exhibited a large variation
in root depth and horizontal root spread four years after planting. The maximum root depth was recorded in W. exserta (2.10 m) and minimum in B. variegata (1.00 m). Horizontal root spread was 2.05 m in B. ceiba and 8.05 m in A. auriculiformis. Root spread exceeded crown cover for all species. The primary roots were more horizontal than the secondary roots. The length
and diameter of the main root were highest in A. indica (108.3 cm) and B. ceiba (23.2 cm), respectively. Highest length and diameter of lateral roots were recorded in B.
variegata (201.6 cm) and A. indica (1.8 cm), respectively. Total root biomass among different species accounted for 18.2–37.9% of the total tree biomass. Results
of this study infer that although all the species have potential to conserve moisture and improve fertility status of the
soil, A. auriculiformis is the most effective for promoting soil fertility. The deep rooted W. exserta and A. auriculiformis will be preferred for cultivation under agroforestry systems and could reduce competition for nutrients and moisture with
crops by pumping from deeper layers of soil. 相似文献
5.
The fuelwood potential of indigenous (Acacia nilotica, Azadirachta indica, Casuarina equisetifolia, Dalbergia sissoo, Prosopis cineraria andZizyphus mauritiana) and exotics (Acacia auriculiformis, A. tortilis, Eucalyptus camaldulensis andE. tereticornis) trees were studied. Calorific value variations for components, such as, stump, main stem, treetop, branches, foliage and bark, were determined. Tree components differed highly significantly (P<0.01) among groups (indigenous and exotics) and within species. The calorific means ranged from 18.7 to 20.8 MJ/kg for indigenous tree species and 17.3 to 19.3 MJ/kg for exotics. Besides calorific values, other fuelwood characteristics, such as, density, ash, biomass/ash ratio, moisture and nitrogen content were also studied. It was observed that indigenous tree species are better suited as fuelwood species as they contain high density wood, low ash content and low N percentage. The fuelwood value index (FVI) was found to be high of indigenous tree species and was maximum forCasuarina equisetifolia (2815). The most promising tree species were in the order ofC. equisetifolia, A. nilotica andZ. mauritiana. 相似文献
6.
Four Populus clones were grown for two years at 1×1 m spacing for study of total biomass production and carbon sequestration capacity
on floodplain sites previously in forage grasses under climatic conditions of the lower Midwest, U.S.A. Total biomass (above-and
below-ground) in the first year ranged from 3.9 Mg ha–1 in a Populus deltoides x P. nigra clone (I45/51) to 1.9 Mg ha–1 for a local-source Populus deltoides clone (2059). Second year total biomass production was substantially higher, ranging from 13.9 Mg ha–1 in I45/51 to 7.4 Mg ha–1 in P. deltoides clone 26C6R51. Second-year leaf area index (LAI) values for I45/51 plants reached 4 during mid-season, indicating essentially
complete canopy closure in this clone by the second year after planting. In contrast, maximum mid-season, second-year LAI
was significantly lower in P. deltoides clones ( 2.4). There was some evidence for differential allocation to roots and shoots among Populus clones, with 26C6R51 showing relatively more allocation to root biomass than other clones. Second-year growth in Populus deltoides clone 2059 accelerated substantially, and this genotype exhibited two-year biomass accumulation nearly equal to that of I45/51
despite having less leaf area. This result suggested a higher photosynthetic capacity or assimilation efficiency in the former.
This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
7.
The coverage of trees in the highland Vertisol areas of Ethiopia is very scarce. A tree screening trial was conducted from 1997 to 2002 in Ginchi (central Ethiopia) to select fast growing and high biomass producing tree species; evaluate foliage macronutrient concentration of different tree species; and assess effects of trees on soil chemical properties beneath their canopies. Acacia decurrens Willd, A. mearnsii De Wild and Eucalyptus globulus Labill attained the highest height growth at 64 months as compared to other indigenous and exotic species. E. globulus provided better height increment from 24 to 36 and 36 to 64 months than other tree and shrub species. Acacia mearnssi and A. saligna Labill Wendl produced high biomass at 40 and 64 months. Differences between the highest and lowest dry biomass at 12, 40 and 64 months were 1.13, 29.19 and 38.89 kg tree−1, respectively. None of the tree species resulted in a foliage to stem biomass ratio of >0.98 at 40 and 64 months. Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr had high N and P concentrations in its foliages and stems at 12 and 40 months. Total N under Acacia abyssinica Hochst. Ex Benth, A.␣saligna and S. sesban was slightly greater at 40 months than 12 months. 相似文献
8.
This field study started in July 1982 on a typical alkali soil (Aquic Natrustalf, ESP 99.7) examined the growth responses to some management practices in a unified system planned to establish agroforestry. The planting of 3 salt tolerant tree species with two methods: on flat natural surface (FSPB) without rainwater conservation and on ridges (0.6 m high, 1.5 m at top and 2.5 m at base) having parallel trenches of the same section to store 300 mm of monsoon rainwater; constituted the main plot treatments. The tree planting with and without forage grassDiplachne fusca linn. in the inter-row space and planting in shallow (15 × 60 cm) and deep (15 × 180 cm to cross hard pan) augerholes filled with amendment treated soil (2 kg gypsum, 8 kg FYM, 50 g N, 10 g zinc sulphate and original soil) formed the sub and sub-plot treatments replicated 4 times in a split-split plot design.The mean plant height ofEucalyptus tereticornis smith;Acacia nilotica L; andParkinsonia aculeata L. in 2 years period was 273 and 328, 240 and 240 and 211 and 199 cm respectively with and without rainwater conservation. The corresponding height of the 3 tree species was 314 and 287, 250 and 231 and 207 and 203 cm with and without grass in the inter-row space. Similarly the plant height was 247 and 354, 182 and 298, 172 and 238 in shallow and deep augerholes respectively. The tree height and basal diameter differences with and without rainwater conservation and grass growth remained non-significant but deep augerhole planting was markedly superior to the shallow augerhole planting. The 2 year biomass accumulation also followed the same trend. The grass competed with trees for moisture during hot dry summer months and increased plant mortality particularly in the shallow augerholes and more so on ridges. The plant roots, essentially, remained confined to the amended soil of the augerholes in FSPB but proliferated in the loose soil of ridges or grass and submergence ameliorated surface soil of trenches.Acacia nilotica accumulated low sodium and had the lowest Na:Ca and Na:K ratio. It was found more promising than eucalyptus and parkinsonia as it experienced low mortality and had better chemical constitution to tolerate adverse alkali soil environment. The rainwater conservation system needed further evaluation before drawing final conclusions. 相似文献
9.
The effect of tree species on the characteristics of the herbaceous stratum, during the first five years of a fallow, was
evaluated in the North of Cameroon (average annual temperature 28.2 °C, total annual rainfall 1050 mm). Treatments included
a natural grazed herbaceous fallow, a natural ungrazed herbaceous fallow and three planted tree fallows (Acacia polyacantha Willd. ssp. campylacantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich.), Senna siamea Lam. and Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh.), which were protected against grazing. Because tree species influenced light interception in different ways, as well
as having different root patterns, they had different effects on the herbaceous stratum in terms of species composition and
biomass. The grazed herbaceous fallow maintained the greatest species richness. Protection against grazing or the introduction
of tree species associated with the absence of grazing induced both a progressive evolution to a particular species composition.
The ungrazed herbaceous fallow consisted mainly of Andropogon gayanus Kunth, which provided the greatest biomass (8 t dry matter ha–1 at the end of the fallow period). E. camaldulensis provided little shade and the lowest fine root mass in the top layer allowing the growth of A. gayanus and thus a greater herbaceous biomass (3.5 t DM ha–1) than that found under the other tree species. Under the heavy shade of A. polyacantha, the herbaceous stratum consisted mainly of annual Pennisetum spp. (2.2 t DM ha–1) and showed the greatest N concentration (1.3%), probably due to N2 fixation by the tree species. After the fourth year, despite the relatively open tree canopy, S. siamea, which showed the highest fine root mass, had a strong depressive effect on the herbaceous stratum.
This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
10.
A study was made on the effect of an east-west tree line of
years old Eucalyptus tereticornis on soil physical parameters and adjoining mustard and wheat crops as a function of distance from the tree-crop interface in north- and south-facing sides. Maximum soil temperature, pan evaporation, moisture extraction, number of plants/m2, and yields of mustard and wheat did not differ significantly on the two sides of plantation. Plant growth parameters decreased linearly with distance from the plantation. Mustard yield, Y (kg/ha) was linearly related to moisture extraction, ME (mm) as Y = 1914–120.3 ME. Eucalyptus tereticornis was found to extract 5 times more water than mustard from 0–150cm soil profile. Mustard and wheat yield reductions in adjoining 10 meter strips on both sides of the plantation were 47 and 34 per cent, respectively. Eucalyptus tereticornis is, therefore, not a suitable species for row plantations in agro-forestry systems in deep water table conditions of semi-arid regions. 相似文献
11.
In 1987–89 the CATIE-GTZ Agroforestry Project set up experiments with five timber tree species planted in single lines on twelve farm boundaries in cooperation with local farmers. When the trees were five years old, their height, diameter and total stem volume were: Acacia mangium 17 m, 19 cm and 67 m3 km–1, Cordia alliodora 14 m, 20 cm and 46 m3 km–1, Eucalyptus deglupta 22 m, 24 cm and 85 m3 km–1, Tectona grandis 17 m, 20 m and 64 m3 km–1, Terminalia ivorensis 18 m, 23 cm and 104 m3 km–1. Considering these excellent growth rates, planting of Cordia alliodora, Eucalyptus deglupta and Tectona grandis in lines on farm boundaries should be promoted. T. ivorensis and A. mangium are not recommendable for sites with impeded drainage because of mortality caused by root rot, mostly due to Rosellinia sp. 相似文献
12.
Patterns of fine root biomass, production, and distribution were estimated for pure stands and mixtures of three-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) with red maple (Acer rubrum L.) or black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) on the Virginia Piedmont to determine the role of fine roots in interference between pine and hardwood tree species. Estimates were based on amounts of live and dead fine roots separated from monthly core samples during the third growing season after planting. Live and dead fine root biomass and production varied by species, but mixtures of loblolly pine and black locust generally had greater fine root biomass and fine root production than pure stands or loblolly pine-red maple mixtures. Hardwood species had greater live fine root biomass per tree in mixtures with pine compared to pure stands. Greater live fine root biomass in pine-locust stands may be attributed to differential utilization of the soil volume by fine roots of these species. For all stands, approximately 50% of live five root biomass was located in the upper 10 cm of soil. 相似文献
13.
Fine-root dynamics (diameter < 2.0 mm) were studied on-farm in associations of Coffea arabica with Eucalyptus deglupta or Terminalia ivorensis and in a pseudo-chronosequence of C. arabica-E. deglupta associations (two, three, four and five years old). Coffee plants were submitted to two fertilisation types. Cores were taken
in the 0–40 cm soil profile two years after out-planting and subsequently in the following year in depth layers 0–10 and 10–20
cm, during and at the end of the rainy season, and during the dry season. Fine root density of coffee and timber shade trees
was greater in the coffee fertilisation strip as compared to unfertilised areas close to the plants or in the inter-rows.
Coffee fine roots were more evenly distributed in the topsoil (0–20 cm) whereas tree fine roots were mostly found in the first
10 cm. Although the two tree species had approximately the same fine root length density, lower coffee / tree fine root length
density ratios in T. ivorensis suggest that this shade tree is potentially a stronger competitor with coffee than E. deglupta. Coffee and tree fine root length density for 0–10 cm measured during the rainy season increased progressively from two to
five-year-aged associations and coffee fine root length density increased relatively more than E. deglupta fine root length density in the four and five-year-aged plantations suggesting that contrary to expectations, coffee fine
roots were displacing tree fine roots. 相似文献
14.
Vertical root separation and light interception in a temperate tree-based intercropping system of Eastern Canada 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
Léa Bouttier Alain Paquette Christian Messier David Rivest Alain Olivier Alain Cogliastro 《Agroforestry Systems》2014,88(4):693-706
We analysed the spatial distribution of fine roots and light availability in a tree-based intercrop system (TBI) composed of Quercus rubra L. (QUR), hybrid poplar (Populus deltoides × Populus nigra—HYP) and hay (CROP) in southern Québec (Canada) to evaluate interactions between trees and crop. Trees in the 8-year-old TBI system had superficial fine root profiles, which is common in tree species grown in conventional plantations and natural forests. More than 95 % of fine roots were found within the first 25 and 45 cm for QUR and HYP, respectively, and 35 cm for CROP. However, vertical separation between the fine root systems of QUR and CROP was evident, as QUR allocated less fine roots to the top 10 cm of soil, and more to depths between 10 and 30 cm, as opposed to CROP which had a greater proportion of fine roots in the top 10 cm. HYP fine roots showed no adaption when intercropped with hay. High tree fine root length density (FRLD) in the top soil layer was observed near the tree stems while hay FRLD was reduced by 45 %, suggesting strong competition for resources. Hay yield analysis revealed significant reduction near trees, particularly HYP. However, light did seem to be the main driver of intercrop yield, as it not only accounted for the effect of competition by roots (being correlated), but also had a singular effect. 相似文献
15.
Biao Zhou Shengying Zhu Zijun Mao Xiuwei Wang Xizhu Zhao Yuanfa Sun 《Frontiers of Forestry in China》2007,2(2):136-142
The Maoershan forestry centre is situated in the Zhangguangcai Mountain of the Changbai mountain range. The main forest types
in the Maoershan region are plantation (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica, Pinus koraiensis and Larix gmelinii) and natural secondary forests (Fraxinus mandshurica, Quercus mongolica and Populus davidiana). Fine roots have enormous surface areas, growing and turning over quickly, which plays an important role in terms of substance
cycling and energy flow in the forest ecosystem. This study deals with the dynamics of live, dead, and total fine roots (≤
5 mm) biomass in the 0–30 cm soil layer using the soil core method. Differences between the six stands in the Maoershan region
showed the following results: 1) the fine root biomass in the various stands showed obvious differences. The total fine root
biomass of six stands from high to low were F. mandshurica (1,030.0 g/m2) > Q. mongolica (973.4 g/m2) > Pinus koraiensis (780.9 g/m2) > L. gmelinii (718.2 g/m2) > Populus davidiana (709.1 g/m2) > Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica (470.4 g/m2); 2) except for L. gmelinii, the development of live fine root biomass agreed with the trend of total fine root biomass. The maximum biomass of live
fine roots in Pinus koraiensis or L. gmelinii stand appeared in May, others in June; in the F. mandshurica stand, the minimum biomass of live fine roots occurred in September, others in July or August; 3) the proportions of dead
fine root biomass varied in different stands; 4) the vertical distribution of fine roots was affected by temperature, water,
and nutrients; the proportion of fine root biomass was concentrated in the 0–10 cm soil layer. The fine root biomass of six
stands in the 0–10 cm soil layer was over 40% of the total fine root biomass; this proportion was 60.3% in F. mandshurica. Space-time dynamics of the various stands had different characteristics. When investigating the substance cycling and energy
flows of all forest ecosystems, we should consider the characteristics of different stands in order to improve the precision
of our estimates.
__________
Translated from Scientia Silvae Sinicae, 2006, 42(6): 13–19 [译自: 林业科学] 相似文献
16.
2006年10月用全挖法和分层分段挖掘法,研究了窄冠刺槐根系的分布特征、根系生物量以及不同密度林分根系空间分布特征.结果表明:窄冠刺槐个体根系水平分布在株间可达到6.6 m,在行间可达到5.0 m;主根可深达2 m以上,侧根垂直分布集中在10～40 cm土层内.窄冠刺槐根系生物量占全株生物量的16.82％,主根、侧根的生物量在根系生物量中分别占87.13％、12.87％.窄冠刺槐林分根系生物总量和根总长分别为6 160.2～10 940.55kg·hm-2和970.35～1 607.4 km·hm-2,并呈现出根系生物总量和根总长与林分密度成正相关的规律.在垂直方向上,林分根系中直径D<15 mm的根主要分布在地下0～20 cm土层内,而直径D≥15 mm的根主要分布在地下20～40 cm土层内;在水平方向上,直径D≥5 mm的根数量随距树干距离增加而减少,而直径D<1 mm的根数量则随距树干距离增大而增大,主要集中分布在距树干0.5～1.5 m范围内. 相似文献
17.
S. M. Gathumbi 《Agroforestry Systems》2004,60(3):233-237
Accurate quantitative assessment of roots is key to understanding the belowground plant productivity as well as providing
an insight of the plant-soil interactions. In this study, root recoveries by sieves of different mesh sizes (2.0, 1.0, 0.5
and 0.25 mm) were measured for five tropical tree and shrub species grown in monoculture stands: crotalaria (Crotalaria grahamiana Wight and Arn.), pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.], sesbania [Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr.], tephrosia (Tephrosia vogelii Hook F.), siratro [Macroptilium atropurpureum (DC.) Urb.] and tithonia [Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) Gray]. Root samples were take from 0-15 cm soil depth. Recovery of coarser roots (>1.0 mm) ranged from 70 to 93%
and 90 to 98% of the cumulative root length and biomass respectively. The proportion of root length of the finer roots (<1.0
mm) was greater for pigeonpea (30%), tithonia (22%) and siratro (18%) compared with other species, but contributed negligibly
to the cumulative total root biomass for all species. The use of 0.5 mm sieve improved the recovery of root length for most
species but had little effect on root biomass. The 0.25 mm sieve was most effective in capturing finer roots (<0.5 mm) of
pigeonpea which represented 16% of cumulative root length and 4% of root biomass recorded for this species. Recovery of roots
of different diameter classes depended on species, suggesting that for an improved estimation of root parameters especially
when sieves of large mesh sizes (>0.25 mm) are used, a correction factor could be useful for root length measurements but
not root biomass measurements for a particular species in each site and for a specific study.
This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
18.
A study of an agrisilviculture system comprising Gmelina arborea and soybean (Glycine max) was conducted in the subhumid region of Central India. Above- and below-ground biomass production and distribution of coarse and fine roots were studied in 4-year-old G. arborea, planted at a spacing of 2 × 2 m, 2 × 3 m, 2 × 4 m and 2 × 5 m. The total biomass varied from 10.89 Mg ha–1 to 3.65 Mg ha–1 depending on the tree density. Among the different tree components, stemwood contributed maximum biomass (54.3–79.4%), followed by branches and leaves. Root distribution pattern showed that most of the coarse roots were distributed in the top 40 cm of soil, whereas fine roots were concentrated in the top 20 cm. Coarse root biomass decreased with an increase in spacing. The spread of roots was asymmetrical in trees planted at 2 × 2 m and 2 × 3 m spacings, while it was symmetrical in trees planted at wide spacings. No significant difference was observed in the fine root biomass in different stands. The root:shoot ratio increased with an increase in spacing. Crop (soybean) growth and productivity varied significantly and it increased with a decrease in tree density. Soybean yield varied between 1.5 Mg ha–1 to 2.1 Mg ha–1. The role of root architecture of G. arborea trees on productivity of crops under agri-silviculture system is discussed. 相似文献
19.
A major constrait to alley cropping is the competition of tree or shrub roots with those of companion food crops for available water and nutrients in the topsoil. Root distribution patterns of Acioa barteri, Alchornea cordifolia, Cassia siamea and Gmelina arborea grown on an acid Ultisol at Onne in the humid forest zone of southeastern Nigeria were examined to a depth of 120 cm and laterally to 200 cm from the tree trunk to study the suitability of the species for alley cropping. The four woody species have roots throughout the soil profile examined but differ in the concentration of roots both laterally and vertically. Alchornea cordifolia, Cassia siamea and Gmelina arborea, in spite of higher underground biomass production, most of their fine roots (<2 mm diameter) were in the top 20 cm of the soil. This soil layer had 73%, 76%, and 74% of the total Alchornea cordifolia, Cassia siamea, and Gmelina arborea fine roots in the profile examined, respectively. Such root systems would compete with food crops for nutrients and moisture in the surface soil. Alchornea cordifolia and Gmelina arborea have many large woody roots in the surface soil which will make any tillage operation or seedbed preparation difficult. Acioa barteri in contrast, has the desirable rooting system with fewer fine roots in the surface soil (49%), and roots that are concentrated close to tree trunk and decrease markedly away from the tree base. In addition, Acioa barteri roots penetrate deeper soil horizons and can result in more efficient nutrient cycling from these layers, and reduced competition with shallow-rooted food crops. The rooting distribution patterns of Acioa barteri indicated that the species is a promising alley shrub in acid soils of the humid forest ecology. Therefore, consideration of rooting characteristics of potential tree/shrub species is recommended for the development of agroforestry systems such as alley cropping.IITA Journal Paper No: 91:/JA/24. 相似文献
20.
Biomass and production of fine and coarse roots of trees under agrisilvicultural practices in north-east India 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
An understanding of the rooting pattern of tree species used in agroforestry systems is essential for the development and management of systems involving them. Seasonal variation, depth wise and lateral distribution of biomass in roots of different diameter classes and their annual production were studied using sequential core sampling. The investigations were carried out in four tree species under tree only and tree+crop situations at ICAR Research Farm, Barapani (Meghalya), India. The tree species were mandarin (Citrus reticulata), alder (Alnus nepalensis), cherry (Prunus cerasoides) and albizia (Paraserianthes falcataria). The contribution of fine roots to the total root biomass ranged from 87% in albizia to 77% in mandarin. The bulk of the fine roots (38% to 47%) in the four tree species was concentrated in the upper 10 cm soil layer, but the coarse roots were concentrated in 10–20 cm soil depth in alder (46%) and albizia (51%) and at 0–10 cm in cherry (41%) and mandarin (48%). In all the four tree species, biomass of both fine- and coarse-roots followed a unimodal growth curve by showing a gradual increase from spring (pre-rainy) season to autumn (post rainy) season. Biomass to necromass ratio varied between 2 to 3 in the four tree species. The maximum (3.2) ratio was observed during spring and the minimum (2) in the rainy season. In alder and albizia, the fine roots were distributed only up to 1 m distance from the tree trunk but in the other two species they were found at a distance up to 1.5 m from the tree trunk. The annual fine root production varied from 3.6 Mg ha–1 to 6.2 Mg ha–1 and total production from 4.2 to 8.4 Mg ha–1 in albizia to mandarin, respectively. Cherry and mandarin had a large number of woody roots in the surface layers which pose physical hindrance during soil working and intercultural operations under agroforestry. But the high biomass of roots of these two species may be advantageous for sequential or spatially separated agroforestry systems. However, alder and albizia have the most desirable rooting characteristics for agroforestry systems.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献