Abstract
We aimed to investigate the combined impacts of compost addition and pre-planting soil moisture conditions, on plant-available nutrients, and subsequent impacts on the biomass, nutrition and formation of AM by two important crop species. A glasshouse study was undertaken in which wheat and tomato plants were grown in compost amended or un-amended soil that was subjected to different moisture regimes prior to planting. The availability of P was strongly influenced by compost addition, but not pre-planting moisture conditions. In contrast, mineral N pools were affected by compost addition and pre-planting soil moisture conditions in complex ways. These changes in nutrient availability affected plant biomass, nutrient uptake and formation of AM. In general, plant performance was better where pre-planting soil moisture conditions were wet or dry, and worse where they involved a wet/dry cycle, and mycorrhizal colonisation was lower where compost was added to the soil. That pre-planting moisture conditions affect the biomass of subsequent crops is an important finding, the potential implications of which are considered here.
Highlights
As the climate becomes more variable, so too will soil moisture[1,2,3]
It has been found that the formation and functioning of arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM) - associations between plant roots and a specialised group of soil fungi that can play an important role in plant nutrient acquisition – can be affected by pre-planting soil moisture conditions, presumably due to impacts on soil nutrients[10]
While it is well established that the cycling of nutrients is affected by soil moisture[11], there has to our knowledge, been no work to investigate the impact of pre-planting soil moisture conditions on the release of nutrients from composts, and the subsequent impacts on plant biomass, nutrition and formation of AM
Summary
As the climate becomes more variable, so too will soil moisture[1,2,3]. Moisture is a major driver of organic matter decomposition and mineralisation in soil. Impacts of soil moisture on nutrient availability and cycling may be especially important for systems where organic matter is a dominant source of nutrients. While it is well established that the cycling of nutrients is affected by soil moisture[11], there has to our knowledge, been no work to investigate the impact of pre-planting soil moisture conditions on the release of nutrients from composts, and the subsequent (and concurrent) impacts on plant biomass, nutrition and formation of AM. We present results of a study in which we sought to investigate the combined impacts of compost addition and pre-planting soil moisture conditions, on plant-available nutrients, and the biomass, nutrition and mycorrhizal colonisation of two important crop species, wheat and tomato. The experiment included moisture treatments that were wet, dry, or cycled between wet and dry conditions, in order to investigate impacts of variable water supply on compost mineralisation and the subsequent consequences for plants
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