Nitrogen stress alters root proliferation in Douglas-fir seedlings

Abstract

The proliferation of roots in soil microenvironments was studied to gain an understanding of how nitrogen (N) stress affects root growth. By placing one major lateral root (<10% of the root system) of a Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedling into a small pot (microenvironment) and the remaining roots into a large pot, it was possible to manipulate the growth of a small part of the root system while having only minor effects on the growth of the entire seedling. Nitrogen stress was successfully induced by large-pot treatments and resulted in greatly decreased foliage growth and slightly decreased total fine (<2 mm diam.) root growth. Nitrogen stress had minimal effects on total fine root growth, but large effects on the distribution of growth within the root system. Fine roots grew preferentially in high compared with low N microenvironments, and root proliferation in high N microenvironments was enhanced twofold in N-stressed compared with nonstressed seedlings. The root proliferation response of Douglas-fir seedlings to N stress illustrates a potential means of N-stress compensation. It also implies that root distribution among soil microenvironments may depend not only upon chemical activity of nutrient ions in the rooting environment, but also upon nutrient stress in the whole plant.