Root distribution and seasonal production in the northwestern Sonoran Desert for a C3 subshrub, a C4 bunchgrass, and a CAM leaf succulent

Abstract

To investigate root distribution with depth, which can affect competition for water, surface areas of young and old roots were determined in 4-cm-thick soil layers for the C3 subshrub Encelia farinosa Torrey and A. Gray, the C4 bunchgrass Pleuraphis rigida Thurber, and the CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism) leaf succulent Agave deserti Engelm. At a site in the northwestern Sonoran Desert these codominant perennials had mean rooting depths of only 9-10 cm for isolated plants. Young roots had mean depths of 5-6 cm after a winter wet period, but 11-13 cm after a summer wet period. Young roots were most profuse in the winter for E. farinosa, which has the lowest optimum temperature for root growth, and in the summer for P. rigida, which has the highest optimum temperature. Roots for interspecific pairs in close proximity averaged 2-3 cm shallower for A. deserti and a similar distance deeper for the other two species compared with isolated plants, suggesting partial spatial separation of their root niches when the plants are in a competitive situation. For plants with a similar root surface area, the twofold greater leaf area and twofold higher maximal transpiration rate of E. farinosa were consistent with its higher root hydraulic conductivity, leading to a fourfold higher estimated maximal water uptake rate than for P. rigida. Continuous water uptake accounted for the shoot water loss by A. deserti, which has a high shoot water-storage capacity. A lower minimum leaf water potential for P. rigida than for A. deserti indicates greater ability to extract water from a drying soil, suggesting that temporal niche separation for water uptake also occurs.