Loading…

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

We hypothesized that the nitrogen-fixing tree could improve the growth and nitrogen nutrition of non-fixing tree species such as . We measured the N-mineralization and respiration rates of soils sampled from plots covered with , or native vegetation at two tropical sites (Itatinga in Brazil and Kiss...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plants (Basel) 2023-02, Vol.12 (4), p.802
Main Authors: Waithaisong, Kittima, Robin, Agnès, Mareschal, Louis, Bouillet, Jean-Pierre, Harmand, Jean-Michel, Bordron, Bruno, Laclau, Jean-Paul, Gonçalves, José Leonardo Moraes, Plassard, Claude
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We hypothesized that the nitrogen-fixing tree could improve the growth and nitrogen nutrition of non-fixing tree species such as . We measured the N-mineralization and respiration rates of soils sampled from plots covered with , 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, 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 in the Congo than in Brazil, 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 could be an attractive option to maintain the growth and N bioavailability of the non-fixing species while decreasing chemical fertilization. Plant bioassays could help determine if the introduction of N -fixing trees will improve the growth and mineral nutrition of non-fixing tree species in tropical planted forests.
ISSN:2223-7747
2223-7747
DOI:10.3390/plants12040802