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Oxygen Requirements for Root Growth in Three Species of Desert Shrubs
Author(s) -
Lunt O. R.,
Letey J.,
Clark S. B.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1934199
Subject(s) - larrea , artemisia , oxygen , botany , soil water , growth rate , biology , ecology , horticulture , shrub , chemistry , mathematics , organic chemistry , geometry
Shrubs of Artemisia tridentata and Larrea tridentata have unusually high oxygen requirements for root growth. Roots of Franseria dumosa, like many economic plants, need lesser amounts of oxygen. An oxygen diffusion rate of about 0.30 mg cm ( —2)min ( —1) is required by Franseria to achieve a root growth rate that is 50% of maximum at the experimental temperatures. The corresponding figures for Artemisia and Larrea are about 0.50 and 0.43, respectively. It is concluded that the general exclusion of Larrea and Artemisia from fine—textured and poorly drained soils in the desert is a reflection of their relatively high oxygen requirements for root growth.