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Linking Above‐ground and Below‐ground Effects in Autotrophic Microcosms: Effects of Shading and Defoliation on Plant and Soil Properties by Juha Mikola; Gary M. Barker; David A. Wardle is a Environmental Science article available to read on EtoBox.

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Although factors affecting plant growth and plant carbon/nutrient balance – e.g., light availability and defoliation by herbivores – may also propagate changes in below‐ground food webs, few studies have aimed at linking the above‐ground and below‐ground effects. We established a 29‐week laboratory experiment (∼one growing season) using autotrophic microcosms to study the effects of light and defoliation on plant growth, plant carbon/nutrient balance, soil inorganic N content, and microbial activity and biomass in soil. Each microcosm contained three substrate layers – mineral soil, humus and plant litter – and one __Nothofagus solandri__ var. __cliffortioides__ seedling. The experiment constituted of the presence or absence of two treatments in a full factorial design: shading (50% decrease in light) and artificial defoliation (approximately 50% decrease in leaf area in the beginning of the growing season). At the end of the experiment a range of above‐ground and below‐ground properties were measured. The shading treatment reduced root and shoot mass, root/shoot ratio and leaf production of the seedlings, while the defoliation treatment significantly decreased leaf mass only. Leaf

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Author

Juha Mikola; Gary M. Barker; David A. Wardle

Publisher

John Wiley and Sons; Wiley (Blackwell Publishing); Blackwell Publishing Inc.; Wiley; JSTOR (ISSN 0030-1299)

Published

2000

Language

EN

Field

Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)