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Combining δ13C measurements and ERT imaging: improving our understanding of competition at the crop-soil-hedge interface

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Abstract

Background and aims

Hedgerow cropping decreases erosion in hillside agriculture but also competes for water and nutrients with crops. This study combined two methods for an improved understanding of water and nutrient competition at the crop-soil-hedge interface.

Methods

δ13C isotopic discrimination in plants and soil electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) imaging were used in a field trial with maize monocropping (MM) vs. leucaena hedgerow intercropping with and without fertilizer (MHF+ and MHF−) in Thailand.

Results

Hedges significantly reduced maize grain yield and aboveground biomass in rows close to hedgerows. ERT revealed water depletion was stronger in MM than in MHF+ and MHF- confirming time domain reflectometry and leaf area data. In MHF+, water depletion was higher in maize rows close to the hedge compared to rows distant to hedges and maize grain δ13C was significantly less negative in rows close to hedges (-10.33‰) compared to distant ones (-10.64‰). Lack of N increased grain δ13C in MHF- (-9.32‰, p ≤ 0.001). Both methods were correlated with each other (r = 0.66, p ≤ 0.001). Combining ERT with grain δ13C and %N allowed identifying that maize growth close to hedges was limited by N and not by water supply.

Conclusion

Combining ERT imaging and 13C isotopic discrimination approaches improved the understanding of spatial-temporal patterns of competition at the hedge-soil-crop interface and allowed distinguishing between water and N competition in maize based hedgerow systems.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank KU Leuven for funding the field research under project OT/07/045, the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad for supporting first author stay in Germany, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for funding the second author stay in Germany and the Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH for providing the equipment. Finally, we would like to thank our colleagues, Sireetorn Siriwong and Channarong, at Kasetsart University, Bangkok for their continuous support during the field experiment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant Production and Agroecology in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Hohenheim, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany

    Khalid Hussain, Chalermchart Wongleecharoen, Thomas Hilger, Marc-André Sparke & Georg Cadisch

  2. Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Agrosphere Institute IBG-3, 52425, Jülich, Germany

    Jan Vanderborght

  3. Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Passage des Déportés 2, 5030, Gembloux, Belgium

    Sarah Garré

  4. Department of Soil Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand

    Chalermchart Wongleecharoen, Wattanai Onsamrarn & Thanuchai Kongkaew

  5. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    Jan Vanderborght & Jan Diels

  6. Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

    Khalid Hussain

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  1. Khalid Hussain
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  2. Chalermchart Wongleecharoen
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  3. Thomas Hilger
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  4. Jan Vanderborght
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  5. Sarah Garré
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  6. Wattanai Onsamrarn
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  7. Marc-André Sparke
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  8. Jan Diels
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  9. Thanuchai Kongkaew
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  10. Georg Cadisch
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Hilger.

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Responsible Editor: Elizabeth M Baggs.

Thanuchai Kongkaew passed away on February 16th, 2012

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Hussain, K., Wongleecharoen, C., Hilger, T. et al. Combining δ13C measurements and ERT imaging: improving our understanding of competition at the crop-soil-hedge interface. Plant Soil 393, 1–20 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2455-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2455-z

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