Abstract
Purpose
The main goal of this study was to determine if ancient wheat varieties could store more carbon than modern ones in the presence or absence of inputs, due to a likely bigger and deeper root system and a slower mineralization rate.
Methods
We conducted a field experiment with four modern and four ancient varieties (released before 1960 and often grown without inputs), with and without chemical inputs (nitrogen, herbicide and fungicide taken as a single factor). Root morphology was assessed by image analysis, potential catabolic activities of fructose, alanine, citric acid by MicroResp™ and overall CO2 emissions by incubating soil and roots from each modality for 60 days.
Results
The breeding type did not affect root traits, substrates respiration nor CO2 emissions in our environmental conditions. The application of inputs did not affect root traits but influenced the respiration of specific substrates and CO2 emissions. The most noticeable response was due to the “breeding type x inputs” interaction: inputs increased CO2 emissions from soil and root tissues of ancient varieties by 19%, whereas no effect was observed for modern varieties.
Conclusion
Taken together, our results did not support the hypothesis that ancient varieties could be more performant than modern ones in storing carbon in our experimental conditions. Increased CO2 emissions by ancient varieties in the presence of inputs showed that ancient and modern varieties differed in their phenotypic plasticity.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Institut Agro Dijon for experimental facilities. We are grateful to Jean-Philippe Guillemin, Wilfried Queyrel and Etienne Gaujour for their advice in wheat culture and the management of the experimental site. We thank Pauline Souche-Suchovsky and Marie Spetebroot for their contribution to the study of root systems. We thank Graines de Noé, especially Hélène Montaz, for providing the seeds of ancient varieties, as well as RAGT Semences, Secobra, Saaten Union and Limagrain for providing the modern varieties. We are grateful to Jacques Le Gouis and François Balfourier for providing the information about the origins of ancient varieties.
Funding
Laly Rouch was funded by the French Ministry of Agriculture. Experimental facilities were funded by the Institut Agro.
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MB, LR and SF conceived the research. EP and LR carried out the experiment. LR, EP, FB and MB retrieved the soil and roots in the field. LR and MB performed root morphology measures, LR and SF the MicroResp measures, CH and LR the gas measures. LR performed statistical analyses and edited the figures and tables with the help of MB and SF. LR wrote the paper with significant inputs from MB and SF. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Rouch, L., Follain, S., Pimet, E. et al. Effects of chemical inputs, plant genotype and phenotypic plasticity on soil carbon storage by wheat root systems. Plant Soil 486, 561–574 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-05891-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-05891-1