Abstract
Aims
Interactions among plant species play an essential role in the establishment and performance of intercropped forest plantations and depend on the characteristics of the intercropped species and environmental conditions. Although much is known about interspecific interactions, how light conditions modulate these interactions remains unknown.
Methods
In this study, we explored the effects of light intensity (shade or full light) on plant-plant interactions through a controlled pot experiment involving two local companion tree species (Phoebe chekiangensis and Torreya grandis) and Phyllostachys edulis in different planting patterns (monoculture or intercropping).
Results
The effect of interspecific interaction on plant performance depended on light intensity and species. Under full light, heterogeneous neighboring plants tended to increase the nitrogen concentration in shoots and roots of the three species, while the total biomass and root-shoot mass ratio also increased for P. edulis and P. chekiangensis. Under shade conditions, all monocultures adapted to low light through a series of changes (increase in specific leaf area and chlorophyll concentration, or decrease of root-shoot ratios), while these adaptive strategies were limited in P. chekiangensis and T. grandis intercropped with P. edulis. And the performance of T. grandis was less influenced by P. edulis than by P. chekiangensis due to differences in root attributes.
Conclusion
Under shade condition, P. edulis may inhibit the nitrogen acquisition of the two companion species through the plasticity advantage of root morphology and physiology traits, thus limiting their aboveground adaptive capacity to low light.
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Data availability
Data not included in the manuscript but important for a detailed review can be found online in the Supporting Information section.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the greenhouse managers and workers at Zhejiang A&F University for their valuable help and support. Our special thanks go to the executive editor and anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments.
Funding
This work was supported by the Cooperation Project between Zhejiang Province and the Chinese Academy of Forestry (2020SY07), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31901369), and the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LY22C160004).
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WS and CH designed the study, performed the experiments, analyzed the data and co-wrote the manuscript. YH and SW participated in data collection and analysis. YY and WS supervised the study, helped design the experiments, and co-wrote the manuscript.
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Hong, C., Shi, W., Wu, S. et al. The inferior root plasticity of Phoebe chekiangensis and Torreya grandis seedlings intercropped with Phyllostachys edulis leads to worse plant performance than monocultures under shade conditions. Plant Soil 488, 305–324 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-05970-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-05970-3