Abstract
Aims
The impact of plant age on morphological traits, peak pullout force of the root system, tensile force, tensile strength, and elastic modulus of a single root was investigated with regard to soil–root reinforcement and the interplay between vegetation and stream processes.
Methods
In situ vertical pullout tests, digging tests, and tensile tests were conducted across different plant ages to examine variations in plant morphological traits, root system peak pullout force, and the tensile force, tensile strength, and elastic modulus of individual roots.
Results
Results indicated that as vegetation grew, both the morphological traits of plants and the peak pullout force of the root system increased. However, the correlation between peak pullout force and morphological traits was not statistically significant (p > 0.05) at certain plant ages. Additionally, for roots with the same diameter, tensile force, tensile strength, and elastic modulus saw an increase with plant age, particularly in fine roots. Soil moisture content did not significantly affect the peak pullout force.
Conclusions
This paper emphasizes the significance of considering seasonal fluctuations in morphological traits and plant peak pullout force, as well as the biomechanical properties of individual roots. The findings are significant for enhancing soil reinforcement models by roots and comprehending uprooting mechanisms in riparian vegetation.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development program of China (Project No. 2022YFF0800604); National Natural Science Foundation of China (Major Program 42090051, General Program 42277179); the Major Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 42090051); and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2021373).
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All measured data is presented in the figures of this paper are available at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7092153. No software was developed for this project. Analyses, figures, and tables were done in R-studio statistical software (R-studio Team 2015) version 2021.09.2.382, R version 4.1.2 (2021-11-01) (Team 2013), and the “ggplot2” package (Wickham 2016).
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Key Points
• Morphological traits and peak pullout force increased with plant age.
• Correlations between peak pullout force and morphological traits depend on plant age.
• Tensile force, tensile strength, and elastic modulus increase with plant age for roots with same diameter.
• Power–law function is found between tensile force, tensile strength, and elastic modulus and root diameter across all plant ages.
• Soil moisture has no significant effect on peak pullout force.
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Zhang, Y., Liu, W. & He, S. Effect of vegetation growth on morphological traits of vegetation and biomechanical features of roots. Plant Soil 494, 395–411 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06285-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06285-z