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Effects of Mulching on Soil Properties and Growth of Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans)
Different mulches have variable effects on soil physical properties and plant growth. This study aimed to compare the effects of mulching with inorganic (round gravel, RG), organic (wood chips, WC), and living (manila turf grass, MG) materials on soil properties at 0–5-cm and 5–10-cm depths, as well...
Autores principales: | , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Public Library of Science
2016
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4980103/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27508410 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158228 |
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author | Ni, Xue Song, Weiting Zhang, Huanchao Yang, Xiulian Wang, Lianggui |
author_facet | Ni, Xue Song, Weiting Zhang, Huanchao Yang, Xiulian Wang, Lianggui |
author_sort | Ni, Xue |
collection | PubMed |
description | Different mulches have variable effects on soil physical properties and plant growth. This study aimed to compare the effects of mulching with inorganic (round gravel, RG), organic (wood chips, WC), and living (manila turf grass, MG) materials on soil properties at 0–5-cm and 5–10-cm depths, as well as on the growth and physiological features of Osmanthus fragrans L. ‘Rixianggui’ plants. Soil samples were collected at three different time points from field plots of O. fragrans plants treated with the different mulching treatments. Moisture at both soil depths was significantly higher after mulching with RG and WC than that in the unmulched control (CK) treatment. Mulching did not affect soil bulk density, pH, or total nitrogen content, but consistently improved soil organic matter. The available nitrogen in the soil increased after RG and WC treatments, but decreased after MG treatment during the experimental period. Mulching improved plant growth by increasing root activity, soluble sugar, and chlorophyll a content, as well as by providing suitable moisture conditions and nutrients in the root zone. Plant height and trunk diameter were remarkably increased after mulching, especially with RG and WC. However, while MG improved plant growth at the beginning of the treatment, the ‘Rixianggui’ plants later showed no improvement in growth. This was probably because MG competed with the plants for water and available nitrogen in the soil. Thus, our findings suggest that RG and WC, but not MG, improved the soil environment and the growth of ‘Rixianggui’ plants. Considering the effect of mulching on soil properties and plant growth and physiology, round gravel and wood chips appear to be a better choice than manila turf grass in ‘Rixianggui’ nurseries. Further studies are required to determine the effects of mulch quality and mulch-layer thickness on shoot and root growths. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4980103 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2016 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-49801032016-08-25 Effects of Mulching on Soil Properties and Growth of Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) Ni, Xue Song, Weiting Zhang, Huanchao Yang, Xiulian Wang, Lianggui PLoS One Research Article Different mulches have variable effects on soil physical properties and plant growth. This study aimed to compare the effects of mulching with inorganic (round gravel, RG), organic (wood chips, WC), and living (manila turf grass, MG) materials on soil properties at 0–5-cm and 5–10-cm depths, as well as on the growth and physiological features of Osmanthus fragrans L. ‘Rixianggui’ plants. Soil samples were collected at three different time points from field plots of O. fragrans plants treated with the different mulching treatments. Moisture at both soil depths was significantly higher after mulching with RG and WC than that in the unmulched control (CK) treatment. Mulching did not affect soil bulk density, pH, or total nitrogen content, but consistently improved soil organic matter. The available nitrogen in the soil increased after RG and WC treatments, but decreased after MG treatment during the experimental period. Mulching improved plant growth by increasing root activity, soluble sugar, and chlorophyll a content, as well as by providing suitable moisture conditions and nutrients in the root zone. Plant height and trunk diameter were remarkably increased after mulching, especially with RG and WC. However, while MG improved plant growth at the beginning of the treatment, the ‘Rixianggui’ plants later showed no improvement in growth. This was probably because MG competed with the plants for water and available nitrogen in the soil. Thus, our findings suggest that RG and WC, but not MG, improved the soil environment and the growth of ‘Rixianggui’ plants. Considering the effect of mulching on soil properties and plant growth and physiology, round gravel and wood chips appear to be a better choice than manila turf grass in ‘Rixianggui’ nurseries. Further studies are required to determine the effects of mulch quality and mulch-layer thickness on shoot and root growths. Public Library of Science 2016-08-10 /pmc/articles/PMC4980103/ /pubmed/27508410 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158228 Text en © 2016 Ni et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Ni, Xue Song, Weiting Zhang, Huanchao Yang, Xiulian Wang, Lianggui Effects of Mulching on Soil Properties and Growth of Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) |
title | Effects of Mulching on Soil Properties and Growth of Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) |
title_full | Effects of Mulching on Soil Properties and Growth of Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) |
title_fullStr | Effects of Mulching on Soil Properties and Growth of Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) |
title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Mulching on Soil Properties and Growth of Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) |
title_short | Effects of Mulching on Soil Properties and Growth of Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) |
title_sort | effects of mulching on soil properties and growth of tea olive (osmanthus fragrans) |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4980103/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27508410 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158228 |
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