The Effect of Compaction and Biosolid Fertilizer on the Functional Morphologies in Young Plants
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Date
2021-12
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Restoration efforts in urban landscapes often include spreading seeds of native prairie species over compacted soils. Soil amendments such as fertilizers are frequently added to promote growth and success of the seedlings. Understanding the morphologies and success of young seedlings in stressful environmental conditions, like compacted soil, can indicate the success of the mature plant. However, little is known about young seedling traits, specifically root morphologies. We analyzed seedling traits of four species of prairie plants grown in artificially compacted soils. These species included two phylogenetically paired forbs, Asclepias tuberosa and Ratibida pinnata, and two phylogenetically paired grasses, Schizachyrium scoparium and Andropogon gerardii. In both cases, root morphologies differed between species in a pair. The seedlings were grown in one of three treatments or a control. The treatments consisted of soil amendments of half or quarter biosolid fertilizer, or a till treatment. Functional morphologies of the young plants were analyzed to determine differences between species or treatments as well as the interactions among treatments and species. Andropogon gerardii was expected to be the most successful species due to its spreading root structure overcoming the compacted soil. Additionally, the treatment with the greatest amount of biosolid was expected to grow the largest individuals, both above and belowground due to the additional nutrients. Averaging across all treatments, one species was not the most successful over the other species. The treatment with the greatest nutrient addition, the half biosolid, was not found to be the most successful. This result indicates nutrient overload and salt additions should be taken into considerations when adding soil amendments in restoration efforts. Future analyses need to be completed to understand the success of seedlings in stressful environments and how their traits can be indicative of longer-term success.
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Keywords
Restoration, Botany, Soil, Compost, Germination, Plant Morphology