Maize and wheat root biomass, vertical distribution, and size class as affected by fertilization intensity in two long-term field trials

Hirte, Juliane; Leifeld, Jens; Abiven, Samuel; Mayer, Jochen

doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2017.11.023

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Hirte, J., Leifeld, J., Abiven, S., & Mayer, J. (2018). Maize and wheat root biomass, vertical distribution, and size class as affected by fertilization intensity in two long-term field trials. Field Crops Research, 216, 197–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2017.11.023

Abstract

Root biomass is the most commonly studied root parameter to investigate below ground crop response to environmental conditions and carbon cycling in agroecosystems. Root growth is strongly regulated by site-specific growth conditions and resource availability, but only little is known about the extent to which root biomass, vertical distribution, and size class respond to fertilization intensity as compared to site. We determined coarse (> 2 mm) and fine (> 0.5 mm and ≤2 mm) root biomass of maize and wheat in three soil layers to 0.75