EFFECT OF PLANT ROOTS ON CHEMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SURROUNDING DISCRETE SOIL ZONES

Abstract

The chemical and biochemical properties within and immediately adjacent to the root zone of two grass species were studied over a 5-wk period. The experiment utilized a simple container comprising five sandwiched compartments giving a center or "rhizosphere" zone, two intermediate zones, and two outer zones. Soil samples were taken from an Orthic Brown, Dark Brown, and Black Chernozemic Ah horizon and from the Orthic Dark Brown Chernozemic Ap horizons of the unfertilized part of a continuous wheat field and the fallow field of a wheat-fallow rotation, both under cultivation for 70 yr. The two grasses were blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag.) and rye (Secale céréale L. 'Frontier'). High root densities were achieved by the end of the study, especially with the blue grama. Changes in pH over time were slight but consistent; they decreased in the Black Chernozemic soil and increased in the other soils. A redistribution of labile phosphorus was caused by the presence of the plant roots. The Orthic Dark Brown Ah and Ap horizon soils reacted differently to the conditions of the study. Monosaccharides always increased in the rhizosphere zone and generally decreased in the zone adjacent to the rhizosphere zone in the case of rye and in the outside zone in the case of blue grama. The ratio galactose + mannose/arabinose + xylose always increased towards the outer zone. Although the presence of roots influenced the measured chemical properties of the soil surrounding them, there were no overall common trends. The results, even in this simplified system, demonstrated complex and interrelated effects (P < 0.01) of soil type, plant species, and time on the biochemical dynamics in and near the rhizosphere. The properties of rhizosphere soil are system specific. To interpret the processes within the system, detailed knowledge of the soil organic matter, the physiology of the species root, and the effect on each other is obligatory. Key words: Rhizosphere, Chernozemic Ah/Ap horizons, blue grama, rye, monosaccharides