Effect of soil spatial configuration on Trifolium repens varies with resource amount

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 31;17(1):e0263290. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263290. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Soil spatial heterogeneity involves nutrients being patchily distributed at a range of scales and is prevalent in natural habitats. However, little is known about the effect of soil spatial configurations at the small scale on plant foraging behavior and plant growth under different resource amounts. Here, we experimentally investigated how a stoloniferous species, Trifolium repens, responded to varied resource amounts and spatial configuration combinations. Plant foraging behavior (i.e., the orientation of the primary stolon, mean length of the primary stolon, foraging precision, and foraging scale) and plant growth (i.e., total biomass, root biomass, shoot biomass, and root/shoot) were compared among differently designed configurations of soil resources in different amounts. The relationships of foraging behavior and plant biomass were analyzed. The results showed that the effect of the spatial configuration of soil resources on Trifolium repens depended on the resource amount. Specifically, when the total resource amount was low, fragmented soil patches promoted root foraging and increased Trifolium repens plant biomass; however, when the total resource amount was high, the soil spatial configuration did not affect foraging behavior or plant growth. Our results also showed that plant growth was facilitated by root foraging scale to adapt to low resource amounts. We conclude that the spatial configuration of soil resources at small scales affects whole plant growth, which is mediated by a distinct foraging strategy. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how the growth strategy of clonal plants responds to heterogeneous environments caused by different resource amounts and its spatial configurations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biomass
  • Plant Development
  • Soil*
  • Trifolium / physiology*

Substances

  • Soil

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number: 31860120] and by an Innovation fund project for graduate students of Nanchang University [grant number: CX2019008]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.