Divergent root P uptake strategies of three temperate grassland forage species

Abstract

Temperate grasslands are affected by nutrient deficiency and this deficiency is one of the main limiting factors for forage production, such as the grasslands of the Salado River Basin (Argentina), which exhibit low-P availability for plant growth. Alternatives to increase forage production include the selection of plant species adapted to grow under P deficiency, P fertilization, and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. In a pot experiment, we investigated the effect of low and high-P doses and AM fungi on the development of three forage species. The interaction of P addition and AM fungi increased L. tenuis (legume) biomass production and improve P nutrition, even with high-P dose, because of its higher P requirement to grow and lower ability for P uptake than grasses. High-P increased the biomass of S. arundinaceus (C3 grass) and P. coloratum (C4 grass), and AM fungi did not directly impact on plant growth of grasses, but did impact on P nutrition at either level of P fertilization. The specific P uptake of non-fertilized L. tenuis plants increased 97% due to AM inoculation and was the highest value among the three non-fertilized species. Furthermore, the specific P uptake of non-fertilized grasses was similar, despite the C metabolic pathway and AM fungi, but the specific root length was 70.88% lower for P. coloratum than for S. arundinaceus. Thus, the main strategy of L. tenuis was AM association, whereas that of S. arundinaceus was the highest ability of the root system to explore the soil. In P. coloratum, the strategy could not be explained by changes in specific root length or AM association. Our results would be an advantageous first step to promote better management of forage land sustainably while increasing forage production and preserve the beneficial effects of native AM communities in the Salado River Basin.