Methods of Studying Root Systems
Root research under natural field conditions is still a step-child of science. The reason for this is primarily methodological. The known methods are tedious, time consuming, and the accuracy of their results is often not very great. Many research worker
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Vj. D. Billings, Durham (USA) F. Golley, Athens (USA) O. L. Lange, Wtirzburg (FRG) J. S. Olson, Oak Ridge (USA)
Volume 33
Wolfgang Bohm
Methods of Studying Root Systems With 69 Figures
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York 1979
Dr. WOLFGANG BOHM
Institut fUr Pflanzenbau und Pflanzenztichtung der Universitat G6ttingen v.-Siebold-StraBe 8, 3400 G6ttingen/FRG
ISBN-13: 978-3-642-67284-2 DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-67282-8
e-ISBN-13: 978-3-642-67282-8
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data. Biihm, Wolfgang, 1936--. Methods of studying root systems. (Ecological studies; v. 33). Bibliography: p. Includes indexes. 1. Roots (Botany)-Research. 2. Botany-EcologyMethodology. 1. Title. II. Series. QK644.B63. 581.1. 79-9706 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned. specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broadcasting, reproduction by photocopying machine or similar means, and storage in data banks. Under § 54 of the German Copyright Law where copies are made for other than private use, a fee is payable to the' publisher, the amount of the fee to be determined by agreement with the publisher.
© by Springer-Verlag Berlin· Heidelberg 1979 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1979 The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. 2131/3130---543210
This book is dedicated to John Ernest Weaver
(1884-1966)
pioneer in root ecology
Preface Root research under natural field conditions is still a step-child of science. The reason for this is primarily methodological. The known methods are tedious, timeconsuming, and the accuracy of their results is often not very great. Many research workers have been discouraged by doing such root studies. The need for more information on the development and distribution of plant roots in different soils under various ecological conditions is, however, obvious in many ecological disciplines. Especially the applied botanical sciences such as agriculture, horticulture, and forestry are interested in obtaining more data on plant roots in the soil. This book will give a survey of existing methods in ecological root research. Primarily field methods are presented; techniques for pot experiments are described only so far as they are important for solving ecological problems. Laboratory methods for studying root physiology are not covered in this book. Scientific publications on roots are scattered in many different journals published all over the world. By working through the international root literature I found that about ten thousand papers on root ecology have been published at the present. This is not very much compared with the immense literature on the aboveground parts of the plants, but is, however, too much to cite in this book. Therefore, mainly papers that contribute t
