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A Venturi Effect Can Help Cure Our Trees
Published on: October 1, 2013
Root aeration in wetland trees by pressurized gas transport
W Grosse1, J Frye, S Lattermann
1Botanical Institute, University of Cologne, Gyrhofstrasse 15, D-5000 Köln 41, Germany.
Abstract:
Tracer gas studies and oxygen uptake measurements have shown that pressurized gas transport improves oxygen supply to roots in the wetland tree species Taxodium distichum L. Rich. (Taxodiaceae), Betula pubescens J.F. Ehrh. (Betulaceae), and Populus tremula L. (Salicaceae), but not in Acer pseudoplatanus L. and Ilex aquifolium L., which are found in drier habitats. In the deciduous tree species Betula pubescens and Populus tremula, pressurized gas transport was most evident during the resting period, which is characterized by soil anoxia following waterlogging of the natural habitat. Because pressurized gas transport is found in species of distantly related families, we hypothesize that it helps wetland species survive the initial period of soil flooding before acclimation to waterlogging cccurs.
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