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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 8, 2025

JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning

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Published on: March 21, 2025

MORPHOLOGICAL PLASTICITY AND MINERAL NUTRIENT CAPTURE IN TWO HERBACEOUS SPECIES OF CONTRASTED ECOLOGY.

J C Crick¹, J P Grime¹

¹Unit of Comparative Plant Ecology (NERC), Department of Botany, The University, Sheffield S10, UK.

The New Phytologist

|April 20, 2021

Summary

Agrostis stolonifera exhibits superior nitrogen capture and growth plasticity compared to Scirpus sylvaticus. This developmental plasticity allows A. stolonifera to dynamically exploit nutrient-rich soil patches for enhanced growth.

Keywords:

Morphological plasticity infertile soils mineral nutrition root development root:shoot ratio

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Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Published on: March 13, 2014

Area of Science:

Plant Ecology
Root Biology
Nutrient Uptake

Background:

Soil nutrient heterogeneity (spatial and temporal patchiness) significantly influences plant growth and competition.
Understanding plant responses to varying nutrient availability is crucial for predicting ecosystem dynamics and agricultural productivity.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare the developmental plasticity and nitrogen capture efficiency of Agrostis stolonifera and Scirpus sylvaticus under simulated soil nutrient patchiness.
To investigate how root system architecture and growth partitioning contribute to nutrient acquisition in different soil conditions.

Main Methods:

Utilized compartmentalized root growth arenas to simulate spatial and temporal variations in mineral nutrient supply.
Grew Agrostis stolonifera and Scirpus sylvaticus in these arenas under both high and low external nutrient concentrations.
Quantified nitrogen capture rates, dry matter production, and root growth partitioning.

Main Results:

Agrostis stolonifera demonstrated higher nitrogen capture and dry matter production than Scirpus sylvaticus, irrespective of nutrient concentration.
A. stolonifera exhibited significant developmental plasticity, rapidly proliferating fine roots into nutrient-rich soil sectors.
S. sylvaticus displayed limited plasticity, maintaining a large but unresponsive root mass across treatments.

Conclusions:

The high plasticity of Agrostis stolonifera facilitates dynamic exploitation of fertile soil patches, enhancing its competitive ability.
The stable root development pattern of Scirpus sylvaticus may provide a selective advantage in nutrient-limited environments with unpredictable nutrient pulses.