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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Study on the Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus
Addition on the Morphological Traits
of the Root Systems of 14 Plant Species
1
School of Life Science and Technology, Mudanjiang Normal College, Mudanjiang, China
2
Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management-Ministry of Education, School of Forestry, Northeast
Forestry University, Haerbin, China
3
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Mudanjiang Normal College, Mudanjiang, China
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Submission date: 2023-12-05
Final revision date: 2024-04-01
Acceptance date: 2024-05-03
Online publication date: 2024-10-02
Publication date: 2025-11-04
Corresponding author
Dounan Liu
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Mudanjiang Normal College, Mudanjiang, China
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Mudanjiang Normal College, Mudanjiang, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(6):7881-7893
KEYWORDS
fertilizationcultivated plantsdiameter classroot morphological traitsthe relationships among root traits
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Fine roots absorb water and nutrients and play a crucial role in ecosystem functions, possessing high
adaptability to environmental changes. This study focuses on 14 common cultivated plants (eight woody
plants and six herbaceous plants) in northeast China. After the addition of nitrogen (N) and phosphate
(P) fertilizer, the specific root length (SRL), root diameter (RD), and root tissue density (RTD) of fine
roots in different diameter classes (root diameter < 0.5; 0.5 ≤ root diameter ≤1; 1 ≤ root diameter ≤ 2)
were measured. The effects of N and P addition on the morphological characteristics of the fine roots,
and the relationships between these characteristics and their response to fertilization were explored. Results
indicated that: N and P addition had a significant impact on the RD, SRL, and RTD of the roots in all
the diameter classes. The SRL increased in most herbaceous species after N and P addition, and decreased
in woody species at R<0.5 (except Sa); N and P addition increased the RD of all diameter classes in most
species but had inconsistent effects on the RTD of herbaceous and woody species in different diameter
classes. A negative correlation was found between SRL and RD, regardless of fertilization or different
diameter class, and the relationship between RTD and RD was not significant. The RD and RTD of woody
plants were much larger than those of herbaceous plants, but the SRL of the former was lower than that
of the latter. In summary, N and P addition had a considerable impact on root morphological characteristics
of R<0.5 and had a large effect on woody plants. This study provides insights into changes in the adaptive
strategies of fine roots of woody and herbaceous species for N and P addition.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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