Skip to content
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Menu
Home
About Us
Resources
Profiles Metrics
Authors Directory
Institutions Directory
Top Authors
Top Institutions
Top Sponsors
AI Digest
Contact Us
Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
Old tree root channels in acid soils in the humid tropics: Important for crop root penetration, water infiltration and nitrogen management
Plant and Soil, Volume 134, No. 1, Year 1991
Notification
URL copied to clipboard!
Description
Under high rainfall conditions on acid soils with shallow crop root systems the rate of N leaching is high. A simple model predicts nitrogen uptake efficiency as a function of the amount of rainfall in excess of evapotranspiration, rooting depth and degree to which N leaching is retarded in comparison with water transport. Field observations on acid soils in S.E. Nigeria and S. Sumatera (Indonesia) showed that this model should be amended to include the role of old tree root channels. Crop roots can follow these channels, which are coated with partly decayed organic matter, into the acid subsoil. Measurements of water infiltration with a Guelph permeameter and a methylene blue dye showed that such channels form the major infiltration sites during rainstorms. Implications for nitrogen use efficiency and cropping pattern are discussed. © 1991 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Authors & Co-Authors
Van Noordwijk, Meine V.
Netherlands, Wageningen
Wageningen University & Research
Widianto,
Indonesia, Malang
Brawijaya University
Heinen, Marius
Netherlands, Wageningen
Wageningen University & Research
Hairiah, Kurniatun
Indonesia, Malang
Brawijaya University
Statistics
Citations: 69
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1007/BF00010715
ISSN:
15735036
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Locations
Nigeria