Morphological Traits and Water–Nutrient Utilization Efficiency of <i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> Fine Roots Under Different Stubble Heights in Arsenic Sandstone Area, Inner Mongolia

<i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> (family Elaeagnaceae) is a deciduous shrub that has become a uniquely advantageous species in the arsenic sandstone area of Inner Mongolia due to its well-developed root system and strong tillering ability. This study, by taking 10-year-old <i>H. rhamnoi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yajie Xu, Yuefeng Guo, Yongjie Yue, Longfei Hao, Wei Qi, Runhong Gao, Xiaoyu Dong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Plants
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/9/1329
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850278895748644864
author Yajie Xu
Yuefeng Guo
Yongjie Yue
Longfei Hao
Wei Qi
Runhong Gao
Xiaoyu Dong
author_facet Yajie Xu
Yuefeng Guo
Yongjie Yue
Longfei Hao
Wei Qi
Runhong Gao
Xiaoyu Dong
author_sort Yajie Xu
collection DOAJ
description <i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> (family Elaeagnaceae) is a deciduous shrub that has become a uniquely advantageous species in the arsenic sandstone area of Inner Mongolia due to its well-developed root system and strong tillering ability. This study, by taking 10-year-old <i>H. rhamnoides</i> in the arsenic sandstone area as the research object and analyzing the morphological traits of their fine roots and their coordination within soil under different stubble heights (0, 10, 15, and 20 cm) and non-stubble treatment, aims to select the optimal stubble height that is most conducive to the rejuvenation of <i>H. rhamnoides</i> and thus improve the decline in the productivity of <i>H. rhamnoides</i> in this region. The results reveal significant differences in fine root and soil properties under different stubble heights (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Among different traits, fine root area density shows the highest total coefficient of variation, making it the most sensitive trait. Principal component analysis results indicate that after stubble treatment, the traits of <i>H. rhamnoides</i> fine roots center on high specific surface area (0.316) + high specific root length (0.312), shifting toward a resource-acquisition ecological strategy with the best foraging efficiency observed under a stubble height of 15 cm. Soil N:P and C:P can explain 66% and 61% of the root morphological traits strategies deployed during stubble treatment, respectively. Fine roots exhibit high adaptability to the breaking of phosphorus limitation and fixation of carbon and nitrogen.
format Article
id doaj-art-bab3206dad014fe280ced2d4a461804d
institution OA Journals
issn 2223-7747
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Plants
spelling doaj-art-bab3206dad014fe280ced2d4a461804d2025-08-20T01:49:18ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-04-01149132910.3390/plants14091329Morphological Traits and Water–Nutrient Utilization Efficiency of <i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> Fine Roots Under Different Stubble Heights in Arsenic Sandstone Area, Inner MongoliaYajie Xu0Yuefeng Guo1Yongjie Yue2Longfei Hao3Wei Qi4Runhong Gao5Xiaoyu Dong6College of Forestry, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010010, ChinaCollege of Desert Control Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010010, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010010, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010010, ChinaInner Mongolia Autonomous Region Water Conservancy Development Center, Hohhot 010020, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010010, ChinaCollege of Desert Control Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010010, China<i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> (family Elaeagnaceae) is a deciduous shrub that has become a uniquely advantageous species in the arsenic sandstone area of Inner Mongolia due to its well-developed root system and strong tillering ability. This study, by taking 10-year-old <i>H. rhamnoides</i> in the arsenic sandstone area as the research object and analyzing the morphological traits of their fine roots and their coordination within soil under different stubble heights (0, 10, 15, and 20 cm) and non-stubble treatment, aims to select the optimal stubble height that is most conducive to the rejuvenation of <i>H. rhamnoides</i> and thus improve the decline in the productivity of <i>H. rhamnoides</i> in this region. The results reveal significant differences in fine root and soil properties under different stubble heights (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Among different traits, fine root area density shows the highest total coefficient of variation, making it the most sensitive trait. Principal component analysis results indicate that after stubble treatment, the traits of <i>H. rhamnoides</i> fine roots center on high specific surface area (0.316) + high specific root length (0.312), shifting toward a resource-acquisition ecological strategy with the best foraging efficiency observed under a stubble height of 15 cm. Soil N:P and C:P can explain 66% and 61% of the root morphological traits strategies deployed during stubble treatment, respectively. Fine roots exhibit high adaptability to the breaking of phosphorus limitation and fixation of carbon and nitrogen.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/9/1329arsenic sandstone areastubble heightfine root morphological traitsphosphorus limitation
spellingShingle Yajie Xu
Yuefeng Guo
Yongjie Yue
Longfei Hao
Wei Qi
Runhong Gao
Xiaoyu Dong
Morphological Traits and Water–Nutrient Utilization Efficiency of <i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> Fine Roots Under Different Stubble Heights in Arsenic Sandstone Area, Inner Mongolia
Plants
arsenic sandstone area
stubble height
fine root morphological traits
phosphorus limitation
title Morphological Traits and Water–Nutrient Utilization Efficiency of <i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> Fine Roots Under Different Stubble Heights in Arsenic Sandstone Area, Inner Mongolia
title_full Morphological Traits and Water–Nutrient Utilization Efficiency of <i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> Fine Roots Under Different Stubble Heights in Arsenic Sandstone Area, Inner Mongolia
title_fullStr Morphological Traits and Water–Nutrient Utilization Efficiency of <i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> Fine Roots Under Different Stubble Heights in Arsenic Sandstone Area, Inner Mongolia
title_full_unstemmed Morphological Traits and Water–Nutrient Utilization Efficiency of <i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> Fine Roots Under Different Stubble Heights in Arsenic Sandstone Area, Inner Mongolia
title_short Morphological Traits and Water–Nutrient Utilization Efficiency of <i>Hippophae rhamnoides</i> Fine Roots Under Different Stubble Heights in Arsenic Sandstone Area, Inner Mongolia
title_sort morphological traits and water nutrient utilization efficiency of i hippophae rhamnoides i fine roots under different stubble heights in arsenic sandstone area inner mongolia
topic arsenic sandstone area
stubble height
fine root morphological traits
phosphorus limitation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/9/1329
work_keys_str_mv AT yajiexu morphologicaltraitsandwaternutrientutilizationefficiencyofihippophaerhamnoidesifinerootsunderdifferentstubbleheightsinarsenicsandstoneareainnermongolia
AT yuefengguo morphologicaltraitsandwaternutrientutilizationefficiencyofihippophaerhamnoidesifinerootsunderdifferentstubbleheightsinarsenicsandstoneareainnermongolia
AT yongjieyue morphologicaltraitsandwaternutrientutilizationefficiencyofihippophaerhamnoidesifinerootsunderdifferentstubbleheightsinarsenicsandstoneareainnermongolia
AT longfeihao morphologicaltraitsandwaternutrientutilizationefficiencyofihippophaerhamnoidesifinerootsunderdifferentstubbleheightsinarsenicsandstoneareainnermongolia
AT weiqi morphologicaltraitsandwaternutrientutilizationefficiencyofihippophaerhamnoidesifinerootsunderdifferentstubbleheightsinarsenicsandstoneareainnermongolia
AT runhonggao morphologicaltraitsandwaternutrientutilizationefficiencyofihippophaerhamnoidesifinerootsunderdifferentstubbleheightsinarsenicsandstoneareainnermongolia
AT xiaoyudong morphologicaltraitsandwaternutrientutilizationefficiencyofihippophaerhamnoidesifinerootsunderdifferentstubbleheightsinarsenicsandstoneareainnermongolia