Mulching in lowland hay meadows drives an adaptive convergence of above- and below-ground traits reducing plasticity and improving biomass: A possible tool for enhancing phytoremediation

We aimed to understand the effect of mulching (i.e., cutting and leaving the crushed biomass to decompose in situ) on above- and below-ground plant functional traits and whether this practice may be a potential tool for enhancing the phytoremediation of lowland hay meadows. To this aim, we evaluated at the community level seven years of mulching application in a PCBs and HMs soil-polluted Site of National Interest (SIN Brescia-Caffaro) through the analysis of the floristic composition and the above- and below-ground plant traits. We found that the abandonment of agricultural activities led to a marked increase in the soil organic carbon and pH, and the over-imposed mulching additionally induced a slight increase in soil nutrients. Mulching favored the establishment of a productive plant community characterized by a more conservative-resource strategy, a higher biomass development, and lower plasticity through an adaptative convergence between above- and below-ground organs. In particular, the analysis of the root depth distribution highlighted the key role of roots living in the upper soil layer (10 cm). Mulching did not show a significant effect on plant species known to be effective in terms of PCB phytoremediation. However, the mulching application appears to be a promising tool for enhancing the root web that functions as the backbone for the proliferation of microbes devoted to organic contaminants' degradation and selects a two-fold number of plant species known to be metal-tolerant. However, besides these potential positive effects of the mulching application, favoring species with a higher biomass development, in the long term, may lead to a biodiversity reduction and thus to potential consequences also on the diversity of native species important for the phytoremediation

Fine-root morphological traits may improve understanding of the vulnerability of Fagus sylvatica natural forests to late-fall unusual wildfire

Extraordinary changes in alpine fire regimes have been often associated with heat waves, which are generally regarded as an indication of a changing climate that will lead to new fire regimes in the Alps. Fine roots function of absorbing water and nutrients is crucial to plant survival and their traits such as biomass, length, specific root length, production, death, and decomposition can inform how trees interact with their environments and provide ecological functions in response to exogenous stresses. After an unusual, late-fall wildfire in a European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest in the pre-Alps of northern Italy, the response of fine roots (< 2 mm diameter) was analysed and appeared more evident when fine roots were further subdivided by diameter size and soil depth. The finest roots (0‒0.3 mm diameter) were generally the most responsive to fire, with the effect more pronounced at the shallowest soil depth. While roots 0.3‒1 mm in diameter had their length and biomass at the shallowest soil depth reduced by fire, fire stimulated more length and biomass at the deepest soil depth compared to the control. Fire elevated the total length of dead roots and their biomass immediately and this result persisted through the first spring, after which control and fire-impacted trees had similar fine root turnover. Our results add to the paucity of data concerning fire impacts on beech roots in a natural condition and provide the basis for understanding fine-root morphological traits approach to assess plant species vulnerability and resilience to unusual fire occurrence due to climate changes. Changes in disturbance regimes might be most realized by distribution of the finest of fine roots at differing soil depths, and the dynamics of these roots may provide the most resilience to disturbance

Unusual late-fall wildfire in a pre-Alpine Fagus sylvatica forest reduced fine roots in the shallower soil layer and shifted very fine-root growth to deeper soil depth

: After an unusual, late-fall wildfire in a European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest in the pre-Alps of northern Italy, the finest roots (0‒0.3 mm diameter) were generally the most responsive to fire, with the effect more pronounced at the shallowest soil depth. While roots 0.3‒1 mm in diameter had their length and biomass at the shallowest soil depth reduced by fire, fire stimulated more length and biomass at the deepest soil depth compared to the control. Fire elevated the total length of dead roots and their biomass immediately and this result persisted through the first spring, after which control and fire-impacted trees had similar fine root turnover. Our results unveiled the fine-root response to fire when subdivided by diameter size and soil depth, adding to the paucity of data concerning fire impacts on beech roots in a natural condition and providing the basis for understanding unusual fire occurrence on root traits. This study suggests that F. sylvatica trees can adapt to wildfire by plastically changing the distribution of fine-root growth, indicating a resilience mechanism to disturbance

Plant Growth in LED-Sourced Biophilic Environments Is Improved by the Biochar Amendment of Low-Fertility Soil, the Reflection of Low-Intensity Light, and a Continuous Photoperiod

Introducing plants in the design of biophilic indoor environments is fundamental for improving human health, well-being, and performance. Previous studies showed that the phenotype of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana grown under LED-sourced CoeLux® lighting systems was characterized by low biomass production rates, a small leaf area, and a low lamina-to-petiole length ratio, suggesting the onset of a strong shade avoidance syndrome. Therefore, it is essential to identify new strategies to improve plant growth under these peculiar light conditions. In the present work, we investigated the effects of two growing media (i.e., low-fertility soil and soil-less substrate), solid and liquid fertilizers, manure, biochar, perlite, mirror reflection of light, and a 24 h photoperiod on A. thaliana plants growing under CoeLux® lighting systems at a light intensity of 30 μmol m−2s−1. We found that the biochar soil amendment to low-fertility soil increases both the above-ground plant biomass and leaf area. Furthermore, the application of a mirror behind the plants and a continuous photoperiod improves not only the biomass and the leaf area but also the lamina-to-petiole length ratio. The combination of different beneficial treatments can further boost plant growth in the low-intensity light environment characterizing the CoeLux® biophilic lighting systems

DataSheet_1_Mulching in lowland hay meadows drives an adaptive convergence of above- and below-ground traits reducing plasticity and improving biomass: A possible tool for enhancing phytoremediation.docx

We aimed to understand the effect of mulching (i.e., cutting and leaving the crushed biomass to decompose in situ) on above- and below-ground plant functional traits and whether this practice may be a potential tool for enhancing the phytoremediation of lowland hay meadows. To this aim, we evaluated at the community level seven years of mulching application in a PCBs and HMs soil-polluted Site of National Interest (SIN Brescia-Caffaro) through the analysis of the floristic composition and the above- and below-ground plant traits. We found that the abandonment of agricultural activities led to a marked increase in the soil organic carbon and pH, and the over-imposed mulching additionally induced a slight increase in soil nutrients. Mulching favored the establishment of a productive plant community characterized by a more conservative-resource strategy, a higher biomass development, and lower plasticity through an adaptative convergence between above- and below-ground organs. In particular, the analysis of the root depth distribution highlighted the key role of roots living in the upper soil layer (10 cm). Mulching did not show a significant effect on plant species known to be effective in terms of PCB phytoremediation. However, the mulching application appears to be a promising tool for enhancing the root web that functions as the backbone for the proliferation of microbes devoted to organic contaminants’ degradation and selects a two-fold number of plant species known to be metal-tolerant. However, besides these potential positive effects of the mulching application, favoring species with a higher biomass development, in the long term, may lead to a biodiversity reduction and thus to potential consequences also on the diversity of native species important for the phytoremediation.</p