Fertilization with urea, ammonium and nitrate produce different effects on growth, hydraulic traits and drought tolerance in <i>Pinus taeda</i> seedlings

Urea fertilization decreases <i>Pinus taeda</i> L. growth in clay soils of subtropical areas. The negative effect of urea is related to changes in some hydraulic traits, similar to those observed in plants growing under drought. The aims of this work were (i) to determine whether differe...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Faustino, Laura Inés, Moretti, Ana Paula, Graciano, Corina
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:Argentina
Recursos:Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Repositorio:SEDICI (UNLP)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:sedici.unlp.edu.ar:10915/86013
Acesso em linha:http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/86013
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Ciencias Agrarias
Ciencias Naturales
Allocation
Dry weight
Fertilizer
Hydraulic conductance
Hydraulic conductivity
Nitrogen
Descrição
Resumo:Urea fertilization decreases <i>Pinus taeda</i> L. growth in clay soils of subtropical areas. The negative effect of urea is related to changes in some hydraulic traits, similar to those observed in plants growing under drought. The aims of this work were (i) to determine whether different sources of nitrogen applied as fertilizers produce similar changes in growth and hydraulic traits to those observed by urea fertilization and (ii) to analyze the impact of those changes in plant drought tolerance. Plants fertilized with urea, nitrate (NO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>-</SUP>) or ammonium (NH<SUB>4</SUB><SUP>+</SUP>) were grown well watered or with reduced water supply. Urea and NO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>-</SUP> fertilization reduced plant growth and increased root hydraulic conductance scaled by root dry weight (DW). NH<SUB>4</SUB><SUP>+</SUP> fertilization did not reduce plant growth and increased shoot hydraulic conductance and stem hydraulic conductivity. We conclude that NO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>-</SUP> is the ion involved in the changes linked to the negative effect of urea fertilization on P. taeda growth. NH<SUB>4</SUB><SUP>+</SUP> fertilization does not change drought susceptibility and it produces changes in shoot hydraulic traits, therefore plants avoid the depressive effect of fertilization. Urea and NO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>-</SUP> fertilizers induce changes in DW and root hydraulic conductance and consequently plants are less affected by drought.