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Characterizing root nitrogen uptake of wheat to simulate soil nitrogen dynamics

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Abstract

Background and aims

Michaelis-Menten (MM) kinetics and a physical–mathematical (PM) model are the popular approaches to describe root N uptake (RNU). This study aimed to examine RNU and compare the two model approaches.

Methods

A hydroponic experiment (Exp.1) investigated the effects of root length, root N mass, transpiration, plant age and solution N concentration on RNU of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Jingdong 8). The two models were applied to simulate the RNU and soil N dynamics in a soil–wheat system (Exp.2), and the results were compared to the measured data.

Results

Under the hydroponic conditions, RNU was better correlated with root N mass and transpiration than root length. The influences of solution N concentration on RNU rate per root length (MM1) and RNU rate per root N mass (MM2) were described well with MM kinetics. The kinetic parameters for MM1 changed with plant age but the parameters for MM2 were not age dependant. The description of RNU with the PM model was also independent of plant age, and was more reliable when the RNU factor decreased as a power function with the solution N concentration (PM2) than an assumed constant (PM1). In Exp.2, the root mean squared errors between the simulated and measured soil solution N concentration and the relative errors between the simulated and measured N uptake mass for MM kinetics were much larger than those for the PM model.

Conclusions

Both the MM and PM models successfully described RNU under the hydroponic conditions, but the PM model (especially PM2) was more reliable than the MM model in the soil–wheat system.

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Abbreviations

DAP:

Days after planting

ET:

Evapotranspiration

EP:

Evaporation

TP:

Transpiration

HWHN:

High water and high N supply

HWLN:

High water and low N supply

LWHN:

Low water and high N supply

LWLN:

Low water and low N supply

MM:

Michaelis-Menten

PM:

Physical–mathematical

RL:

Root length

RNM:

Root N mass

RNU:

Root N uptake

RWU:

Root water uptake

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported partly by the Non-profit Industry Financial Program of MWR, China (200901083) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (50809071). This study was partially completed while Jianchu Shi was visiting the Gilat Research Center of Israel’s Agricultural Research Organization. We thank the Agricultural Research Organization/China Scholarship Council Joint Scholarship Scheme for this opportunity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil and Water Sciences, College of Resources and Environment, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China

    Jianchu Shi & Qiang Zuo

  2. Key Laboratory of Plant–Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100193, China

    Jianchu Shi & Qiang Zuo

  3. Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (North China), Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, 100193, China

    Jianchu Shi & Qiang Zuo

  4. College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Lichun Wang

  5. Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Gilat Research Center, mobile post Negev, 85280, Israel

    Alon Ben-Gal & Uri Yermiyahu

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  1. Jianchu Shi
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  2. Alon Ben-Gal
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  3. Uri Yermiyahu
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  5. Qiang Zuo
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Correspondence to Qiang Zuo.

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Responsible Editor: Ad C. Borstlap.

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Shi, J., Ben-Gal, A., Yermiyahu, U. et al. Characterizing root nitrogen uptake of wheat to simulate soil nitrogen dynamics. Plant Soil 363, 139–155 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-012-1299-z

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