The effect of soil compaction on growth and P uptake by Trifolium subterraneum: interactions with mycorrhizal colonisation

Abstract

The effects of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) colonisation on phosphorus (P) uptake and growth of clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) in response to soil compaction were studied in three pot experiments. P uptake and growth of the plants decreased as the bulk density of the soil increased from 1.0 to 1.6 Mg m⁻³. The strongest effects of soil compaction on P uptake and plant growth were observed at the highest P application (60 mg kg⁻¹ soil). The main observation of this study was that at low P application (15 mg kg⁻¹ soil), P uptake and shoot dry weight of the plants colonised by Glomus intraradices were greater than those of non-mycorrhizal plants at similar levels of compaction of the soil. However, the mycorrhizal growth response decreased proportionately as soil compaction was increased. Decreased total P uptake and shoot dry weight of mycorrhizal clover in compacted soil were attributed to the reduction in the root length. Soil compaction had no significant effect on the percentage of root length colonised. However, total root length colonised was lower (6.6 m pot⁻¹) in highly compacted soil than in slightly compacted soil (27.8 m pot⁻¹). The oxygen content of the soil atmosphere measured shortly before the plants were harvested varied from 0.18 m³m⁻³ in slightly compacted soil (1.0 Mg m⁻³) to 0.10 m³m⁻³ in highly compacted soil (1.6 Mg m⁻³).