#53 - Nov 2021 - Garden Stuff - © Sandy Lang - slang@xtra.co.nz
FACILITATION September: Early spring. Buy new shrubs asap, plant out by end September.
Forests: You might guess plants in a dense forest are engaged in a life/death struggle for a limited energy resource - sunlight. A struggle between plants of the same species and also between different species. But your guess is wrong…
Roots: Almost half of every green plant is belowground. In this mysterious nether world, you might guess the roots are engaged in a life/death struggle to be first to discover and exploit the soil’s scant resources of water and minerals. But this guess is wrong too…
Patchy: Soil is very patchy, with big differences in the availability of soil water and soil minerals from place to place. The patchiness is both horizontal and vertical, with water-rich and mineral-rich patches well spaced-out among a lot of rocks. You might guess it’s a matter of luck a seed should fall in a good spot and so survive. But this guess is wrong too…
Facilitative: Instead, analysis of natural plant communities shows interactions between plants are more often ‘facilitative’ (they help one another) than ‘competitive’ (they hinder one another). How is this…?
Mycorrhiza: The roots of around 90% of all plants are symbiotically associated with soil fungi – mycorrhiza. These mycorrhizal fungi, source their energy molecules (sugars) from their host plants. Meanwhile, mycorrhizal fungi are much better than plants at accessing tightly locked-up soil minerals and tiny packets of water held between fine soil particles. The mycorrhizae discover and absorb these, and then share them with their host trees. Google mycorrhiza wiki
Interconnected: Each tree may be associated with up to 15 different mycorrhizal species. Also, most mycorrhizal species associate with multiple plant species. Hence, the mycorrhizae and plants of a forest are better thought of as one vast interconnected living organism, which shares its sugars, minerals and water among all participants.
Hydraulic lift: Most roots are quite shallow (5-40 cm) - even of large trees. But a few go down much deeper (2+ m). These pull up water from deep down and share it all around. Google hydraulic redistribution wiki
Community: A highly connected community of cooperating plants and fungi does much better than a whole lot of plants engaged in deadly competition. ___________________________________
FACILITATION September: Early spring. Buy new shrubs asap, plant out by end September.
Forests: You might guess plants in a dense forest are engaged in a life/death struggle for a limited energy resource - sunlight. A struggle between plants of the same species and also between different species. But your guess is wrong…
Roots: Almost half of every green plant is belowground. In this mysterious nether world, you might guess the roots are engaged in a life/death struggle to be first to discover and exploit the soil’s scant resources of water and minerals. But this guess is wrong too…
Patchy: Soil is very patchy, with big differences in the availability of soil water and soil minerals from place to place. The patchiness is both horizontal and vertical, with water-rich and mineral-rich patches well spaced-out among a lot of rocks. You might guess it’s a matter of luck a seed should fall in a good spot and so survive. But this guess is wrong too…
Facilitative: Instead, analysis of natural plant communities shows interactions between plants are more often ‘facilitative’ (they help one another) than ‘competitive’ (they hinder one another). How is this…?
Mycorrhiza: The roots of around 90% of all plants are symbiotically associated with soil fungi – mycorrhiza. These mycorrhizal fungi, source their energy molecules (sugars) from their host plants. Meanwhile, mycorrhizal fungi are much better than plants at accessing tightly locked-up soil minerals and tiny packets of water held between fine soil particles. The mycorrhizae discover and absorb these, and then share them with their host trees. Google mycorrhiza wiki
Interconnected: Each tree may be associated with up to 15 different mycorrhizal species. Also, most mycorrhizal species associate with multiple plant species. Hence, the mycorrhizae and plants of a forest are better thought of as one vast interconnected living organism, which shares its sugars, minerals and water among all participants.
Hydraulic lift: Most roots are quite shallow (5-40 cm) - even of large trees. But a few go down much deeper (2+ m). These pull up water from deep down and share it all around. Google hydraulic redistribution wiki
Community: A highly connected community of cooperating plants and fungi does much better than a whole lot of plants engaged in deadly competition. ___________________________________