Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
3.1.2.3
Root biomass and production
Root biomass is always very high, with average values ranging from 0.9 Mg dry wt
in dry savannas to maximum values of up to 100 Mg
in temperate and tropical
forests (Figure III.15).
Roots generally account for 40 to 85 % of primary production in temperate ecosystems
(Fogel, 1985) and 16 to 68 % in tropical savannas and grasslands (Scholes, unp. data)
(Table III.8). In high-input annual crops, root production is relatively low (
e.g.,
104 g
and 16 % in a fertilised plot of Barley as compared to 150 g and 21.5 % in an
unfertilised adjacent plot in southern Sweden (Hansson
et al.,
1987). Perennial grass leys
have proportionally higher production of respectively 460 g and 31.4 %, and 480 and
30.4 % in a grass and a lucerne ley in the same locality (Andren
et al.,
1990).
