Influence of water conditions on growth and mineral nutrient uptake of native plants on clacareous soil

Sammanfattning: The studies presented in Papers I to IV illustrate the importance of soil moisture in soil solution chemistry and response of native plants to the changes induced by change in moisture regime. With the help of glasshouse experiments I tried to study the influence of different treatments of soil moisture conditions on the mineral uptake by native plants of calcareous soil. I also tried to find the correlation between response of the studied species to soil moisture and their field conditions on Öland. Change in moisture level in the soil influenced plant nutrition, which was relevant both in the field and in the greenhouse. I studied different soil moisture conditions held at constant level and also wet/dry fluctuations. Soil moisture had a profound effect on pH and concentrations of several ions like HCO3, Ca, Mg, K, P, Mn, Zn. Soil moisture affects mineral uptake directly by changing soil solution concentrations of certain ions, such as Ca, Mg, K, or indirectly by changing pH and HCO3. Bicarbonate and pH increased with increasing soil moisture, being closely correlated to each other. I observed increase in solubility of P and Mn with increasing moisture level, elements that are considered as limiting factors on calcareous soil. Zinc concentration in soil solution was adversely affected by increasing soil moisture. It is concluded that variation in soil moisture can influence the distribution of dry and wet growing species by affecting soil solution chemistry. Plants responded more or less according to their field conditions. The studies presented in my thesis indicated that soil moisture plays an important role, influencing soil solution chemistry and nutrient uptake by plants.