TY - CONF A1 - Mantovani, Dario A1 - Veste, Maik A1 - Boldt-Burisch, Katja A1 - Fritsch, Simone A2 - Jeltsch, Florian A2 - Joshi, Jasmin T1 - Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) root growth response to different irrigation regimes T2 - GfÖ 43rd Annual Meeting, Building bridges in ecology, linking systems, scales and disciplines, September 9 to 13, 2013, Potsdam, Germany N2 - Robinia pseudoacacia L. is a pioneer tree species native from North America. Its original range is a climatic region classified as humid to sub-humid, with a mean annual precipitation of 1020 to 1830 mm. However, it grows under a wide range of edaphic and climatic conditions and the species has proven to be relatively drought tolerant. In central Europe, with a continental climate, the species has been successfully cropped for biomass production also on marginal land, even in post-­‐mining areas characterized by water limitation and harsh edaphic conditions. Due its drought tolerance, fast resprouting rate and its ability to live in symbiosis with Rhizobia and thus fix atmospheric nitrogen, black locust could become a key species for short-­‐rotation plantation on marginal land. Several studies have been already carried out to quantify the black locust above ground production and its water use efficiency. However, the relation between the black locust biomass allocation, root system development and plant water use has still to be examined. In our study we evaluated the drought stress effect on black locust below ground biomass production, root distribution, and the root and rhizobial association. Different irrigation regimes were chosen to test the plant’s performance in a lysimeter experiment, under semi-­‐controlled environmental conditions, for the duration of two vegetation periods. From the results obtained we determined the root biomass allocation under different irrigation regimes and identified the close relation between the soil water condition and the rhizobial association. Y1 - 2013 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-UBICO/frontdoor/index/index/docId/9394 UR - http://www.gfoe-2013.de/download/130905_GFOe_2013_Abstracts.small.pdf SP - 33 EP - 34 ER -