Ecological Studies of Root Architecture in the Herbaceous Perennial Cryptantha Flava

研究将集中在发生在一个 根的三维分枝结构中的物种 架构，并确定变化的程度 基因控制的或由环境因素引起的。 在 未来，根结构特征之间的关系 和根函数将被探讨，以确定的重要性， 特别是根结构的整体性能 厂 研究物种是草本多年生隐花属 黄紫草（紫草科），出现在非常桑迪土壤中， 犹他州东部和邻近州部分地区的半沙漠地区。 由于从土壤中提取根的固有困难， 根构型的定量描述和根构型的研究 根的分枝构型与根 功能几乎没有开发。 这些信息对于 了解植物如何吸收土壤养分和水分。 根结构应该特别重要 在沙漠系统中，土壤资源，而不是 可利用的阳光，限制植物生长。 选择的物种是 适合这些研究，因为基本的分支模式 它的根很容易量化，因为几乎整个根 可从桑迪土壤中提取。 研究结果可以 (1)帮助解释植物的分布和性能 不同土壤类型的物种和（2）贡献 对农作物的发展很重要的信息， 耐干旱或低养分土壤的植物。

Research will focus on variation that occurs within a species in three-dimensional branching structure of root architecture and determine the extent to which the variation is genetically controlled or results from environmental factors. In the future, the relationship between root architectural traits and root function will be explored to determine the importance of particular root structure to the overall performance of the plant. The study species is the herbaceous perennial Cryptantha flava (Boraginaceae) which occurs in very sandy soils throughout semi-desert regions of eastern Utah and parts of adjacent states. Because of the inherent difficulty of extracting roots from soil, quantitative descriptions of root architecture and studies of the relationship between the branching architecture of roots and root function are virtually undeveloped. Such information is basic to understanding how plants capture soil nutrients and water. Root structure should have particularly important consequences in desert systems where soil resources, rather than available sunlight, limit plant growth. The species selected is amenable for these studies because the basic branching pattern of its roots is easily quantified and because nearly entire roots can be extracted from the sandy soil. Results of the study could (1) help explain the distribution and performance of plant species across different soil types and (2) contribute information important to the development of crops--particularly those tolerant to drought or low nutrient soils.