Methods - Biomass allocation of three sandhills grasses with spatially different nutrient regimes

Three sandhills grasses (A. virginicus, A. stricta, and S. elliottii) were planted in the center of pots filled with sand. Pots were spiked yearly with four or eight fertilizer sticks placed in either a homogenous spatial pattern (E4, E8 treatments) or a heterogenous pattern in two quarters of the pot perimeter (C4, C8 treatments; Figure 1). Plants were harvested after two years. Shoots were clipped at the shoot-root interface. Roots were separated by quad. Shoots and roots were dried and weighed. Biomass data were analyzed using one-way and two-way ANOVA with contrasts between high and low nutrient levels and between heterogenous and homogenous treatments within each nutrient level; we present least-square means ± the standard error.

Figure 1: Schematic design of experiment showing placement of plant and fertilizer sticks within pot


		Biomass allocation of three sandhills grasses with spatially different nutrient regimes
		Teresa L. Hock and Beverly Collins Methods
		Three sandhills grasses (A. virginicus, A. stricta, and S. elliottii) were planted in the center of pots filled with sand. Pots were spiked yearly with four or eight fertilizer sticks placed in either a homogenous spatial pattern (E4, E8 treatments) or a heterogenous pattern in two quarters of the pot perimeter (C4, C8 treatments; Figure 1). Plants were harvested after two years. Shoots were clipped at the shoot-root interface. Roots were separated by quad. Shoots and roots were dried and weighed. Biomass data were analyzed using one-way and two-way ANOVA with contrasts between high and low nutrient levels and between heterogenous and homogenous treatments within each nutrient level; we present least-square means ± the standard error. Figure 1: Schematic design of experiment showing placement of plant and fertilizer sticks within pot

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