Work

This article series is a new comprehensive study that was performed at the crossroads of ecology, soil science and plant physiology. It presents the results of long-term research in controlled ecosystems and in situ conditions. The significant differences in plant development at different levels of ontogenesis were discovered. For epiphytic plants the ratio of the above-ground and underground part equals to one, for terrestrial plants and lianas this ratio is less than one. It has been proved that the distribution of monosaccharides and disaccharides, free amino acids, biogenic elements and photosynthetic pigments can serve as a diagnostic indicator when determining a plant`s ecomorphotype. It has been suggested to use allometric index and allometric function of growth for analysis of exogenous factors impact on growth processes in plants of different ecomorphotypes. The analysis of results has showed expediency of application of natural silicon-based minerals, organic acids and mineral fertilizers for intensification of physiological and biochemical processes as well as enhancement of productivity and decorative characteristics of plants belonging to different ecomorphotypes under controlled conditions. The concentrations of natural minerals which stimulate root and stem development of different life forms have been determined. It was found that deforestation (devegetation) leads to a decrease in SOM content, especially in its labile (water-soluble and easily oxidized) fractions, which was accompanied by a significant decrease in C-mineralization potential and environmental protection capacity of SOM. Experimentally-simulated global warming showed that emission rates of CO2 from soils decrease with the increase in anthropogenic pressure. Deforestation-associated reduction in temperature tolerance (Q10) of forest soils indicates the existence of compensatory mechanisms that maintain the balance of carbon in soil-plant-atmosphere system, according to the principle of negative feedback. The analysis of the differences in the responses of alfalfa inoculated and uninoculated with high-effective strain Sinorhizobium meliloti 441 to the impact of clinorotation and a permanently inverted orientation was performed. Several indices have appeared to be the most expressive in response of the symbiotic system to clinorotation and a permanently inverted orientation impact. Thus, nitrogenase activity in 30-day-old plants set with the following ascending order: clinorotation