Erica arborea

Erica arborea, leaves Salicylic acid, scopoletin, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde 78... 

ROLE OF THE ROOTS OF ERICA ARBOREA L. IN THE GENESIS OF ACID SOIL FROM ALKALINE MARINE SEDIMENTS... 

The extent of the area with acid soil was assessed by auger holes and control profiles. In the area, two profiles at 12 m from each other were opened to about 40 cm from a stem of Erica arborea. The soil description according to the... 

Morphological description of the soil under Erica arborea from Selva di Galhgnano (Ancona, Italy). For symbols see legend... 

Vegetation Quercus cerris L., Fraxinus omus L., Sorbus torminalis (L.) Crantz, Ostrya carpinifolia Scop., Acer campestre L. Understory Erica arborea L., Juniperus communis L., Lonicera xylosteum L., Lonicera caprifolium L., Cyclamen repandum S.S., Ruscus aculeatus L., Smilax aspera L., Rubia peregrina L., Festuca heterophylla Lam. 

Particle-size distribution, values of pH in water and KCl, and differences (A) between pH values of the soil under Erica arborea from the Selva di Gallignano (Ancona, Italy). Numbers in parentheses are the standard errors... 

With respect to the survival of Erica arborea, acidification of a soil mass (Bw, 2Bwl and 2Bw2 horizons) containing clay from about 25 to 50% and silt from about 35 to 60%, to a pHj Q of around 3.8, appeared to have required more than the 20 0 years of age that the plants actually showed. Consequently, we hypothesized that the Erica plants became established in this soil many years ago (probably centuries), and that they had passed through periods of abundance and of decline, during which, even at different intensities, they had continuously acidified the soil. 

In the case of Erica arborea, which is an acidophilic species, the colonization of an alkaline soil derived from marine sediments had been so efficient that it had converted to acid conditions a mass of soil to about 60 cm in depth. As indicated by the absence of differences between the two soil compartments of this soil thickness, the process of acidification was able to transform all the bulk soil into rhizosphere soil. Indeed, Erica roots are now colonizing the horizon underneath, where dissolution of carbonates has already been accomplished, but where the bulk is still less acidic than the rhizosphere soil. At greater depths, carbonates persist and roots of Erica are rare. 

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