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Effects of soil improvements on growth adaptability of Lolium perenne in diesel-polluted soil
Received:June 06, 2017  
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KeyWord:Lolium perenne;diesel polluted soil;N/P ratio;soil improvements
Author NameAffiliationE-mail
ZHAO Xuan College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China  
HE Xing-dong College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China xingd@nankai.edu.cn 
ZHANG Jing-lei College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China  
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Abstract:
      Crude oil contaminates can inhibit plant growth, which is largely due to the limitation of nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P) absorption by plants to consequently affect the N/P ratio in the tissues. In general, a greater N/P ratio will result in lower plant biomass and height; however, the relationship between plant growth and the N/P ratio under a condition of crude oil contamination may not be in concordance with the normal condition. In the present study, the growth adaptability of Lolium perenne seedlings to diesel-polluted soil was explored in a single-factor pot experiment with diesel application. The effect of soil improvements on the growth of L. perenne seedlings under 0.9% diesel-polluted soil was investigated in a three-factor orthogonal experiment with sawdust, ammonium nitrate, and monopotassium phosphate. We investigated the growth status of the seedlings and determined the concentrations of N and P in the seedlings. The results showed that plant height, and the above-and below-ground biomass of L. perenne seedlings grown under the 0.9% diesel concentration were respectively 58.87%, 98.07%, and 91.23% lower than those observed in the no-diesel control. The N concentration and N/P ratios in the leaves and roots were also decreased significantly in the diesel condition. In the 0.9% diesel-polluted soil, the plant height and above-ground biomass of L. perenne seedlings were respectively 27.48% and 24.70% greater when grown with a 10% volume fraction of sawdust compared with the no-sawdust control. The N concentration and N/P ratios in the leaves also increased significantly with sawdust. Thus, the addition of a 10% volume fraction of sawdust could significantly increase the growth adaptability of L. perenne seedlings growing under a condition of 0.9% diesel-polluted soil. In addition, these results demonstrated that the changes of N/P ratios in plants growing in diesel-polluted soil was a major reason for the suppression of plant growth.