{{menu_nowledge_desc}}.

CIFOR–ICRAF publishes over 750 publications every year on agroforestry, forests and climate change, landscape restoration, rights, forest policy and much more – in multiple languages.

CIFOR–ICRAF addresses local challenges and opportunities while providing solutions to global problems for forests, landscapes, people and the planet.

We deliver actionable evidence and solutions to transform how land is used and how food is produced: conserving and restoring ecosystems, responding to the global climate, malnutrition, biodiversity and desertification crises. In short, improving people’s lives.

Structural root form and fine root distribution of some woody species evaluated for agroforestry systems

Export citation

Fine root distribution and structural root characteristics of four-years-old multipurpose woody species with potential for use in agroforestry systems were investigated on an Alfisol in the forest savanna transition zone of south-western Nigeria. Rooting patterns of woody species studied differed considerably. Lonchocarpus sericeus had the lowest percentage (21%) of total fine roots confined to the upper (0 to 30 cm) soil layer, compared to 84% with Tetrapleura tetraptera. Despite the superior tap root system of Enterolobium cyclocarpum and the fine root form of Nauchlea latifolia however, their extensive distribution and very large lateral woody root volume density may pose a major problem for seedbed preparation and tillage operations in simultaneous agroforestry systems. Lonchocarpus sericeus appears to have the most desirable structural and fine root architecture among the species studied for simultaneous agroforestry systems. The total root density below the underlying distal soil layers was linearly related to the sum of square of tap root diameter and the corresponding soil depths.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006178002019
Altmetric score:
Dimensions Citation Count:

Related publications