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Research ArticleArticles

Interactions Between Trees and Ground Covers

Steve Shoup and Carl E. Whitcomb
Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF) July 1981, 7 (7) 186-187; DOI: https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.1981.045
Steve Shoup
Department of Horticulture, Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma
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Carl E. Whitcomb
Department of Horticulture, Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma
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The popularity of ground covers continues to increase. With the exception of some general observations, there have been few, if any, studies to determine if there are beneficial relationships that could be exploited between specific ground covers and trees. In addition to determining what ground cover will grow best beneath a particular tree species, it seems plausible that some ground covers might aid in the establishment and growth of a tree if the two are planted at the same time.

Methods

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In this study cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and silver maple (Acer saccharinum) were used to study their interaction with ground covers. We obtained 6-8 ft. (2-2.7 m) bareroot trees with at least 4 roots and grew them using the connecting pot technique developed by Whitcomb et al. (1).

Trees were planted on March 17, 1978 in 18.9 L (5 gal.) poly bags with 4 root tips extending outside the bag and into the drainhole of 3.8 L (1 gal) plastic containers. Ground covers were planted into 3 of the 4 smaller containers. The remaining small container was kept free of ground covers and weeds and was used as a control. Additional small containers were planted to ground covers without the presence of tree roots to also serve as controls. All treatments were replicated 6 times in a randomized complete block design.

The growing medium consisted of ground pine bark, peat and sand in a 2:1:1 ratio amended with slow release fertilizers suitable for good plant growth. The ground covers were dwarf bamboo, Sasa pigmaea, planted April 14, 2 liners/pot, liriope, Liriope muscari, planted March 27, 3 liners/pot, and English ivy, Hedra helix, planted March 24, 2 liners/pot. The growth of the ground covers was evaluated by measuring length of new growth and top and root weights when the study was terminated in late October, 1978. The competition effect on the trees was evaluated by weight of root development in the small containers with or without ground cover.

Results and Discussion

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Roots of cottonwood trees reduced English ivy top and root weight by 44% and 60% and liriope top and root weight by 38% and 32% (Table 1). By contrast, dwarf bamboo top weight was not affected but root weight was reduced 20% by presence of cottonwood roots.

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Table 1.

Effects of cottonwood and silver maple roots on growth of ground covers.

Roots of silver maple trees had no effect on top and root weight of English ivy or liriope, however, liriope tuber production increased 28% when the silver maple roots were present (Table 1). By contrast, dwarf bamboo top and root weight and number of rhizomes were reduced 0, 43 and 50%, respectively, when silver maple roots were present.

The contrasting roles of the two tree species is intriguing. Both tree species are vigorous growers with fibrous root systems, yet cottonwood roots depressed the growth of English ivy and liriope but had no effect on dwarf bamboo while silver maple reduced the growth of dwarf bamboo but had no effect on English ivy and liriope.

It is also interesting to note the effect of the ground covers on root development of the trees. Cottonwood root development was reduced 32% by English ivy, 19% by liriope and 24% by dwarf bamboo, while silver maple roots were reduced 64, 49 and 0% by the English ivy, liriope and dwarf bamboo respectively (Table 2). The fact that both cottonwood roots and ground cover development were reduced to varying degrees by the presence of the other suggests a difference between the compatibility and competitiveness of some species. This is further supported by the dramatic reduction of silver maple root weight by the English ivy while English ivy growth was not affected by the silver maple. The reverse occurred with the dwarf bamboo in that the silver maple suppressed the dwarf bamboo but the bamboo did not restrict root development of the silver maple.

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Table 2.

Root growth of trees with and without ground covers.

It remains to be seen how other tree-ground cover combinations will perform. Whatever the outcome, much can be gained from further studies to aid our understanding of the complex relationships that exist between two plants in close association in the landscape.

Footnotes

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  • ↵1 Journal Series #3843 of the Oklahoma Agriculture Experiment Station

  • ↵2 Graduate Student and Professor of Horticulture, respectively.

  • © 1981, International Society of Arboriculture. All rights reserved.

Literature Cited

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  1. 1.↵
    1. Whitcomb, Carl E.,
    2. Eliot C. Roberts and
    3. Roger Q. Landers
    . 1969. A connecting pot technique for root competition investigations between woody plants or between woody and herbaceous plants. Ecology 50:326-329.
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Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF)
Vol. 7, Issue 7
July 1981
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Interactions Between Trees and Ground Covers
Steve Shoup, Carl E. Whitcomb
Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF) Jul 1981, 7 (7) 186-187; DOI: 10.48044/jauf.1981.045

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Interactions Between Trees and Ground Covers
Steve Shoup, Carl E. Whitcomb
Arboriculture & Urban Forestry (AUF) Jul 1981, 7 (7) 186-187; DOI: 10.48044/jauf.1981.045
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