Essay On Allelopathy

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Introduction
Allelopathy is when one plant causes a deleterious effect on another plant through the escape of allelopathic chemicals. Allelopathy can be used for protection from infections of fungal or bacterial organism, and/or can be a form of competition. Moreover, this form of competition could be used for succession or resource management. In this laboratory experiment, wheat (Triticum sp.) seeds were exposed to extracts from four plant species to determine whether or not these species processes inhibitors of growth. The extracts were from goldenrod (Solidago sp.), aspen (Populus tremuloides), black cherry (Prunus serotina), and aster (Aster novae-angliae). The quaking aspen is a deciduous tree native to North America. Aspens have shallow root systems, the ability to survive long term flooding, and formation of clones connected through root systems (USDA Forest Service “Species: Populus tremuloides”). Black cherry are widely distributed throughout the Eastern United States, can grow on wide variety of soils except for very wet and very dry soils, can grow on strongly acidic soils, can consist of multiple seedlings that germinate within the vicinity of the parent tree, are intolerant of shade, are considered intolerable of competition, and regeneration can have interference from certain herbaceous plants through allelopathic chemicals. For instance, Solidago rugosa release chemicals from leaves or roots that inhibit cherry succession. It has been suggested that black cherry may interfere with other tree species regeneration, such as red maple (Marquis “Black Cherry”). New England Asters grow in moist environment and have a wide distribution in North America (Nesom “New England Aster: Symphyotrichum navaeangliae”). Goldenrods ...

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...eld observation and laboratory experiment to determine whether or not allelopathy was the factor contributing toward succession in abandoned agriculture land. The researchers conducted laboratory bioassays and compared the results to the field. Looking at leaf extracts, long term successional data, germination rates in the lab, and field observations to conclude that goldenrod succession was not due to allelopathic effects. Furthermore, the inhibitor chemicals have more of an impact in control settings and not in the field, which was within their native range. Their theory was that soil organisms metabolized the allelochemicals in such a rapid manner that the concentrations decreased and effects minimized. On another note, allelopathy has been shown in other studies to have contributed toward invasiveness for Solidago Canadensis in Europe (Pisula & Meiners 2010).

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