Effect of soil aeration treatment on the physiological and biochemical characteristics of Phyllostachys praecox under the organic material mulching

Aims Phyllostachys praecox is one of the bamboo species that cultivated extensively in southern China. An organic material mulching technique is commonly adopted in winter to increase the yield of bamboo shoots and profits. However, P. praecox is inevitable to be declined when using the technique continuously. Accordingly, we conducted an aeration study to explore the mechanism of the bamboo recession. Methods P. praecox were subjected to mulching and aeration treatments for 50 days, antioxidant enzymes, anaerobic respiratory metabolizing enzymes, and photosynthesis characteristics were investigated in root and leaf tissues. Results The mulching treatment led to bamboo hypoxia stress, while the aeration improved bamboo growth. Compared with mulching treatment, the aeration treatment significantly increased the soil oxygen content. Aeration treatment led to increases in the bamboo root respiratory activity by 19.74%, but decreased ADH, LDH, PDC, SOD, CAT, APX, GR activities by 64.98%, 36.58%, 57.78%, 21.57%, 33.33%, 22.60%, and 32.06%, respectively. Moreover, the aeration treatment greatly enhanced chlorophyll synthesis and improved bamboo photosynthesis. Conclusions Soil hypoxia induced by the organic material mulching inhibited bamboo growth, which might be the critical factor in the bamboo recession. Our results indicated aeration was conducive to preventing the degeneration of the P. praecox bamboo forest.