Vertical fine-root distributions in five subalpine forest types shifts with soil properties across environmental gradien
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Vertical fine-root distributions in five subalpine forest types shifts with soil properties across environmental gradients Fang Lan Li & M. Luke McCormack & Xin Liu & Hui Hu & De Feng Feng & Wei Kai Bao
Received: 24 April 2020 / Accepted: 1 September 2020 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Aims Vertical fine-root distribution determines the potential for acquisition of resources throughout soil profiles; yet, variation among forest types and changes in vertical distribution with environments are poorly unResponsible Editor: Andrea Schnepf Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04706-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. X. Liu : H. Hu Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041 Sichuan, China e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] M. L. McCormack Center for Tree Science, The Morton Arboretum Lisle, IL 60532, USA D. F. Feng Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming 650224 Yunnan, China
Present Address: F. L. Li (*) : W. K. Bao (*) Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041 Sichuan, China e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected]
derstood. We examined vertical root distributions of different forest communities to determine how belowground strategies shift across different forest types and along edaphic gradients. Methods Specific root length and diameter of fine roots as well as fine-root biomass, length and area densities were measured in sequential soil layers at 10 cm depth increments across 118 forest plots representing five subalpine forest types. Results Evergreen forest types, including evergreen oaks, were more deeply rooted than birch forests. Differences in rooting depth were due to the dominant tree species identity, not to variations in shrub or herbaceous components. Within forest types, soil nutrients and physical properties contributed to shifts rooting depth but not root morphology. Conclusions Vertical distributions of fine roots represent critical inputs of plant carbon into soils as well as different capacities for the acquisition of soil resources. Our findings identify consistent patterns of rooting distributions among forest types that may be predictable based on more easily measured root and soil properties and can improve efforts to model rooting depth profiles in forest communities.
Keywords Community structure . Geographical location . Forest ecosystems . Rooting depth . Soil properties
Plant Soil
Introduction The ability of roots to explore and exploit the soil for nutrients and water is a key factor determining the rate of plant growth and productivity of terrestrial ecosystems (Vogt et al. 1996; Jackson et al. 1997; Ostonen et al. 2017; Wang et al. 2019). Further, the vertical position of
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