Fine-root trait plasticity of beech (Fagus sylvatica) and spruce (Picea abies) forests on two contrasting soils

By M. Weemstra, F. Sterck, E. Visser, T. Kuyper, Leo Goudzwaard, L. Mommer. Plant and Soil, 2017

90 citations recorded by the source corpus.

AimThe fine roots of trees may show plastic responses to their resource environment. Several, contrasting hypotheses exist on this plasticity, but empirical evidence for these hypotheses is scattered. This study aims to enhance our understanding of tree root plasticity by examining intra-specific variation in fine-root mass and morphology, fine-root growth and decomposition, and associated mycorrhizal interactions in beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) forests on soils that differ in resource availability.MethodsWe measured the mass and morphological traits of fine roots (i.e. ≤ 2 mm diameter) sampled to 50 cm depth. Fine-root growth was measured with ingrowth cores, and fine-root decomposition with litter bags. Mycorrhizal fungal biomass was determined using ingrowth mesh bags.ResultsBoth tree species showed more than three times higher fine-root mass, and a ten-fold higher fine-root growth rate on sand than on clay, but no or marginal differences in overall fine-root morphology. Within the fine-root category however, beech stands had relatively more root length of their finest roots on clay than on sand. In the spruce stands, ectomycorrhizal mycelium biomass was larger on sand than on clay.ConclusionsIn temperate beech and spruce forests, fine-root mass and mycorrhizal fungal biomass, rather than fine-root morphology, are changed to ensure uptake under different soil resource conditions. Yet enhancing our mechanistic understanding of fine-root trait plasticity and how it affects tree growth requires more attention to fine-root dynamics, the functional diversity within the fine-roots, and mycorrhizal symbiosis as an important belowground uptake strategy.

Subfields: Global and Planetary Change, Mechanical Engineering, Nature and Landscape Conservation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f344ecfafb7b5062b8f011c2c333ceab6f53f2f8

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Global and Planetary Change

1. Alexia Stokes
2. C. Roumet
3. G. T. Freschet
4. M. Weemstra

In Mechanical Engineering

1. Alexia Stokes
2. C. Roumet
3. G. T. Freschet

In Nature and Landscape Conservation

1. C. Roumet
2. Alexia Stokes
3. G. T. Freschet
4. M. Weemstra
5. S. Lavorel
6. Peter B. Reich

Citations in the corpus

• Patterns in intraspecific variation in root traits are species‐specific along an elevation gradient (2020, background): “mass density (Hendriks et al., 2015; Weemstra et al., 2017), exudate composition (De Vries et al.”