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Title: Climate, soil and plant functional types as drivers of global fine-root trait variation

Journal Article · · Journal of Ecology
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [4];  [1];  [5];  [2];  [1]; ORCiD logo [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11];  [12];  [13];  [14];  [15];  [16] more »;  [17];  [18];  [19];  [20];  [21];  [22];  [23];  [1] « less
  1. Univ. de Montpellier (France). Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive; Univ. Paul-Valery Montpellier (France)
  2. Kent State Univ., Kent, OH (United States). Dept. of Biological Sciences
  3. Jonah Ventures, Manhattan, KS (United States)
  4. Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN (United States). Dept. of Plant Biology
  5. Univ. de Montpellier (France). Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive; Univ. Paul-Valery Montpellier (France); Centre de recherche de Toulouse, Castanet-Tolosan Cedex (France)
  6. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Climate Change Science Inst. and Environmental Sciences Division
  7. Univ. of Rennes, Rennes (France). ECOBIO Unit
  8. US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)., Fort Collins, CO (United States). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Water Management Research Unit
  9. Vrije Univ., Amsterdam (Netherlands). Systems Ecology, Dept. of Ecological Sciences
  10. Hangzhou Normal Univ., Hangzhou (China). Key Lab. of Hangzhou City for Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, College of Life and Environmental Sciences
  11. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). Key Lab. of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Inst. of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research
  12. Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN (United States). Dept. of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
  13. Landcare Research, Lincoln (New Zealand)
  14. Univ. of Quebec, Montreal, QC (Canada). Dept. des sciences biologiques
  15. Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Graduate School of Agriculture
  16. Moscow State Lomonosov Univ., Moscow (Russia). Dept. of Geobotany
  17. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Clermont-Ferrand (France)
  18. Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN (United States). Dept. of Forest Resources; Western Sydney Univ., Penrith, NSW (Australia). Hawkesbury Inst. for the Environment
  19. Univ. de Cordoba (Spain). Area de Ecologia
  20. Norwegian Univ. of Science and Technology, Trondheim (Norway)
  21. Leiden Univ. (Netherlands). Conservation Biology Dept., Inst. of Environmental Sciences
  22. Western Sydney Univ., Penrith, NSW (Australia). Hawkesbury Inst. for the Environment
  23. Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Umea (Sweden). Dept. of Forest Ecology and Management
+ Show Author Affiliations

Summary Ecosystem functioning relies heavily on below‐ground processes, which are largely regulated by plant fine‐roots and their functional traits. However, our knowledge of fine‐root trait distribution relies to date on local‐ and regional‐scale studies with limited numbers of species, growth forms and environmental variation. We compiled a world‐wide fine‐root trait dataset, featuring 1115 species from contrasting climatic areas, phylogeny and growth forms to test a series of hypotheses pertaining to the influence of plant functional types, soil and climate variables, and the degree of manipulation of plant growing conditions on species fine‐root trait variation. Most particularly, we tested the competing hypotheses that fine‐root traits typical of faster return on investment would be most strongly associated with conditions of limiting versus favourable soil resource availability. We accounted for both data source and species phylogenetic relatedness. We demonstrate that: (i) Climate conditions promoting soil fertility relate negatively to fine‐root traits favouring fast soil resource acquisition, with a particularly strong positive effect of temperature on fine‐root diameter and negative effect on specific root length ( SRL ), and a negative effect of rainfall on root nitrogen concentration; (ii) Soil bulk density strongly influences species fine‐root morphology, by favouring thicker, denser fine‐roots; (iii) Fine‐roots from herbaceous species are on average finer and have higher SRL than those of woody species, and N 2 ‐fixing capacity positively relates to root nitrogen; and (iv) Plants growing in pots have higher SRL than those grown in the field. Synthesis . This study reveals both the large variation in fine‐root traits encountered globally and the relevance of several key plant functional types and soil and climate variables for explaining a substantial part of this variation. Climate, particularly temperature, and plant functional types were the two strongest predictors of fine‐root trait variation. High trait variation occurred at local scales, suggesting that wide‐ranging below‐ground resource economics strategies are viable within most climatic areas and soil conditions.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); European Union (EU); Russian Science Foundation (RNF)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; 14-50-00029
OSTI ID:
1393860
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1375087
Journal Information:
Journal of Ecology, Vol. 105, Issue 5; ISSN 0022-0477
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 209 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Maintaining connectivity: understanding the role of root order and mycelial networks in fine root decomposition of woody plants journal September 2017
Legacy effects of land-use modulate tree growth responses to climate extremes journal May 2018
Sampling roots to capture plant and soil functions journal June 2017
Fine roots benefit soil physical properties key to mitigate soil detachment capacity following the restoration of eroded land journal November 2019
Global patterns in fine root decomposition: climate, chemistry, mycorrhizal association and woodiness journal March 2019
Plant economic strategies of grassland species control soil carbon dynamics through rhizodeposition journal September 2019
An integrated method for high-resolution definition of new diameter-based fine root sub-classes of Fagus sylvatica L. journal July 2018
Nutrient foraging by mycorrhizas: From species functional traits to ecosystem processes journal January 2018
Nonlinearity of root trait relationships and the root economics spectrum journal May 2019
Different phylogenetic and environmental controls of first-order root morphological and nutrient traits: Evidence of multidimensional root traits journal October 2017
Leaf economics and plant hydraulics drive leaf : wood area ratios journal July 2019
Root trait-mediated belowground competition and community composition of a temperate steppe under nitrogen enrichment journal February 2019
Consequences of mixing Acacia mangium and Eucalyptus grandis trees on soil exploration by fine-roots down to a depth of 17 m journal October 2017
Community‐level economics spectrum of fine‐roots driven by nutrient limitations in subalpine forests journal November 2018
Root morphological traits of winter wheat under contrasting environments journal July 2019
Trait-based plant ecology a flawed tool in climate studies? The leaf traits of wild olive that pattern with climate are not those routinely measured journal July 2019
Plant type dominates fine‐root C:N:P stoichiometry across China: A meta‐analysis journal January 2020
Coping with drought: root trait variability within the perennial grass Dactylis glomerata captures a trade-off between dehydration avoidance and dehydration tolerance journal October 2018
Vegetation type controls root turnover in global grasslands: XXXX journal January 2019
Intraspecific Fine-Root Trait-Environment Relationships across Interior Douglas-Fir Forests of Western Canada journal June 2019
Geophysical, evolutionary and ecological processes interact to drive phylogenetic dispersion in angiosperm assemblages along the longest elevational gradient in the world journal July 2019
Changes in above and belowground traits of a rhizome clonal plant explain its predominance under nitrogen addition journal September 2018
Root traits of herbaceous crops: Pre‐adaptation to cultivation or evolution under domestication? journal November 2018
Multi-dimensional patterns of variation in root traits among coexisting herbaceous species in temperate steppes journal April 2018
Intraspecific trait variation can weaken interspecific trait correlations when assessing the whole-plant economic spectrum journal September 2017
Is there coordination of leaf and fine root traits at local scales? A test in temperate forest swamps journal July 2019
Fine-root traits are linked to species dynamics in a successional plant community journal February 2019
Fine-root morphological trait variation in tropical forest ecosystems: an evidence synthesis journal November 2019
Botanic gardens are an untapped resource for studying the functional ecology of tropical plants
  • Perez, Timothy M.; Valverde-Barrantes, Oscar; Bravo, Catherine
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 374, Issue 1763 https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0390
journal November 2018
Intraspecific root and leaf trait variation with tropical forest successional status: consequences for community-weighted patterns posted_content April 2019
The scaling of fine root nitrogen versus phosphorus in terrestrial plants: A global synthesis journal August 2019
Fine-root exploitation strategies differ in tropical old growth and logged-over forests in Ghana journal April 2018
Proportion of fine roots, but not plant biomass allocation below ground, increases with elevation in arctic tundra journal February 2018
Nitrogen uptake and biomass resprouting show contrasting relationships with resource acquisitive and conservative plant traits journal January 2019
Litter type and termites regulate root decomposition across contrasting savanna land‐uses journal November 2018
Dynamics and Vertical Distribution of Roots in European Beech Forests and Douglas Fir Plantations in Bulgaria journal December 2019
Soil multifunctionality and drought resistance are determined by plant structural traits in restoring grassland journal August 2018
Collaboration across Time and Space in the LTER Network journal March 2020
Microenvironment and functional-trait context dependence predict alpine plant community dynamics journal June 2018
Climate drives the spatial distribution of mycorrhizal host plants in terrestrial ecosystems journal May 2019
Intraspecific Fine-Root Trait-Environment Relationships across Interior Douglas-Fir Forests of Western Canada text January 2019
Intraspecific Root Trait Variability Along Environmental Gradients Affects Salt Marsh Resistance to Lateral Erosion journal May 2019

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
climate
database
fine roots
functional biogeography
functional traits
N2-fixation
phylogeny
plant growth form
plant resource economics
soil properties