scholarly journals A global Fine-Root Ecology Database to address below-ground challenges in plant ecology

2017 ◽  
Vol 215 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen M. Iversen ◽  
M. Luke McCormack ◽  
A. Shafer Powell ◽  
Christopher B. Blackwood ◽  
Grégoire T. Freschet ◽  
...  
Eos ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. McCormack ◽  
A. Powell ◽  
Colleen Iversen

Version 2 of the Fine-Root Ecology Database is bigger, better, and free to download and use.


Author(s):  
Bengt Torssell ◽  
Henrik Eckersten ◽  
Anneli Lundkvist ◽  
Theo Verwijst

2002 ◽  
Vol 154 (2) ◽  
pp. 389-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
John S. King ◽  
Timothy J. Albaugh ◽  
H. Lee Allen ◽  
Marilyn Buford ◽  
Boyd R. Strain ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Asbjornsen ◽  
N. Velázquez-Rosas ◽  
R. García-Soriano ◽  
C. Gallardo-Hernández

Although fire is occurring at greater frequencies and spatial scales in the moist tropics, few studies have examined the ecological impacts of fire in tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF). This study, conducted in the Chimalapas region of Oaxaca, Mexico, documents changes in live tree biomass, live fine-root biomass, and fallen and standing dead wood 4 y following deep ground fires occurring in TMCF during the 1997–98 El Niño Southern Oscillation event. Forests growing on two different substrates (metamorphic and sedimentary) and having three different statures (mean canopy heights: 20–30 m, 15–20 m and 4–6 m) were assessed within six paired plots established on adjacent burned and unburned forest sites. Total live tree biomass was 82% and 88% lower for burned TMCF growing on metamorphic and sedimentary substrates, respectively, compared with unburned TMCF. Nearly 100% of the living biomass was killed in elfin TMCF located on exposed sedimentary limestone at the highest elevations. Live fine-root biomass in the upper organic soil horizon of burned TMCF sites was 49% lower on metamorphic substrates and 77% lower on sedimentary substrates compared with unburned sites. The amount of total dead wood was 3- to 14-fold greater in burned forests compared with unburned forests. These results suggest that first-time fires in relatively undisturbed TMCF can cause dramatic changes in live above- and below-ground biomass at levels greatly exceeding values reported for most lowland tropical rain forests. These patterns may be attributed to the slower decomposition rates and thick organic soils typical of TMCF, combined with the relatively fast drainage associated with steep topography and, in some locations, sedimentary limestone-derived substrates.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yubo Sun ◽  
Huaxing Bi ◽  
Huasen Xu ◽  
Hangqi Duan ◽  
Ruidong Peng ◽  
...  

To provide a scientific basis and technical support for agroforestry management practices, such as interrow configuration and soil water and fertilizer management, a stratified excavation method was performed both to explore the fine-root spatial distribution and niche differentiation and to quantify the below-ground interspecific competition status of 3-, 5-, and 7-year-old apple (Malus pumila M.)–soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) intercropping systems and monocropping systems. The fine roots of older trees occupied a larger soil space and had both a greater fine-root biomass density (FRMD) and a greater ability to reduce the FRMD of soybean, but this ability decreased with the distance from the apple tree row. Similarly, the FRMD of apple trees was also adversely affected by soybean plants, but this effect gradually increased with a decrease in tree age or with the distance from the tree row. Compared with that of the 3- and 5-year-old monocropped apple trees, the FRMD of the 3- and 5-year-old intercropped apple trees increased in the 40–100 cm and 60–100 cm soil layers, respectively. However, compared with that of the 7-year-old apple and soybean monocropping systems, the FRMD of the 7-year-old intercropped apple trees and soybean plants decreased in each soil layer. Compared with that of the corresponding monocropped systems, the fine-root vertical barycenter (FRVB) of the intercropped apple trees displaced deeper soil and that of the intercropped soybean plants displaced shallower soil. Furthermore, the FRVB of both intercropped apple trees and intercropped soybean plants displaced shallower soil with increasing tree age. Intense below-ground interspecific competition in the 3-, 5-, and 7-year-old apple–soybean intercropping systems occurred in the 0–40 cm soil layer at distances of 0.5–0.9, 0.5–1.3, and 0.5–1.7 m from the apple tree row, respectively.


2016 ◽  
Vol 213 (4) ◽  
pp. 1597-1603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etienne Laliberté
Keyword(s):  

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Q. Brearley

Abstract:As the destruction and severe disturbance of primary tropical forest continues, it is important to understand how these forests may recover from perturbations. Considerable work has been done on above-ground recovery but below-ground processes are less well understood. To determine changes in root mass during tropical secondary succession in lowland forests of Central Borneo, samples were taken from stands of increasing ages since abandonment of agriculture (1, 3, 14 and 31 y) with a primary forest control (six plots from 1-y-old stands and three from all other ages). Root mass and elemental concentrations were determined and soils were chemically analysed. There was no increase in root mass with stand age for fine-root (< 2 mm diameter) or small-root (< 5 mm diameter) mass but there was a trend for coarse-root mass (5–10 mm diameter) to increase with stand age. Negative correlations were shown between root mass and soil nutrient status. Fine-root C concentrations increased with stand age but there was no clear effect of stand age on fine-root N or P. Fine-root mass did not increase significantly with stand age suggesting a rapid recovery; instead, soil nutrient status appeared to be the most important factor controlling root mass. Of the soil nutrients measured in this study, N had a stronger control over root mass than P suggesting that this element may be limiting during secondary succession in tropical lowland forests of Borneo.


1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles C. Grier ◽  
Kristiina A. Vogt ◽  
Michael R. Keyes ◽  
Robert L. Edmonds

Biomass distribution and above- and below-ground net primary production were determined for 23- and 180-year-old Abiesamabilis (Dougl.) Forbes ecosystems growing at 1200-m elevation in the western Washington Cascade Range. Total organic matter accumulations were 427.0 t•ha−1 in the young stand, and 1247.1 t•ha−1 in the mature stand. Aboveground tree and detritus biomass were 49.0 t•ha−1 and 130.2 t•ha−1, respectively, in the young stand compared with 445.5 t•ha−1 and 389.4 t•ha−1 in the mature stand. Net primary production (NPP) was 18.3 t•ha−1 in the young stand and 16.8 t•ha−1 in the mature stand. Belowground dry matter production was 65% of total net production in the young stand and 73% of total net production in the mature stand. Conifer fine root production was 35.9% of NPP in the young and 66.4% of NPP in the mature stand. This apparent shift in fine root production as a proportion of NPP may be related to detritus accumulation.


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