Predicting fine root production and turnover by monitoring root starch and soil temperature

1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 791-800 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Marshall ◽  
R. H. Waring
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Carbon Balance ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Root Production ◽  
Maintenance Respiration ◽  
Root Carbon ◽  
Respiration Rates ◽  
Root Starch ◽  
Maintenance Requirements

To determine how the longevity of fine roots (those without secondary thickening) is controlled, shoots of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii Mirb. (Franco)) seedlings were exposed to light or maintained in darkness while roots were maintained at 10, 20, or 30 °C. Fine root maintenance respiration rates, estimated from rates of starch and sugar depletion in the seedlings maintained in darkness, ranged from 0.83 to 3.25 mg starch g dry weight−1 day−1. At 20 and 30 °C, starch deposition was curtailed and previously deposited starch was used to maintain the older roots, whether current photosynthate was entering the root system or not. On the other hand, at 10 °C starch was deposited in the roots whenever the root systems grew. Based on these results, we suggest that starch deposition in a fine root occurs only when the root is being formed and the root carbon balance is positive. Starch is subsequently respired to meet maintenance requirements exclusively. A simple means of estimating root biomass production and turnover based on root starch and soil temperature is described and compared with field estimates.

Estimating fine-root production and turnover from biomass and decomposition data: a compartment–flow model

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 900-908 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Santantonio ◽  
J. C. Grace
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Fine Roots ◽  
Flow Model ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Independent Set ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Root Decomposition ◽  
Root Production ◽  
Fine Root Production

Production and replacement of fine roots (diam. < 1 mm) takes 8–67% of net primary production in forests. Most of this production is lost through mortality; little appears as an increment. Traditional biomass methods underestimate fine-root production because estimating production or mortality from changes in standing crop alone does not adequately account for simultaneous and compensating processes of growth, death, and replacement which occur continuously. We propose a compartment–flow model to solve this problem and estimate fine-root production and mortality at a monthly resolution for a pine plantation in New Zealand. The main component of the model is fine-root decomposition, an exponential decay function driven by soil temperature. The model "produces" and "turns over" enough fine roots to maintain observed standing crops of live and dead fine roots given losses through decomposition each month. We have formulated the model as differential and difference equations. Monthly estimates from the model indicated smooth modal patterns. Production and mortality peaked in early spring (September) at about 600 kg•ha−1•month−1 and fell to near zero in summer (January–February). The periodicity of these two processes was out of phase with soil temperature at 10 cm. Decomposition occurred continuously; it peaked in early summer (December) and declined to low levels during winter and was in phase with soil temperature. In a validation of the decomposition portion of the model with an independent set of decomposition data, measured standing crops of dead fine root were not statistically different from predicted values.

Effects of soil temperature on the carbon exchange of taiga seedlings.: I. Root respiration

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 840-849 ◽  
Author(s):  
William T. Lawrence ◽  
Walter C. Oechel
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Root Respiration ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Soil Mass ◽  
Day Length ◽  
Maintenance Respiration ◽  
Root Dry Weight ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
Growth Respiration ◽  
Species Specific

Seedlings of Alnuscrispa (Ait.) Pursh, Populusbalsamifera L., Populustremuloides Michx., and Betulapapyrifera Marsh., hardwood species of the taiga of interior Alaska, were grown in sand in a controlled environment room at day–night temperatures of 25 and 20 °C, respectively, with a 20-h day length. After establishment, pots containing each species were placed under soil-temperature treatments of 5, 15, and 25 °C while maintaining extant air-temperature and light regimes. Both total and maintenance respiration of the roots were measured under these temperature treatments by monitoring the efflux of CO2 from the potted soil mass. An estimate of root-growth respiration was calculated as the difference between total and maintenance respiration. Total root respiration increased from three- to five-fold as soil temperature increased over the 20 °C experimental range. Growth-respiration response was species specific, occurring only at 5 °C soil temperature in A. crispa, at both 15 and 25 °C in P. balsamifera, and at all three soil temperatures in P. tremuloides. Growth respiration of the roots was a nearly constant fraction of total root respiration within a species, averaging 0.17 mg CO2•h−1•g root dry weight−1 in A. crispa and P. balsamifera, but nearly twice that, 0.33 mg CO2•h−1•g root dry weight−1, in P. tremuloides. Growth respiration was not determined for B. papyrifera.

Influence of Pruning and Irrigation on Root Longevity of `Concord' Vines

HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 511a-511
Author(s):  
L.H. Comas ◽  
D.M. Eissenstat ◽  
A.N. Lakso ◽  
R. Dunst
Keyword(s):  
Fine Roots ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Root Production ◽  
Root Dynamics ◽  
Supplemental Irrigation ◽  
Root Longevity ◽  
Root Lifespan ◽  
Median Lifespan

Improved cultural practices in grape require a better understanding of root growth and physiology. Seasonal root dynamics were examined in mature `Concord' vines with balanced or minimal-pruning, and with or without supplemental irrigation in Fredonia, N.Y. Fine roots were continuously produced during the growing season starting in mid-June around time of bloom. Roots began to die in September at verasion. Minimal-pruned vines produced more roots than balanced-pruned vines, with the minimal-pruned/unirrigated vines producing the most roots. Irrigation and pruning delayed fine root production at the beginning of the growing season. Peak fine root flush was 16 June to 21 July 1997 for the minimal-pruned/unirrigated treatment, while peak flush was 7 July to 2 Sept. 1997 for balanced-pruned/irrigated treatment. In minimal-pruned vines, many roots were observed down to depths of 120 cm. In contrast, balanced-pruned vines had very few fine roots deeper than 40 cm. From initial observations, median lifespan of fine roots was 5 to 9.5 weeks, depending on treatment and depth in soil. Fine roots lived longer in the top 15-cm than in the 16- to 30-cm layer of soil in all treatments. Both minimal pruning and irrigation increased root lifespan. Fine roots had the shortest lifespan in the balanced-pruned/unirrigated treatment and the longest lifespan in the minimal-pruned/irrigated treatment.

Leaf and fine root carbon stocks and turnover are coupled across Arctic ecosystems

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 3668-3676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria L. Sloan ◽  
Benjamin J. Fletcher ◽  
Malcolm C. Press ◽  
Mathew Williams ◽  
Gareth K. Phoenix
Keyword(s):  
Fine Root ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Arctic Ecosystems ◽  
Root Carbon

Heterorhizy can lead to underestimation of fine-root production when using mesh-based techniques

2014 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 84-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Montagnoli ◽  
M. Terzaghi ◽  
G.S. Scippa ◽  
D. Chiatante
Keyword(s):  
Fine Root ◽  
Root Production ◽  
Fine Root Production

Root production, mortality and turnover in soil profiles as affected by clipping in a temperate grassland on the Loess Plateau

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1059-1072
Author(s):  
Lin Wei ◽  
Pengwei Yao ◽  
Guanghua Jing ◽  
Xiefeng Ye ◽  
Jimin Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Soil Profile ◽  
Root Length ◽  
Root Biomass ◽  
Turnover Rate ◽  
Fine Root ◽  
Root Production ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Soil Layers ◽  
Root Mortality

Abstract Aims Clipping or mowing for hay, as a prevalent land-use practice, is considered to be an important component of global change. Root production and turnover in response to clipping have great implications for the plant survival strategy and grassland ecosystem carbon processes. However, our knowledge about the clipping effect on root dynamics is mainly based on root living biomass, and limited by the lack of spatial and temporal observations. The study aim was to investigate the effect of clipping on seasonal variations in root length production and mortality and their distribution patterns in different soil layers in semiarid grassland on the Loess Plateau. Methods Clipping was performed once a year in June to mimic the local spring livestock grazing beginning from 2014. The minirhizotron technique was used to monitor the root production, mortality and turnover rate at various soil depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–30 and 30–50 cm) in 2014 (from 30 May to 29 October) and 2015 (from 22 April to 25 October). Soil temperature and moisture in different soil layers were also measured during the study period. Important Findings Our results showed that: (i) Clipping significantly decreased the cumulative root production (P < 0.05) and increased the cumulative root mortality and turnover rates of the 0–50 cm soil profile for both years. (ii) Clipping induced an immediate and sharp decrease in root length production and an increase in root length mortality in all soil layers. However, with plant regrowth, root production increased and root mortality decreased gradually, with the root production at a depth of 30–50 cm even exceeding the control in September–October 2014 and April–May 2015. (iii) Clipping mainly reduced root length production and increased root length mortality in the upper 0–20 cm soil profile with rapid root turnover. However, roots at deeper soil layers were either little influenced by clipping or exhibited an opposite trend with slower turnover rate compared with the upper soil profile, leading to the downward transport of root production and living root biomass. These findings indicate that roots in deeper soil layers tend to favour higher root biomass and longer fine root life spans to maximize the water absorption efficiency under environmental stress, and also suggest that short-term clipping would reduce the amount of carbon through fine root litter into the soil, especially in the shallow soil profile.

scholarly journals In Situ Estimation of Carbon Balance of In Vitro Sweetpotato and Tomato Plantlets Cultured with Varying Initial Sucrose Concentrations in the Medium

2002 ◽  
Vol 127 (6) ◽  
pp. 963-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chieri Kubota ◽  
Makiko Ezawa ◽  
Toyoki Kozai ◽  
Sandra B. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Balance ◽  
Ipomoea Batatas ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Sugar Uptake ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Carbon Balances ◽  
Species Specific

The effects of initial sucrose (suc) concentrations in the medium (S0) on the carbon balance and growth of sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. `Beniazuma'] and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. `HanaQueen') plantlets were studied under controlled environmental conditions. Plantlets were cultured with 0, 7.5, 15, or 30 g·L-1 of S0 under high photosynthetic photon flux (160 to 200 μmol·m-2·s-1) and CO2 enriched (1400 to 2050 μmol·mol-1) conditions. Net photosynthetic rate per leaf area (Pl) decreased and dry weight per plantlet (Wd) increased with increasing S0, but did not differ significantly between S0 of 7.5 to 30 g·L-1 for sweetpotato or 15 to 30 g·L-1 for tomato. Carbon influxes and effluxes of the plantlets by metabolism of medium suc and/or photosynthesis, and respiration were estimated based on measurements of in situ and steady state CO2 exchange rates and sugar uptake during culture. At S0 from 7.5 to 30 g·L-1, photosynthesis was responsible for 82% to 92% and 60% to 67% of carbohydrate assimilation for sweetpotato and tomato, respectively. Estimated carbon balances of plantlets based on the estimated and actual increases of moles of carbon in plant tissue demonstrated that in situ estimation of carbon balance was reasonably accurate for sweetpotato at S0 of 0 to 15 g·L-1 and for tomato at S0 of 0 g·L-1 and that the actual contribution of photosynthesis for tomato at high S0 might be lower than the values estimated in the present experiment. Results showed that initial suc concentration affected the relative contribution of photosynthesis on their carbon balances and that the responses were species specific. The failure of validation at S0 in a range specific to each species suggested the need for further study on carbon metabolism of in vitro plantlets cultured with sugar in the medium.

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