Is there coordination of leaf and fine root traits at local scales? A test in temperate forest swamps

Plant functional composition, defined by both community-weighted mean (CWM) traits and functional diversity, can provide insights into plant ecological strategies and community assembly. However, our understanding of plant functional composition during succession is largely based on aboveground traits. Here we investigated community-level traits and functional diversity for six pairs of analogous leaf and fine root traits of understory plants in a temperate forest swamp during succession with a decrease in soil pH and nutrient availability. CWMs of traits related to resource acquisition (including specific leaf area, specific root length, leaf N, leaf P, root N, and root P) decreased with succession, whereas those related to resource conservation (leaf dry matter content, root dry matter content, leaf tissue density, leaf C, and root C) increased along the forest swamp successional gradient. Multi-trait functional dispersion (FDis) of both leaf and fine root traits tended to decrease along the successional gradient, but functional richness and evenness were highest at the middle successional stage. Moreover, FDis of individual plant traits except N showed the same pattern as multi-trait FDis. Soil pH and nutrient availability were the main drivers of successional changes in both CWM traits and FDis. The changes of community-level traits along succession indicated a shift from acquisitive to conservative strategy of understory plants during forest swamp succession. Similar trends in leaf and fine root functional diversity along succession may indicate above- and belowground functional diversity are coordinated during the processes of plant community assembly. These findings of linkages between above- and belowground plant functional composition have important implications for plant community dynamics and assembly rules.

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Fine root biomass and morphology in a temperate forest are influenced more by the nitrogen treatment approach than the rate

Ecological Indicators ◽

10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108031 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 130 ◽

pp. 108031

Author(s):

Wen Li ◽

Yifei Shi ◽

Dandan Zhu ◽

Wenqian Wang ◽

Haowei Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Root Biomass ◽

Temperate Forest ◽

Fine Root ◽

Treatment Approach ◽

Fine Root Biomass ◽

Nitrogen Treatment

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Functional Trait Responses to Strip Clearcutting in a Moso Bamboo Forest

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12060793 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 793

Author(s):

Yaxiong Zheng ◽

Fengying Guan ◽

Shaohui Fan ◽

Yang Zhou ◽

Xiong Jing

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Functional Traits ◽

Root Length ◽

Fine Root ◽

Root Traits ◽

Moso Bamboo ◽

Leaf Nitrogen Content ◽

Dry Matter Content ◽

Functional Characteristics ◽

Functional Features

Functional characteristics reflect plant strategies and adaptability to the changing environment. Determining the dynamics of these characteristics after harvesting would improve the understanding of forest response strategies. Strip clearcutting (SC) of moso bamboo forests, which significantly reduces the cutting cost, has been proposed to replace manual selective harvesting. A comparison of restoration features shows that 8 m is the optimal cutting width. However, the precise response of functional features to the resulting harvest-created gap remains unclear. In this study, three SC plots were selected which was performed in February 2019, with three unharvested plots as a control (C). The study focused on 10 functional traits, including leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf nitrogen content (LNC), leaf phosphorus content (LPC), nitrogen/phosphorus ratio (N:P), wood density (WD), fine root biomass (FRB), specific fine root length (SRL), and root length density (RLD). A one-way ANOVA was used to compare differences in functional traits and soil nutrients between treatments. Strip clearcutting significantly reduced the soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents (p < 0.05). In terms of functional characteristics, SC significantly decreased LA and increased LNC, LPC, and N:P (p < 0.05). However, SC had no significant effect on fine root traits (p > 0.05). This study highlighted that root trait, soil content of total phosphorus (TP) and total potassium (TK) returned to the level of uncut plots after a year’s recovery. The LPC, LNC, and N:P were negatively correlated with LA, and LDMC and WD were negatively correlated with SLA, while the effect of SC on fine root traits was limited (p > 0.05). Fine root traits (FRB, RLD, and SRL) were positively associated with SOC, TN, and TP, but negatively correlated with TK. The changes in soil nutrient content caused by the removal of biomass were normal. Increased light and the rapid growth of new trees will increase nutrient regressions; therefore, these results further confirm the feasibility of SC.

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Fine root traits in Chamaecyparis obtusa forest soils with different acid buffering capacities

Trees ◽

10.1007/s00468-015-1291-3 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 415-429 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Kouhei Miyatani ◽

Yuki Mizusawa ◽

Kazuki Okada ◽

Toko Tanikawa ◽

Naoki Makita ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Forest Soils ◽

Fine Root ◽

Root Traits ◽

Chamaecyparis Obtusa ◽

Acid Buffering

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Effects of warming and fertilization interacting with intraspecific competition on fine root traits of Picea asperata

Journal of Plant Ecology ◽

10.1093/jpe/rtaa074 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Dan-Dan Li ◽

Hong-Wei Nan ◽

Chun-Zhang Zhao ◽

Chun-Ying Yin ◽

Qing Liu

Keyword(s):

Root Growth ◽

Climate Warming ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Root Length ◽

Root Biomass ◽

Fine Root ◽

Root Traits ◽

Root Surface ◽

Root Branching ◽

Picea Asperata

Abstract Aims Competition, temperature, and nutrient are the most important determinants of tree growth in the cold climate on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Although many studies have reported their individual effects on tree growth, little is known about how the interactions of competition with fertilization and temperature affect root growth. We aim to test whether climate warming and fertilization promote competition and to explore the functional strategies of Picea asperata in response to the interactions of these factors. Methods We conducted a paired experiment including competition and non-competition treatments under elevated temperature (ET) and fertilization. We measured root traits, including the root tip number over the root surface (RTRS), the root branching events over the root surface (RBRS), the specific root length (SRL), the specific root area (SRA), the total fine root length and area (RL and RA), the root tips (RT) and root branching events (RB). These root traits are considered to be indicators of plant resource uptake capacity and root growth. The root biomass and the nutrient concentrations in the roots were also determined. Important Findings The results indicated that ET, fertilization and competition individually enhanced the nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) concentrations in fine roots, but they did not affect fine root biomass or root traits, including RL, RT, RA and RB. However, both temperature and fertilization, as well as their interaction, interacting with competition increased RL, RA, RT, RB, and nutrient uptake. In addition, the SRL, SRA, RTRS and RBRS decreased under fertilization, the interaction between temperature and competition decreased SRL and SRA, while the other parameters were not affected by temperature or competition. These results indicate that Picea asperata maintains a conservative nutrient strategy in response to competition, climate warming, fertilization, and their interactions. Our results improve our understanding of the physiological and ecological adaptability of trees to global change.

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