Below‐ground frontiers in trait‐based plant ecology

Laliberté, Étienne

doi:10.1111/nph.14247

Cited by 245 publications

(230 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(97 reference statements)

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“…A similar secondary dimension of root trait variation was recently observed in a broad range of tree species (Kramer‐Walter et al, ) and Ma et al () found that at the global level root traits do not follow the same patterns observed in above‐ground traits. Together with our observations, these results support the hypothesis that root traits are multidimensional (Weemstra et al, ), reflecting the greater potential range of root trait combinations necessary to enhance plant fitness under different environmental conditions (Bardgett, ; Laliberté, ; Laughlin, ; Zemunik, Turner, Lambers, & Laliberté, ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Relationships between plant traits, soil properties and carbon fluxes differ between monocultures and mixed communities in temperate grassland

et al. 2019

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The use of plant traits to predict ecosystem functions has been gaining growing attention. Above‐ground plant traits, such as leaf nitrogen (N) content and specific leaf area (SLA), have been shown to strongly relate to ecosystem productivity, respiration and nutrient cycling. Furthermore, increasing plant functional trait diversity has been suggested as a possible mechanism to increase ecosystem carbon (C) storage. However, it is uncertain whether below‐ground plant traits can be predicted by above‐ground traits, and if both above‐ and below‐ground traits can be used to predict soil properties and ecosystem‐level functions. Here, we used two adjacent field experiments in temperate grassland to investigate if above‐ and below‐ground plant traits are related, and whether relationships between plant traits, soil properties and ecosystem C fluxes (i.e. ecosystem respiration and net ecosystem exchange) measured in potted monocultures could be detected in mixed field communities. We found that certain shoot traits (e.g. shoot N and C, and leaf dry matter content) were related to root traits (e.g. root N, root C:N and root dry matter content) in monocultures, but such relationships were either weak or not detected in mixed communities. Some relationships between plant traits (i.e. shoot N, root N and/or shoot C:N) and soil properties (i.e. inorganic N availability and microbial community structure) were similar in monocultures and mixed communities, but they were more strongly linked to shoot traits in monocultures and root traits in mixed communities. Structural equation modelling showed that above‐ and below‐ground traits and soil properties improved predictions of ecosystem C fluxes in monocultures, but not in mixed communities on the basis of community‐weighted mean traits. Synthesis . Our results from a single grassland habitat detected relationships in monocultures between above‐ and below‐ground plant traits, and between plant traits, soil properties and ecosystem C fluxes. However, these relationships were generally weaker or different in mixed communities. Our results demonstrate that while plant traits can be used to predict certain soil properties and ecosystem functions in monocultures, they are less effective for predicting how changes in plant species composition influence ecosystem functions in mixed communities.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Relationships between plant traits, soil properties and carbon fluxes differ between monocultures and mixed communities in temperate grassland

et al. 2019

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“…Currently, plant ecologists seek to identify the multiple dimensions of fine‐root trait variation related to plant performance (Laliberté, ; Liese, Alings, & Meier, ; Valverde‐Barrantes & Blackwood, ; Wang et al, ; Weemstra et al, ). This study demonstrates that fine‐root mass and length density—in combination with fine‐root life span—can represent an additional below‐ground dimension to capture species’ variation in performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of fine‐root mass, specific root length and life span in tree performance: A whole‐tree exploration

et al. 2020

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The root economics spectrum (RES) hypothesis predicts that fast‐growing tree species have short‐lived roots with high specific root length (SRL) to allow rapid resource uptake, and opposite trait expressions for slow‐growing species. Yet, the mixed support for this hypothesis suggests that trees can adopt alternative strategies to increase resource uptake, besides an increase in SRL. We combined a novel mechanistic whole‐tree model and empirical fine‐root data of 10 tree species to test the effects of one of these alternative strategies, notably increasing fine‐root mass, on the tree's net C gain (used here as a proxy for tree performance), and to assess how fine‐root life span influences the relative importance of SRL and fine‐root mass for the C balance of trees. Our results indicate that accounting for the short life span of high‐SRL roots has important implications for explaining tree performance and the role of roots herein. Without considering their faster turnover, high‐SRL roots and low fine‐root mass resulted in the highest performance as predicted from the RES. Yet, when their higher turnover rates were accounted for, a high fine‐root mass and low SRL lead to the highest performance. Both our model outcomes and field data further show a negative relationship between SRL and fine‐root mass through which species aim to realize a similar root length density. This trade‐off further indicates how high a SRL and low fine‐root mass as well as opposite trait values can both lead to a positive C balance in a similar environment. Our study may explain why high‐SRL roots do not necessarily lead to the fastest tree growth as often hypothesized and demonstrates the importance of fine‐root mass in combination with fine‐root life span for explaining interspecific differences in tree performance. More generally, our work demonstrates the value of identifying and investigating different below‐ground strategies across species from a whole‐plant modelling perspective, and identifies the relationship between SRL, fine‐root biomass and life span as an important functional dimension to variation in species’ performance. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

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“…In recent years, plant scientists have become increasingly interested in belowground functional traits such as root length, root hair and exudation of carboxylates (Laliberté, ); however, measuring these traits – for example, carboxylates in the rhizosphere – is laborious (Lambers et al ., ). Cluster roots release large amounts of carboxylates in an exudative burst to mobilize not only P, but also manganese (Mn) (Gardner et al ., ; Shane & Lambers, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The carboxylate‐releasing phosphorus‐mobilizing strategy can be proxied by foliar manganese concentration in a large set of chickpea germplasm under low phosphorus supply

et al. 2018

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Summary Root foraging and root physiology such as exudation of carboxylates into the rhizosphere are important strategies for plant phosphorus (P) acquisition. We used 100 chickpea (Cicer arietinum) genotypes with diverse genetic backgrounds to study the relative roles of root morphology and physiology in P acquisition. Plants were grown in pots in a low‐P sterilized river sand supplied with 10 μg P g−1 soil as FePO4, a poorly soluble form of P. There was a large genotypic variation in root morphology (total root length, root surface area, mean root diameter, specific root length and root hair length), and root physiology (rhizosheath pH, carboxylates and acid phosphatase activity). Shoot P content was correlated with total root length, root surface area and total carboxylates per plant, particularly malonate. A positive correlation was found between mature leaf manganese (Mn) concentration and carboxylate amount in rhizosheath relative to root DW. This is the first study to demonstrate that the mature leaf Mn concentration can be used as an easily measurable proxy for the assessment of belowground carboxylate‐releasing processes in a range of chickpea genotypes grown under low‐P, and therefore offers an important breeding trait, with potential application in other crops.

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Below‐ground frontiers in trait‐based plant ecology

Cited by 245 publications

References 43 publications

Relationships between plant traits, soil properties and carbon fluxes differ between monocultures and mixed communities in temperate grassland

Relationships between plant traits, soil properties and carbon fluxes differ between monocultures and mixed communities in temperate grassland

The role of fine‐root mass, specific root length and life span in tree performance: A whole‐tree exploration

The carboxylate‐releasing phosphorus‐mobilizing strategy can be proxied by foliar manganese concentration in a large set of chickpea germplasm under low phosphorus supply

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