Characterizing Above- and Belowground Carbon Partitioning in Forest Trees along an Altitudinal Gradient using Area-Based Indicators

Mao, Zhun; Wang, Yan; Jourdan, Christophe; Cécillon, Lauric; Nespoulous, Jérôme; Rey, Hervé; Saint‐André, Laurent; Stokes, Alexia

doi:10.1657/aaar0014-014

Cited by 17 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Overall, these observations suggest that in cold environments, maintaining a high proportion of absorptive root mass (Fig. ) may be an efficient way to compensate for limited nutrient availability not only along latitudinal gradients, but also along altitudinal temperature‐related gradients, as shown in studies from temperate and tropical mountain gradients with decreasing temperature leading to marked allocation shifts to the fine‐root system and root morphological changes (Girardin et al ., , ; Hertel & Schöling, ; Moser et al ., ; Mao et al ., ). Nevertheless, slower growth rates in high‐latitude conditions suggest that in addition to adaptive adjustments to maximize nutrient uptake, plants may also reduce nutrient constraints via slow plant growth (Marschner, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scots pine fine roots adjust along a 2000‐km latitudinal climatic gradient

et al. 2016

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SummaryPatterns of plant biomass allocation and functional adjustments along climatic gradients are poorly understood, particularly belowground. Generally, low temperatures suppress nutrient release and uptake, and forests under such conditions have a greater proportion of their biomass in roots. However, it is not clear whether 'more roots' means better capacity to acquire soil resources.Herein we quantified patterns of fine-root anatomy and their biomass distribution across Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) populations both along a 2000-km latitudinal gradient and within a common garden experiment with a similar range of populations.We found that with decreasing mean temperature, a greater percentage of Scots pine root biomass was allocated to roots with higher potential absorptive capacity. Similar results were seen in the common experimental site, where cold-adapted populations produced roots with greater absorptive capacity than populations originating from warmer climates.These results demonstrate that plants growing in or originated from colder climates have more acquisitive roots, a trait that is likely adaptive in the face of the low resource availability typical of cold soils.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scots pine fine roots adjust along a 2000‐km latitudinal climatic gradient

et al. 2016

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“…Berries and flowers were included when present, and leaf and root litter (visually estimated) were excluded. Below‐ground biomass was further separated by diameter (Mao et al., ; Moser et al., ) into fine (≤1 mm diameter) and coarse (>1 mm diameter) roots. While some have suggested using root order instead of root diameter when inferring root function (e.g.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, low temperatures and low N levels lead to higher biomass allocation below ground (Freschet, Swart, & Cornelissen, ; Poorter & Nagel, ; Poorter et al., ), and this pattern is also observed in arctic tundra (Wang et al., ). In fact, root:shoot ratios have been shown to increase with increasing latitude or elevation in forests (Girardin et al., ; Hertel & Schöling, ; Leuschner, Moser, Bertsch, Röderstein, & Hertel, ; Mao et al., ; Moser et al., ; Reich et al., ; Zadworny, McCormack, Mucha, Reich, & Oleksyn, ), as well as in alpine plant communities (Körner & Renhardt, ; Ma et al., ) – a pattern that supports the optimality theory. Given these results, climate change‐induced increases in temperature or nutrient availability in arctic tundra could change plant allocation patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, changes within root allocation patterns between fine and coarse roots can have important implications for decomposition rates and soil C sequestration (Goebel et al., ; McCormack et al., ; Zhang & Wang, ). Clearly, evidence that climate change may alter plant biomass allocation above and below ground, as well as between fine and coarse roots, is mounting from other ecosystems (Mao et al., ; Moser et al., ; Reich et al., ); yet, these changes remain poorly understood in arctic tundra. Further, as experiments tend to be short term we lack understanding of how long‐term increases in temperature and associated changes influence tundra plant C allocation patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Proportion of fine roots, but not plant biomass allocation below ground, increases with elevation in arctic tundra

Blume‐Werry

Lindén

Andresen

et al. 2018

J Vegetation Science

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Questions Roots represent a considerable proportion of biomass, primary production and litter input in arctic tundra, and plant allocation of biomass to above‐ or below‐ground tissue in response to climate change is a key factor in the future C balance of these ecosystems. According to optimality theory plants allocate C to the above‐ or below‐ground structure that captures the most limiting resource. We used an elevational gradient to test this theory and as a space‐for‐time substitution to inform on tundra carbon allocation patterns under a shifting climate, by exploring if increasing elevation was positively related to the root:shoot ratio, as well as a larger plant allocation to adsorptive over storage roots. Location Arctic tundra heath dominated by Empetrum hermaphroditum close to Abisko, Sweden. Methods We measured root:shoot and fine:coarse root ratios of the plant communities along an elevational gradient by sampling above‐ and below‐ground biomass, further separating root biomass into fine (<1 mm) and coarse roots. Results Plant biomass was higher at the lower elevations, but the root:shoot ratio did not vary with elevation. Resource allocation to fine relative to coarse roots increased with elevation, resulting in a fine:coarse root ratio that more than doubled with increasing elevation. Conclusions Contrary to previous works, the root:shoot ratio along this elevational gradient remained stable. However, communities along our study system were dominated by the same species at each elevation, which suggests that when changes in the root:shoot ratio occur with elevation these changes may be driven by differences in allocation patterns among species and thus turnover in plant community structure. Our results further reveal that the allocation of biomass to fine relative to coarse roots can differ between locations along an elevational gradient, even when overall above‐ vs below‐ground biomass allocation does not. Given the functionally different roles of fine vs coarse roots this could have large implications for below‐ground C cycling. Our results highlight the importance of direct effects vs indirect effects (such as changes in plant community composition and nutrient availability) of climate change for future C allocation above and below ground.

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“…We chose a conservative root orientation factor of 0.5 [ Ji et al ., ], because Wu and Waldron's suggested value (1.2) overestimates c ri by 33–68% [ Fan and Su , ; Hubble et al ., ; Thomas and Pollen‐Bankhead , ]. To calculate the load ( W i ) on the slopes, aboveground biomass was estimated from harvests or from species‐specific allometric equations based on measurements of woody stem diameter and height (Text S2.3) [ Mao et al ., ; Pache et al ., ; Ruiz‐Peinado et al ., ; Zianis et al ., ].…”

Section: Study Area and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation as a driver of temporal variations in slope stability: The impact of hydrological processes

Kim

Fourcaud

Jourdan

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

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Although vegetation is increasingly used to mitigate landslide risks, how vegetation affects the temporal variability of slope stability is poorly understood, especially in earthquake‐prone regions. We combined 3‐year long soil moisture monitoring, measurements of soil physical properties and plant functional traits, and numerical modeling to compare slope stability under paired land uses with and without trees in tropical, subtropical, and temperate landslide‐ and earthquake‐prone regions. Trees improved stability for 5–12 months per year from drawdown of soil moisture and resulted in less interannual variability in the duration of high‐stability periods compared to slopes without trees. Our meta‐analysis of published data also showed that slopes with woody vegetation were more stable and less sensitive to climate and soil factors than slopes with herbaceous vegetation. However, estimates of earthquake magnitude necessary to destabilize slopes at our sites suggest that large additional stabilization from trees is necessary for meaningful protection against external triggers.

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Characterizing Above- and Belowground Carbon Partitioning in Forest Trees along an Altitudinal Gradient using Area-Based Indicators

Cited by 17 publications

References 61 publications

Scots pine fine roots adjust along a 2000‐km latitudinal climatic gradient

Scots pine fine roots adjust along a 2000‐km latitudinal climatic gradient

Proportion of fine roots, but not plant biomass allocation below ground, increases with elevation in arctic tundra

Vegetation as a driver of temporal variations in slope stability: The impact of hydrological processes

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