Modelling fine root biomass of boreal tree stands using site and stand variables

Lehtonen, Aleksi; Palviainen, Marjo; Ojanen, Paavo; Kalliokoski, Tuomo; Nöjd, Pekka; Kukkola, Mikko; Penttilä, Timo; Mäkipää, Raisa; Leppälammi‐Kujansuu, Jaana; Helmisaari, Heljä‐Sisko

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2015.06.023

Cited by 52 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 65 publications

(92 reference statements)

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“…However, the differences in fine root biomass were not related to the climatic gradient in mean annual temperature nor mean annual precipitation as they did not either in the monocultures of European tree species in a wide climatic gradient (Finér et al, 2007). It remained unclear what caused the differences in fine root biomass between the studied European forests sites because the differences were not related to the stand basal area or to soil factors, which have explained between site variation for some European tree species in earlier studies (Finér et al, 2007;Helmisaari et al, 2007;Lehtonen et al, 2016). Generally our fine root biomass estimates were at the lower end of the range earlier reported for boreal and temperate forests (Finér et al, 2007, Finér et al, 2011, which is most likely due to our limited sampling depth caused by high stoniness.…”

Section: Other Factors Affecting Fine Root Biomassmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…That could be related to the lower soil nutrient availability in conifer stands indicated by lower soil C:N ratio (Cools et al, 2014;Dawud et al, 2017), and thus to the need to allocate more biomass in fine roots in nutrient poor conditions (Finér et al, 2007;Helmisaari et al, 2007). In addition to diversity and identity effects other stand characteristics, soil properties and climatic conditions affect fine root productivity and these relationships have been studied in European forests (Finér et al, 2007;Helmisaari et al, 2007;Lehtonen et al, 2016) and other geographic areas (Finér et al, 2011;Wu et al, 2015). Fine root biomass has been shown to increase with stand basal area, age and soil C:N ratio in European forests (Finér et al, 2007;Helmisaari et al, 2007;Lehtonen et al, 2016), but the relationship between fine root biomass and mean annual temperature and precipitation has not been significant (Finér et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to diversity and identity effects other stand characteristics, soil properties and climatic conditions affect fine root productivity and these relationships have been studied in European forests (Finér et al, 2007;Helmisaari et al, 2007;Lehtonen et al, 2016) and other geographic areas (Finér et al, 2011;Wu et al, 2015). Fine root biomass has been shown to increase with stand basal area, age and soil C:N ratio in European forests (Finér et al, 2007;Helmisaari et al, 2007;Lehtonen et al, 2016), but the relationship between fine root biomass and mean annual temperature and precipitation has not been significant (Finér et al, 2007). The relative importance or interactions of stand characteristics, soil properties and climatic conditions have rarely been addressed in relation to tree species diversity or identity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Conifer proportion explains fine root biomass more than tree species diversity and site factors in major European forest types

Finér

Domisch

Dawud

et al. 2017

Forest Ecology and Management

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A B S T R A C TFine roots (diameter ≤ 2 mm) contribute significantly to the forest carbon cycle and are essential for resource acquisition from the soil. We conducted a study to assess the relationships between tree and ground vegetation fine root biomass and tree species diversity (monocultures compared to 2-5 species mixtures), conifer proportion and other site factors (stand basal area, soil carbon stocks and C:N ratio) in the six major European forest types, boreal forest in Finland, temperate forests in Poland, Germany and Romania, thermophilous deciduous forests in Italy, and Mediterranean forests in Spain. We sampled the fine roots of trees and ground vegetation to the depth of 20 cm in the mineral soil and allocated the fine root biomass to individual tree species using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS). We did not find any general positive effects of tree species diversity on the fine root biomass of trees or ground vegetation across the forest types and tree species combinations. However, our results suggest that tree fine root biomass increases with tree species diversity in pure broadleaf forests, but not in pure conifer forests. Species diversity explained 7% of the variation in tree fine root biomass in the broadleaf stands. The narrow tree species diversity gradient (1-2 species) in the conifer forests compared to the broadleaf forests (1−4) may have decreased the probability of conifer species combinations with below-ground functional traits conducive to over-yielding. Some evidence of diversity-mediated changes in the vertical rooting patterns of broadleaf trees and ground vegetation were found within the entire organic and 0-20 cm mineral soil layer although the weighted mean depth of fine root biomass was not affected. Negative diversity effects were found in the organic layer and positive diversity effects in the 0-10 cm mineral soil layer for broadleaf tree fine root biomass. Diversity effects were negative for ground vegetation fine root biomass in the 0-10 cm mineral soil layer. There was a general positive effect of conifer proportion on total fine root biomass in the organic layer, but not in the mineral soil layers. In general conifer proportion and site factors explained more of the variation in tree fine root biomass than tree species diversity. More research covering the annual variation in fine root biomass and deeper soil layers is needed before recommending managing species-rich forest for increasing below-ground biomass and carbon pools.

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Section: Other Factors Affecting Fine Root Biomassmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Conifer proportion explains fine root biomass more than tree species diversity and site factors in major European forest types

Finér

Domisch

Dawud

et al. 2017

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…The soil nutrient regime also influences both fine-root biomass (FRB) and FRP; however, the directions of the responses have varied among studies in different ecosystems (Santantonio et al 1977;Keyes and Grier 1981;Leibundgut 1981;Hendricks et al 2006), and the measures of soil nutrients reported in individual studies have not allowed for a systematic synthesis (Finér et al 2011). Yet, in the Boreal Zone, most results suggest higher FRB or FRP at poorer sites (Helmisaari et al 2007;Yuan and Chen 2010;Lehtonen et al 2016). For peatlands, the scarce observations so far available suggest a contrasting pattern Laine 1998, 2000;Laiho et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Estimating fine-root production by tree species and understorey functional groups in two contrasting peatland forests

et al. 2016

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Background and aims Estimation of root-mediated carbon fluxes in forested peatlands is needed for understanding ecosystem functioning and supporting greenhouse gas inventories. Here, we aim to determine the optimal methodology for utilizing ingrowth cores in estimating annual fine-root production (FRP) and its vertical distribution in trees, shrubs and herbs. Methods We used 3-year data obtained with modified ingrowth core method and tested two calculation methods: 'ingrowth-dividing' and 'ingrowthsubtracting'. Results The ingrowth-dividing method combined with a 2-year incubation of ingrowth cores can be used for the 'best estimate' of FRP. The FRP in the nutrient-rich fen forest (561 g m −2 ) was more than twice that in the nutrient-poor bog forest (244 g m −2 ). Most FRP occurred in the top 20-cm layer (76-82 %). Tree FRP accounted for 71 % of total FRP in the bog and 94 % in the fen forests, respectively, following the aboveground vegetation patterns; however, in fen forest the proportions of spruce and birch in FRP were higher than their proportions in stand basal area. Conclusions Our methodology may be used to study peatland FRP patterns more widely and will reduce the volume of labour-intensive work, but will benefit from verification with other methods, as is the case in all in situ FRP studies.

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“…Tree dimensions (in terms of DBH and H) showed a strong correlation with belowground biomass components (Tab. 3); accordingly, both variables could be successfully used for root biomass estimation in nutrient-poor sites, as previously demonstrated by Xiao & Ceulemans (2004) and Lehtonen et al (2016). Stemwood volume (V) and stem basal area (S), which were included in our models (Tab.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Belowground biomass models for young oligotrophic Scots pine stands in Latvia

Ķēniņa¹,

Bārdulis²,

Matisons³

et al. 2018

iForest

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The increasing interest in carbon budget estimation and the growing use of woody biomass in bioenergy production raises the necessity for precise estimates of belowground biomass and soil carbon pools in forest ecosystems, particularly in terms of changes in the age structure of forests. The aim of this study was to estimate the belowground biomass of young (< 40 years) stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Latvia. The biomass of small roots (diameter 2-20 mm), coarse roots (diameter > 20 mm), and stumps of 39 trees from eight stands growing on dry, nutrient-poor mineral soils was measured and compared to the aboveground variables of sampled trees. The results revealed that stumps, small roots, and coarse roots comprised 43%, 35% and 22%, respectively, of the belowground biomass of young Scots pines. The proportion of belowground biomass over the total tree biomass was age-dependent, ranging from 33% to 17% for 8-year and 40-year old trees, respectively. Aboveground tree variables were significantly correlated with the belowground biomass, being stemwood volume and basal area the best predictors (R 2 = 0.86-0.98, relative errors = 26-43%) of the belowground biomass components. Accordingly, the developed models produced more accurate estimates compared to previous models for the region, thus reducing the uncertainty in determining the carbon budget for belowground biomass. Still, an analysis of a more comprehensive dataset is needed to account for the effect of the social status of trees, as well as the within-and between-stand variation.

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Modelling fine root biomass of boreal tree stands using site and stand variables

Cited by 52 publications

References 65 publications

Conifer proportion explains fine root biomass more than tree species diversity and site factors in major European forest types

Conifer proportion explains fine root biomass more than tree species diversity and site factors in major European forest types

Estimating fine-root production by tree species and understorey functional groups in two contrasting peatland forests

Belowground biomass models for young oligotrophic Scots pine stands in Latvia

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