Root Morphology and Biomass Allocation of 50 Annual Ephemeral Species in Relation to Two Soil Condition

Abstract

Different organ morphologies determine the manner in which plants acquire resources, and the proportion of biomass of each organ is a critical driving force for organs to function in the future. Regrettably, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of root traits and seedling biomass allocation. Accordingly, we investigated and collected the seedling root morphological traits and biomass allocation of 50 annual ephemeral species to clarify the adaptation to environment. The findings of this study showed that there was a significantly negative correlation between root tissue density (RTD) and root diameter (RD) (p < 0.05), which did not conform to the hypothesis of the one-dimensional root economics spectrum (RES). On this basis, we divided 50 plant species into those rooted in dense or gravelly sand (DGS) or loose sand (LS) groups according to two soil conditions to determine the differences in root strategy and plant strategy between the two groups of plants. Our study revealed that the species rooting DGS tend to adopt a high penetration root strategy. However, the species rooting LS adopt high resource acquisition efficiency. At the whole-plant level, 50 species of ephemerals were distributed along the resource acquisition and conservation axis. Species rooting DGS tend to adopt the conservation strategy of high stem biomass fraction and low resource acquisition efficiency, while species rooting LS tend to adopt the acquisition strategy of high root and leaf biomass fraction and high resource acquisition efficiency. The research results provide a theoretical basis for the restoration and protection of vegetation in desert areas.

Precipitation Dominates the Allocation Strategy of Above- and Belowground Biomass in Plants on Macro Scales

“…Numerous studies have shown that plant life type, functional traits, climate, soil nutrients, and local NPP collectively affect the allocation of plant aboveground and belowground biomass [11,23,45]. To adapt to changing environmental conditions, plants adjust their morphological traits to obtain more resources, ultimately resulting in biomass accumulation [20,34]. The differences in aboveground and belowground biomass allocation strategies of plants reflect differences in species' resource acquisition strategies [54].…”

“…The biomass allocation of different life types of plants is also closely related to changes in soil nutrients [19]. Plants absorb water and mineral elements from the soil, which provides the nutrients needed for plant growth, development, and reproduction [20]. The allocation strategy of aboveground and belowground plant biomass is constrained by soil nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) content [21].…”

The genetic architecture of trait covariation in Populus euphratica, a desert tree

“…In the growth and development of plants, there are always intimate communication and connection among organs or various parts of the same organ, so that plants can maintain the optimum condition to obtain natural resources and adapt phenotypically to living environment ( Niklas and Spatz, 2006 ; Poorter et al., 2009 ; Freschet et al., 2015 ; Weraduwage et al., 2015 ; Freschet et al., 2018 ; Tumber-Dávila et al., 2022 ). The communication and connection are specifically manifested as allocation patterns of biomass ( Hermans et al., 2006 ; Poorter et al., 2012 ; Wang et al., 2022 ), which forms different allometric relationships and shapes plant morphology, such as the restrictive relation between aboveground stem and underground roots, height and diameter of stem, etc. ( Niklas and Spatz, 2006 ; Fu et al., 2017 ).…”