Soil type more than precipitation determines fine-root abundance in savannas of Kruger National Park, South Africa

The Vertical Differences in the Change Rates and Controlling Factors of Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen along Vegetation Restoration in a Subtropical Area of China

“…For example, some studies have explained that soil clay particles could effectively protect SOC from microbial and soil enzymes and ultimately promote SOC accumulation [30,31]. Kulmatiski et al also found that there was greater fine root biomass on clay than on sand soil because the clay soil was more nutritious [32]. More biomass means more C input.…”

“…As the influence of vegetation factors decreased with soil depth, the neglected soil factors such as Clay began to dominate the C and N changes in the deep soil. Soil clay particles could promote the plant biomass input [32] and protect soil organic matter from decomposition, which may contribute to SOC and TN sequestration [30,31].…”

“…For example, on the one hand, the soil factor will affect the vegetable factor. Some studies found that there was greater fine root biomass on clay than sand soils [32]. One potential explanation can be that clay soil with more nutrients is better for the growth of plants, resulting in greater fine-root biomass [32].…”

Edaphic history over seedling characters predicts integration and plasticity of integration across geologically variable populations of Arabidopsis thaliana

“…Ecological differences across geologic regions and soil types result in diverse strategies among species (Sponchiado et al, 1989; Rao et al, 1996); species from well‐drained soils have long primary roots (e.g., Voorhees et al, 1975), and those from resource‐rich environments display a proliferation of fine roots (e.g., Pinno and Wilson, 2013). Within species, individual root traits (such as root length and diameter) respond plastically to changes in soil edaphic conditions such as soil compaction (Chen et al, 2014), texture (Hamer et al, 2016; Kulmatiski et al, 2017), moisture (e.g., Bell and Sultan, 1999), and nutrient availability (e.g., Zhang and Forde, 2000; Chevalier et al, 2003; Ferguson et al, 2016), and populations vary in these ecological responses. The effect of ecological soil history on the responses of root or shoot modules across environments remains largely an open question (Wright and Westoby, 2000; Pinno and Wilson, 2013; Larson and Funk, 2016).…”

Unexpected diversity and evolutionary lability in root architectural ecomorphs in the rushes of the hyperdiverse Cape flora

“…van der Krift & Berendse, 2002; Tjoelker et al , 2005; Anderson et al , 2007; Picon‐Cochard et al , 2012; Fort et al , 2013). Grassland community mean root diameters between different habitats or vegetation types show a c. 10‐fold variation (Kulmatiski et al , 2017). There are no comparative analyses of lateral branching rate available, however branching is reflected in the root fibrousness index (Hartnett et al , 2004), which represents root complexity, and which shows a 15‐fold difference (Hartnett et al , 2013).…”