Unearthing the hidden world of roots: Root biomass and architecture differ among species within the same guild
| Autor: | Alejandro A. Royo, Catherine Potvin, Mark S. Ashton, Katherine Sinacore, Mark J. Ducey, Jefferson S. Hall |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Leaves 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Tree planting lcsh:Medicine Root system Plant Science Carbon sequestration Forests 01 natural sciences Plant Roots Trees Biomass lcsh:Science Groundwater Biomass (ecology) Multidisciplinary Ecology Plant Anatomy Crown (botany) Eukaryota Plants Terrestrial Environments Physical Sciences Engineering and Technology Research Article Carbon Sequestration Environmental Engineering Ecological Metrics Forest management Biomass (Ecology) Geometry Biology 010603 evolutionary biology Models Biological Ecosystems Dendrology 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Ecology and Environmental Sciences lcsh:R Organisms Biology and Life Sciences Carbon Dioxide Carbon Lateral Roots Radii Guild lcsh:Q Allometry Mathematics |
| Zdroj: | PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 10, p e0185934 (2017) PLoS ONE |
| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
| Popis: | The potential benefits of planting trees have generated significant interest with respect to sequestering carbon and restoring other forest based ecosystem services. Reliable estimates of carbon stocks are pivotal for understanding the global carbon balance and for promoting initiatives to mitigate CO2 emissions through forest management. There are numerous studies employing allometric regression models that convert inventory into aboveground biomass (AGB) and carbon (C). Yet the majority of allometric regression models do not consider the root system nor do these equations provide detail on the architecture and shape of different species. The root system is a vital piece toward understanding the hidden form and function roots play in carbon accumulation, nutrient and plant water uptake, and groundwater infiltration. Work that estimates C in forests as well as models that are used to better understand the hydrologic function of trees need better characterization of tree roots. We harvested 40 trees of six different species, including their roots down to 2 mm in diameter and created species-specific and multi-species models to calculate aboveground (AGB), coarse root belowground biomass (BGB), and total biomass (TB). We also explore the relationship between crown structure and root structure. We found that BGB contributes ~27.6% of a tree's TB, lateral roots extend over 1.25 times the distance of crown extent, root allocation patterns varied among species, and that AGB is a strong predictor of TB. These findings highlight the potential importance of including the root system in C estimates and lend important insights into the function roots play in water cycling. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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