A global Fine-Root Ecology Database to address below-ground challenges in plant ecology.
Colleen M. Iversen,M. Luke McCormack,A. Shafer Powell,Christopher B. Blackwood,Grégoire T. Freschet,Jens Kattge,Catherine Roumet,Daniel B Stover,Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia,Oscar J. Valverde-Barrantes,Oscar J. Valverde-Barrantes,Peter M. van Bodegom,Cyrille Violle +12 more
TLDR
This Viewpoint addresses the need for a centralized fine-root trait database, and introduces the Fine-Root Ecology Database (FRED), which so far includes > 70 000 observations encompassing a broad range of root traits and also includes associated environmental data.Abstract:
Variation and tradeoffs within and among plant traits are increasingly being harnessed by empiricists and modelers to understand and predict ecosystem processes under changing environmental conditions. While fine roots play an important role in ecosystem functioning, fine-root traits are underrepresented in global trait databases. This has hindered efforts to analyze fine-root trait variation and link it with plant function and environmental conditions at a global scale. This Viewpoint addresses the need for a centralized fine-root trait database, and introduces the Fine-Root Ecology Database (FRED, http://roots.ornl.gov) which so far includes > 70 000 observations encompassing a broad range of root traits and also includes associated environmental data. FRED represents a critical step toward improving our understanding of below-ground plant ecology. For example, FRED facilitates the quantification of variation in fine-root traits across root orders, species, biomes, and environmental gradients while also providing a platform for assessments of covariation among root, leaf, and wood traits, the role of fine roots in ecosystem functioning, and the representation of fine roots in terrestrial biosphere models. Continued input of observations into FRED to fill gaps in trait coverage will improve our understanding of changes in fine-root traits across space and time.read more
Citations
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Natural variation on whole-plant form in the wild is influenced by multivariate soil nutrient characteristics: natural selection acts on root traits.
Courtney J. Murren,Claudia H. S. Alt,Claudia H. S. Alt,Clare Kohler,Clare Kohler,Gorka Sancho +5 more
TL;DR: Simultaneous investigations of above- and belowground traits reveal trait functional relationships on which natural selection can act, highlighting the influence of edaphic features on evolutionary processes in wild annual plant populations.
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Mucilage binding to ground protects seeds of many plants from harvester ants: A functional investigation
Vincent S. Pan,Marshall McMunn,Richard Karban,Jake Goidell,Marjorie G. Weber,Eric F. LoPresti +5 more
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Tree water uptake enhances nitrogen acquisition in a fertilized boreal forest - but not under nitrogen-poor conditions.
Nils Henriksson,Hyungwoo Lim,John D. Marshall,Oskar Franklin,Oskar Franklin,Ross E. McMurtrie,Reimo Lutter,Reimo Lutter,Ruth Magh,Tomas Lundmark,Torgny Näsholm +10 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the stable isotopes 15 N and 2 H were applied to a small area of the forest floor in stands with high and low soil N availability, and the sensitivity of N acquisition to water uptake was quantified by statistical modelling.
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Phylogenetic Underpinning of Groundwater Use by Trees
Journal ArticleDOI
A historical and comparative review of 50 years of root data collection in Puerto Rico
TL;DR: In Spanish is available with online material as mentioned in this paper, which is available in Spanish language and English language in Spanish, and available in English language with online materials.http://www.marquardt.com.
References
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TL;DR: An unambiguous definition of plant trait is given, with a particular emphasis on functional trait, and it is argued that this can be achieved by developing "integration functions" which can be grouped into functional response (community level) and effect (ecosystem level) algorithms.
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Predicting changes in community composition and ecosystem functioning from plant traits: revisiting the Holy Grail
Sandra Lavorel,Eric Garnier +1 more
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New handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide
Natalia Pérez-Harguindeguy,Sandra Díaz,Eric Garnier,Sandra Lavorel,Hendrik Poorter,Pedro Jaureguiberry,M.S. Bret-Harte,William K. Cornwell,Joseph M. Craine,Diego E. Gurvich,Carlos Urcelay,Erik J. Veneklaas,Peter B. Reich,Lourens Poorter,Ian J. Wright,P. Ray,Lucas Enrico,Juli G. Pausas,A. C. de Vos,Nina Buchmann,Guillermo Funes,Fabien Quétier,Fabien Quétier,John G. Hodgson,Ken Thompson,H. D. Morgan,H. ter Steege,M.G.A. Van Der Heijden,Lawren Sack,Benjamin Blonder,Peter Poschlod,Maria Victoria Vaieretti,Georgina Conti,A. C. Staver,S. Aquino,Johannes H. C. Cornelissen +35 more
TL;DR: This new handbook has a better balance between whole-plant traits, leaf traits, root and stem traits and regenerative traits, and puts particular emphasis on traits important for predicting species’ effects on key ecosystem properties.
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