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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Water in, water out: root form influences leaf function.
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Seeing roots from space: aboveground fingerprints of root depth in vegetation sensitivity to climate in dry biomes
TL;DR: In this paper , the relationship between root depth and vegetation sensitivity index (VSI) was analyzed in a study in southern Africa, where the authors found that deeper roots provided greater resistance to climate variability and higher temporal autocorrelation in vegetation greenness.
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Rotational horse grazing and dry weather maximize infiltration into soil macropores
TL;DR: In this article , the effects of rotational grazing (i.e., livestock graze sub-sections of a pasture in sequence) with the continuous approach to grazing on rates of water infiltration (i) at slightly negative pressure potentials (h, −15, −10, −5, −3), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), and bulk density (BD).
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Dissecting fine root diameter distribution at the community level captures root morphological diversity
TL;DR: In this article , the structure of fine root ( < 2 mm) diameter distribution at the community level was analyzed as an indicator of root morphological diversity, and hypothesized that the shape of the distribution provide insights on root types and root exploration strategies.
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Unexpectedly low δ 13C in leaves, branches, stems and roots of three acacia species growing in hyper-arid environments
Daphna Uni,Daphna Uni,Elli Groner,Elaine Soloway,Amgad Hjazin,Spencer Johnswick,Gidon Winters,Efrat Sheffer,Ido Rog,Yael Wagner,Tamir Klein +10 more
TL;DR: The highly depleted leaf δ 13C suggests that these trees have high stomatal gas exchange, despite growing in extremely dry habitats, and might be related to the seasonal coupling of growth of leaves and heterotrophic tissues.
References
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Cyrille Violle,Marie-Laure Navas,Denis Vile,Elena Kazakou,Claire Fortunel,Irène Hummel,Eric Garnier +6 more
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
TL;DR: A framework using concepts and results from community ecology, ecosystem ecology and evolutionary biology to provide a linkage between traits associated with the response of plants to environmental factors and traits that determine effects of plants on ecosystem functions is presented.
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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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