Root traits as drivers of plant and ecosystem functioning: current understanding, pitfalls and future research needs
Grégoire T. Freschet,Grégoire T. Freschet,Catherine Roumet,Louise H. Comas,Monique Weemstra,A. Glyn Bengough,A. Glyn Bengough,Boris Rewald,Richard D. Bardgett,Gerlinde B. De Deyn,David W. Johnson,Jitka Klimešová,Martin Lukac,Martin Lukac,M. Luke McCormack,Ina C. Meier,Ina C. Meier,Loïc Pagès,Hendrik Poorter,Hendrik Poorter,Iván Prieto,Nina Wurzburger,Marcin Zadworny,Agnieszka Bagniewska-Zadworna,Elison B. Blancaflor,Ivano Brunner,Arthur Gessler,Sarah E. Hobbie,Colleen M. Iversen,Liesje Mommer,Catherine Picon-Cochard,Johannes A. Postma,Laura Rose,Peter Ryser,Michael Scherer-Lorenzen,Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia,Tao Sun,Oscar J. Valverde-Barrantes,Alexandra Weigelt,Larry M. York,Alexia Stokes +40 more
TLDR
It is found that below-ground traits with widest importance in plant and ecosystem functioning are not those most commonly measured, and advocate that establishing causal hierarchical links among root traits will provide a hypothesis-based framework to identify the most parsimonious sets of traits with strongest influence on the functions, and to link genotypes to plant andcosystem functioning.Abstract:
The effects of plants on the biosphere, atmosphere and geosphere are key determinants of terrestrial ecosystem functioning. However, despite substantial progress made regarding plant belowground components, we are still only beginning to explore the complex relationships between root traits and functions. Drawing on the literature in plant physiology, ecophysiology, ecology, agronomy and soil science, we reviewed 24 aspects of plant and ecosystem functioning and their relationships with a number of root system traits, including aspects of architecture, physiology, morphology, anatomy, chemistry, biomechanics and biotic interactions. Based on this assessment, we critically evaluated the current strengths and gaps in our knowledge, and identify future research challenges in the field of root ecology. Most importantly, we found that belowground traits with the broadest importance in plant and ecosystem functioning are not those most commonly measured. Also, the estimation of trait relative importance for functioning requires us to consider a more comprehensive range of functionally relevant traits from a diverse range of species, across environments and over time series. We also advocate that establishing causal hierarchical links among root traits will provide a hypothesis-based framework to identify the most parsimonious sets of traits with the strongest links on functions, and to link genotypes to plant and ecosystem functioning.read more
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A starting guide to root ecology: strengthening ecological concepts and standardising root classification, sampling, processing and trait measurements
Grégoire T. Freschet,Loïc Pagès,Colleen M. Iversen,Louise H. Comas,Boris Rewald,Catherine Roumet,Jitka Klimešová,Marcin Zadworny,Hendrik Poorter,Hendrik Poorter,Johannes A. Postma,Thomas S. Adams,Agnieszka Bagniewska-Zadworna,A. Glyn Bengough,A. Glyn Bengough,Elison B. Blancaflor,Ivano Brunner,Johannes H. C. Cornelissen,Eric Garnier,Arthur Gessler,Sarah E. Hobbie,Ina C. Meier,Liesje Mommer,Catherine Picon-Cochard,Laura Rose,Peter Ryser,Michael Scherer-Lorenzen,Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia,Alexia Stokes,Tao Sun,Oscar J. Valverde-Barrantes,Monique Weemstra,Alexandra Weigelt,Nina Wurzburger,Larry M. York,Sarah A. Batterman,Sarah A. Batterman,Moemy Gomes de Moraes,Štěpán Janeček,Hans Lambers,V. G. Salmon,Nishanth Tharayil,M. Luke McCormack +42 more
TL;DR: A major aim of this guide is to help break down barriers between the many subdisciplines of root ecology and ecophysiology, broaden researchers’ views on the multiple aspects of root study and create favourable conditions for the inception of comprehensive experiments on the role of roots in plant and ecosystem functioning.
Journal Article
Revisiting the Holy Grail: Using plant functional traits to understand ecological processes
Jennifer L. Funk,Julie E. Larson,Gregory M. Ames,Bradley J. Butterfield,Jeannine Cavender-Bares,Jennifer Firn,Daniel C. Laughlin,Ariana E. Sutton-Grier,Ariana E. Sutton-Grier,Laura Williams,Justin P. Wright +10 more
TL;DR: The utility of trait‐based approaches in ecology will benefit from efforts that demonstrate how these traits and indices influence organismal, community, and ecosystem processes across vegetation types, which may be achieved through meta‐analysis and enhancement of trait databases.
Journal ArticleDOI
An integrated framework of plant form and function: The belowground perspective
Alexandra Weigelt,Liesje Mommer,Karl Andraczek,Colleen M. Iversen,Joana Bergmann,Helge Bruelheide,Ying Fan,Grégoire T. Freschet,Nathaly R. Guerrero-Ramírez,Jens Kattge,Thomas W. Kuyper,Daniel C. Laughlin,Ina C. Meier,Fons van der Plas,Fons van der Plas,Hendrik Poorter,Hendrik Poorter,Catherine Roumet,Jasper van Ruijven,Francesco Maria Sabatini,Marina Semchenko,Marina Semchenko,Christopher J. Sweeney,Oscar J. Valverde-Barrantes,Larry M. York,M. Luke McCormack +25 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the root traits were integrated into the global framework of plant form and function, and an overarching conceptual framework that integrated two recently identified root trait gradients with a well-established aboveground plant trait framework was developed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Fine-root traits in the global spectrum of plant form and function.
Carlos P. Carmona,C. Guillermo Bueno,Aurèle Toussaint,Sabrina Träger,Sabrina Träger,Sandra Díaz,Mari Moora,Alison D. Munson,Meelis Pärtel,Martin Zobel,Riin Tamme +10 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a global spectrum of plant form and function (GSPFF) and root economics space (RES4) for aboveground and fine-root traits was analyzed.
A statistical approach to root system classification
TL;DR: The study demonstrates that principal component based rooting types provide efficient and meaningful multi-trait classifiers and concluded that the data-define classification is appropriate for integration of knowledge obtained with different root measurement methods and at various scales.
References
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REVIEWS AND SYNTHESES Landscape perspectives on agricultural intensification and biodiversity - ecosystem service management
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