A large ephemeral release of nitrogen upon wetting of dry soil and corresponding root responses in the field

To assess changes in soil nutrients, root growth and mycrorrhizal infection in response to rain events, a water pulse was applied to a very dry soil. Wetting of a dry soil in the Great Basin of the Western United States led to a striking pulse of available soil nitrate in a field plot, but available phosphate was not affected. This is the first field demonstration of this phenomenon in the Great Basin as far as we are aware. This pulse was only apparent for a few days, probably due to microbial immobilization of the nitrogen. Root ammonium uptake capacity increased within one day of the water pulse, but new root growth was not apparent until 3 days after the water pulse. Thus, to capture this ephemeral release of nitrogen, enhanced uptake capacity of existing roots was probably more important than development of new roots. Mycorrhizal infection was not affected by the water pulse treatments. However, since the water pulse only affected nitrogen availability and mycorrhizae are generally most effective in facilitating acquisition of less mobile nutrients such as phosphate, mycorrhizae likely do not play an important role in taking advantage of this opportunity provided by the pulse of water.     

Influences of Root Diameter, Tree Age, Soil Depth and Season on Fine Root Survivorship in Prunus avium

The rapid turnover of the fine root system is a major pathway of carbon and nutrient flow from plant to soil in forest ecosystems. In order to quantify these fluxes there is a need to understand how fine root demography is influenced by edaphic, environmental and plant ontogenetic factors. We studied the influence of four major factors (season, depth, root diameter and tree age) on the survivorship and longevity of fine roots of Prunus avium L. (wild cherry) over two years in North East Scotland. Survival analysis of data derived from minirhizotron observations showed that, for the range of root diameters studied, an increase in root diameter of 0.1 mm was associated with a 16% decrease in the risk of death. Depth was also an important factor; roots present at a depth of 10 cm had significantly lower survivorship than did roots at all lower depths studied. The effects of tree age and season on root production were more complex. Roots of old trees were more likely to die in the spring and roots of young trees were more likely to die in the autumn. Our data illustrate the complex factors that must be taken into account when scaling up information from individual observations of root longevity to model the contribution of fine roots to C and nutrient fluxes in forest ecosystems.     

The effect of soil drought on water-use efficiency in a contrasting Great Basin desert and Sierran montane species

Abstract. The effect of soil drought on water-use efficiency (WUE) and water relations was examined for potted Artemisia tridentata Nutt. and Pinus ponderosa Laws., a dominant Great Basin desert shrub and a Sierran montane tree, respectively. Before the onset of drought, A. tridentata had slightly higher photosynthetic rates than P. ponderosa and A. tridentata maintained positive photosynthetic rates at substantially lower water potentials (Ψ). Complete stomatal closure and cessation of photosynthesis occurred at a Ψ of ca. −2.5 MPa for P. ponderosa and less than −5.0 MPa for A. tridentata. Repeated drought cycles caused a small increase in bulk modulus of elasticity for A. tridentata and neither species exhibited significant osmotic adjustment. WUE was similar at Ψ≥−1.0 MPa but as Ψ decreased P. ponderosa consistently maintained higher WUE than A. tridentata. The primary factor contributing to higher WUE for P. ponderosa was the rapid decrease in stomatal conductance with decreasing Ψ. Comparatively low WUE for A. tridentata , a drought tolerant species, suggests that efficient use of water is a conservative ecophysiological 'strategy' that can be detrimental in a competitive water-limited environment. The combination of profligate use of water and a high degree of drought tolerance may be a more successful combination of physiological characteristics in certain dry habitats.     

Fine root architecture, morphology, and biomass of different branch orders of two Chinese temperate tree species

We have limited understanding of architecture and morphology of fine root systems in large woody trees. This study investigated architecture, morphology, and biomass of different fine root branch orders of two temperate tree species from Northeastern China—Larix gmelinii Rupr and Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr —by sampling up to five fine root branch orders three times during the 2003 growing season from two soil depths (i.e., 0–10 and.10–20 cm). Branching ratio (R _b) differed with the level of branching: R _b values from the fifth to the second order of branching were approximately three in both species, but markedly higher for the first two orders of branching, reaching a value of 10.4 for L. gmelinii and 18.6 for F. mandshurica. Fine root diameter, length, SRL and root length density not only had systematic changes with root order, but also varied significantly with season and soil depth. Total biomass per order did not change systematically with branch order. Compared to the second, third and/or fourth order, the first order roots exhibited higher biomass throughout the growing season and soil depths, a pattern related to consistently higher R _b values for the first two orders of branching than the other levels of branching. Moreover, the differences in architecture and morphology across order, season, and soil depth between the two species were consistent with the morphological disparity between gymnosperms and angiosperms reported previously. The results of this study suggest that root architecture and morphology, especially those of the first order roots, should be important for understanding the complexity and multi-functionality of tree fine roots with respect to root nutrient and water uptake, and fine root dynamics in forest ecosystems.     

Production, turnover and mycorrhizal colonization of root systems of three Populus species grown under elevated CO2 (POPFACE)

A fast growing high density Populus plantation located in central Italy was exposed to elevated carbon dioxide for a period of three years. An elevated CO₂ treatment (550 ppm), of 200 ppm over ambient (350 ppm) was provided using a FACE technique. Standing root biomass, fine root turnover and mycorrhizal colonization of the following Populus species was examined: Populus alba L., Populus nigra L., Populus x euramericana Dode (Guinier). Elevated CO₂ increased belowground allocation of biomass in all three species examined, standing root biomass increased by 47–76% as a result of FACE treatment. Similarly, fine root biomass present in the soil increased by 35–84%. The FACE treatment resulted in 55% faster fine root turnover in P. alba and a 27% increase in turnover of roots of P. nigra and P. x euramericana. P. alba and P. nigra invested more root biomass into deeper soil horizon under elevated CO₂. Response of the mycorrhizal community to elevated CO₂ was more varied, the rate of infection increased only in P. alba for both ectomycorrhizal (EM) and arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM). The roots of P. nigra showed greater infection only by AM and the colonization of the root system of P. x euramericana was not affected by FACE treatment. The results suggest that elevated atmospheric CO₂ conditions induce greater belowground biomass investment, which could lead to accumulation of assimilated C in the soil profile. This may have implications for C sequestration and must be taken into account when considering long‐term C storage in the soil.     

Diurnal variation and interrelations of ecophysiological parameters in three peatland woody species under different weather and soil moisture conditions

Summary The diurnal patterns of twig xylem water potential, net photosynthesis rate, water use efficiency of photosynthesis, and stomatal and mesophyll conductance to CO₂ in tamarack, black spruce and swamp birch growing in a natural peatland in central Alberta, Canada, were examined. The relationships of photosynthesis to other ccophysiological parameters were investigated. Data were collected on three days with different weather and soil moisture conditions in the 1988 growing season. Day 1 was clear and warm and the ground water table was 7 cm above the average peat surface. Day 2 was clear and hot. Day 3 was cloudy but warm. On day 2 and day 3, the water tables were in the normal range for that season. Major findings were: 1) Soil flooding depressed photosynthesis in tamarack and black spruce. 2) Swamp birch was better adapted to flooding than tamarack or black spruce. 3) The trees experienced water stress in the afternoons of the two days with lower water table. 4) Changes in photosynthesis of the three species were primarily affected by changes in mesophyll conductance (g_m) and the response of photosynthesis to changes in g_m was similar for all three species.     

Dynamics of seedling growth acclimation towards altered light conditions can be quantified via GROWSCREEN: a setup and procedure designed for rapid optical phenotyping of different plant species

Using a novel setup, we assessed how fast growth of Nicotiana tabacum seedlings responds to alterations in the light regime and investigated whether starch-free mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana show decreased growth potential at an early developmental stage. Leaf area and relative growth rate were measured based on pictures from a camera automatically placed above an array of 120 seedlings. Detection of total seedling leaf area was performed via global segmentation of colour images for preset thresholds of the parameters hue, saturation and value. Dynamic acclimation of relative growth rate towards altered light conditions occurred within 1 d in N. tabacum exposed to high nutrient availability, but not in plants exposed to low nutrient availability. Increased leaf area was correlated with an increase in shoot fresh and dry weight as well as root growth in N. tabacum. Relative growth rate was shown to be a more appropriate parameter than leaf area for detection of dynamic growth acclimation. Clear differences in leaf growth activity were also observed for A. thaliana. As growth responses are generally most flexible in early developmental stages, the procedure described here is an important step towards standardized protocols for rapid detection of the effects of changes in internal (genetic) and external (environmental) parameters regulating plant growth.