Intraspecific Fine-Root Trait-Environment Relationships across Interior Douglas-Fir Forests of Western Canada

Plants

ShalomD. Addo-Danso¹  M.Luke McCormack²  CamilleE. Defrenne³  SuzanneW. Simard³  W.Jean Roach⁴ 

[1] CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, KNUST, P. O. Box 63, Kumasi, Ghana;Center for Tree Science, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL 60532, USA;Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada;Skyline Forestry Consultants Ltd., Kamloops, BC V2C 1A2, Canada;

关键词: belowground;    biogeographic gradient;    Douglas-fir;    fine root;    mycorrhizal fungi;    plant traits;    root diameter;    root economics;    root tissue density;   

DOI  :  10.3390/plants8070199

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Variation in resource acquisition strategies enables plants to adapt to different environments and may partly determine their responses to climate change. However, little is known about how belowground plant traits vary across climate and soil gradients. Focusing on interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) in western Canada, we tested whether fine-root traits relate to the environment at the intraspecific level. We quantified the variation in commonly measured functional root traits (morphological, chemical, and architectural traits) among the first three fine-root orders (i.e., absorptive fine roots) and across biogeographic gradients in climate and soil factors. Moderate but consistent trait-environment linkages occurred across populations of Douglas-fir, despite high levels of within-site variation. Shifts in morphological traits across regions were decoupled from those in chemical traits. Fine roots in colder/drier climates were characterized by a lower tissue density, higher specific area, larger diameter, and lower carbon-to-nitrogen ratio than those in warmer/wetter climates. Our results showed that Douglas-fir fine roots do not rely on adjustments in architectural traits to adapt rooting strategies in different environments. Intraspecific fine-root adjustments at the regional scale do not fit along a single axis of root economic strategy and are concordant with an increase in root acquisitive potential in colder/drier environments.

【 授权许可】

Unknown