Divergent seasonal responses of above- and below-ground to environmental factors in alpine grassland

Frontiers in Plant Science

Plant Science

Yan Yan¹  Xiaodan Wang¹  Jiangtao Hong¹  Xiaojun Nie²  Xiaojing Qin² 

[1] Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China;School of Surveying and Land Information Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, China;

关键词: above-ground;    below-ground;    seasonal pattern;    alpine steppe;    synchronous;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpls.2022.1091441

 received in 2022-11-07, accepted in 2022-11-25,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionUnder current global warming, the relationship between season changes of plants and environmental factors is focused on high-elevation and latitude regions. Due to the desynchronized growth of above- and below-ground and the buffering of soil, the driving factors in leaf and root show seasonal dynamics.MethodsWe measured above- and below-ground intensity in the alpine steppe over the non-growing season (October-April) and growing season (May-September). Air temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and soil temperature were used to analyze the correlation based on the growth rhythm.ResultsResults showed that an earlier growth in spring and a delayed dormancy in autumn of root than leaf was observed. Our results strongly suggest that soil moisture plays a more important role in leaf unfolding while temperature is consistent with the withering of the shoots. Soil moisture comes from soil melt driving the spring phenology of roots, which derived from the storage of the subsoil layer in the last autumn.DiscussionClimate change will affect the strong seasonal patterns that characterized these precipitation-limited systems, especially in the spring and fall shoulder seasons. As seasonality changes in the alpine steppe, divergent responses of leaf and fine root would be explored.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Qin, Nie, Wang, Hong and Yan