Seasonal Changes and Vertical Distribution of Fine Root Biomass During Vegetation Restoration in a Karst Area, Southwest China
In karst ecosystems, plants absorbing smaller amounts of nutrients, owing to shallow soil, show limited growth. In addition, fine roots (diameter < 2 mm) contribute to the regulation of nutrient cycles in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the spatial and temporal variations of fine root biomass in...
Saved in:
Published in | Frontiers in plant science Vol. 9; p. 2001 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Switzerland
Frontiers Media S.A
11.01.2019
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | In karst ecosystems, plants absorbing smaller amounts of nutrients, owing to shallow soil, show limited growth. In addition, fine roots (diameter < 2 mm) contribute to the regulation of nutrient cycles in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the spatial and temporal variations of fine root biomass in different vegetation types of the karst region remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the seasonal and vertical variation in biomass, necromass, and total mass of fine roots using sequential soil coring under different stages of vegetation restoration (grassland, shrubland, secondary forest, and primary forest) in Southwest China. The results showed that the fine root biomass and necromass ranged from 136.99 to 216.18 g m
and 47.34 to 86.94 g m
, respectively. The total mass of fine roots and their production ranged from 187.00 to 303.11 g m
and 55.74 to 100.84 g m
year
, respectively. They showed a single peak across the vegetation restoration gradient. The fine root biomass and total fine root mass also showed a single peak with seasonal change. In autumn, the fine root biomass was high, whereas the necromass was low. Most of the fine roots were concentrated in the surface soil layer (0-10 cm), which accounted more than 57% root biomass, and decreased with increasing soil depth. In addition, fine root production showed a similar vertical pattern of variation with biomass. Overall, our results suggested that fine roots show clear seasonal and vertical changes with vegetation succession. Moreover, there was a higher seasonal fluctuation and a greater vertical decreasing trend in late-successional stages than in the early-successional stages. The conversion of degraded land to forest could improve the productivity of underground ecosystems and vegetation restoration projects in the fragile karst region should, therefore, continue. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Reviewed by: Galdino Andrade, State University of Londrina, Brazil; Emily Palm, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; Miguel Montoro Girona, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden This article was submitted to Functional Plant Ecology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Plant Science Edited by: Henry D. Adams, Oklahoma State University, United States |
ISSN: | 1664-462X 1664-462X |
DOI: | 10.3389/fpls.2018.02001 |