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Effect of species, root branching order and season on the root traits of 13 perennial grass species

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Abstract

Aims

Inter-specific comparisons of plant traits may vary depending on intra-specific variation. Here we examine the impact of root branching order and season on key functional root traits for grass species. We also compare root traits among co-existing grass species as a step towards defining root trait syndromes.

Methods

Monocultures of 13 grass species, grown under field conditions and subjected to intensive management, were used to record root trait values for coarse roots (1st order, >0.3 mm), fine roots (2nd and 3rd orders, <0.2 mm) and mixed root samples over three growing seasons.

Results

Branching order and species had a significant effect on root trait values, whereas season showed a marginal effect. The diameter of coarse roots was more variable than that of fine roots and, as expected, coarse roots had higher tissue density and lower specific root length values than fine roots. Principal component analysis run on eight root traits provided evidence for two trait syndromes related to resource acquisition and conservation strategies across grass species.

Conclusions

Our data show that root branching order is the main determinant of root trait variation among species. This highlights the necessity to include the proportion of fine vs coarse roots when measuring traits of mixed root samples.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Sandrine Revaillot and Angélique Corrent for root collection, preparation and morphology measurements. We also thank Bernard Pons, Sylvie Toillon and Jean-Marie Vallée for their technical assistance in the field. We would like to thank Rocio Perrez Gonzalez, Jasmine Ross and Andy Midwood from the James Hutton Research Institute. We are grateful to Juliette Bloor for her comments on a previous version of the paper and to Leigh Gebbie for the English improvement of the paper and to three anonymous reviewers for previous version of the paper. This work was supported by the French government through GEOTRAITS and GDR UTILITERRES projects and by the INRA EFPA Research Department (“Utilisation du NIRS pour prédire la proportion et la composition chimique de litières racinaires de graminées prairiales”). The work of authors Dawson and Robertson is funded by the Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) Division.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, UR874, Grassland Ecosystem Research Team, 234 Avenue du Brézet, 63100, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Catherine Picon-Cochard, Rémi Pilon & Emilie Tarroux

  2. INRA, UR1115, Plantes et Systèmes de Culture Horticoles, Domaine Saint-Paul, Site Agroparc, 84914, Avignon, France

    Loïc Pagès

  3. The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK

    Jean Robertson & Lorna Dawson

Authors
  1. Catherine Picon-Cochard
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  2. Rémi Pilon
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  3. Emilie Tarroux
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  4. Loïc Pagès
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  5. Jean Robertson
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  6. Lorna Dawson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Catherine Picon-Cochard.

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Responsible Editor: Peter J. Gregory.

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Table S1

Spring, summer and autumn root diameter (mm), root tissue density (g cm−3) and specific root length (m g−1) for all root branching orders of 13 monoculture-grown grass species subjected to six cuts per year and N fertilisation (360 kg N ha−1 year−1). CVs and CVsp are coefficient of variation among season within species and among species within season, respectively. Values are expressed as means (standard error). For each species and season, n = 3. (DOC 177 kb)

Table S2

Spring, summer and autumn root nitrogen content (RNC,%), root neutral detergent fibre (NDF,%), root acid detergent fibre (ADF,%), and root lignin (%) for all root branching orders of 13 monoculture-grown grass species subjected to six cuts per year and N fertilisation (360 kg N ha−1 year−1). CVs and CVsp are coefficient of variation among season within species and among species within season, respectively. Values are expressed as means (standard error). For each species, n = 3; nd: not determined due to only one replicate. (DOC 62 kb)

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Picon-Cochard, C., Pilon, R., Tarroux, E. et al. Effect of species, root branching order and season on the root traits of 13 perennial grass species. Plant Soil 353, 47–57 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-1007-4

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