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Distributions of fine and coarse tree roots in a semi-arid mountain region and their relationships with soil properties

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In this study, we investigated the 2D contours and horizontal distributions of fine and coarse roots and tested their relationships with soil properties.

Abstract

Fine (≤2 mm) and coarse roots (≥5 mm) play important roles in water and nutrient cycling in forested ecosystems and are the major organs that trees use to absorb water and nutrients. However, few studies have investigated the distributions of these root types in rocky mountain regions. An understanding of the distribution of root systems would facilitate the study of how available resources are used belowground in rocky mountain regions. We measured the distribution of the root biomass (RB), specific root length (SRL), and root length density (RLD) for both fine and coarse roots of two tree species: Platycladus orientalis and Prunus davidiana. The results showed that the fine-root RB and RLD of P. orientalis were higher than those of P. davidiana, but that the fine-root SRL of P. orientalis was lower than that of P. davidiana. In contrast, the coarse-root RB, SRL, and RLD of P. orientalis were lower than those of P. davidiana. From the 2D contour distribution, we found that most fine and coarse roots of P. orientalis and P. davidiana were concentrated near tree stems. The horizontal distribution of P. davidiana root showed less horizontal extension ability than that of P. orientalis root. The RB, SRL, and RLD of both fine and coarse roots of P. orientalis declined with increasing soil depth, and the roots of P. davidiana exhibited different distribution patterns. We found that P. orientalis has a more dominant and explorative fine-root system, whereas P. davidiana has an explorative coarse-root system. The fine- and coarse-root traits of P. orientalis were susceptible to soil nutrients, but these nutrients had only a slight effect on the coarse-root traits of P. davidiana.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31170580).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, 95 Wenhua Road, Jinshui Zhengzhou, Henan Province, 450002, China

    Qiufang Cui, Zhipei Feng & Xitian Yang

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  1. Qiufang Cui
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  2. Zhipei Feng
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  3. Xitian Yang
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Correspondence to Xitian Yang.

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No conflict of interest exists in the submission of this manuscript, and manuscript is approved by all authors for publication. I declare on behalf of my co-authors that the work described is original research that has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. All of the authors listed have approved the manuscript that is enclosed.

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Communicated by K. Noguchi.

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Cui, Q., Feng, Z. & Yang, X. Distributions of fine and coarse tree roots in a semi-arid mountain region and their relationships with soil properties. Trees 31, 607–616 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-016-1493-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-016-1493-3

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