Dataset Information

Biomass, Morphology, and Dynamics of the Fine Root System Across a 3,000-M Elevation Gradient on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

ABSTRACT: Fine roots (?2 mm) consume a large proportion of photosynthates and thus play a key role in the global carbon cycle, but our knowledge about fine root biomass, production, and turnover across environmental gradients is insufficient, especially in tropical ecosystems. Root system studies along elevation transects can produce valuable insights into root trait-environment relationships and may help to explore the evidence for a root economics spectrum (RES) that should represent a trait syndrome with a trade-off between resource acquisitive and conservative root traits. We studied fine root biomass, necromass, production, and mean fine root lifespan (the inverse of fine root turnover) of woody plants in six natural tropical ecosystems (savanna, four tropical mountain forest types, tropical alpine heathland) on the southern slope of Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) between 900 and 4,500 m a.s.l. Fine root biomass and necromass showed a unimodal pattern along the slope with a peak in the moist upper montane forest (~2,800 m), while fine root production varied little between savanna and upper montane forest to decrease toward the alpine zone. Root:shoot ratio (fine root biomass and production related to aboveground biomass) in the tropical montane forest increased exponentially with elevation, while it decreased with precipitation and soil nitrogen availability (decreasing soil C:N ratio). Mean fine root lifespan was lowest in the ecosystems with pronounced resource limitation (savanna at low elevation, alpine heathland at high elevation) and higher in the moist and cool forest belt (~1,800-3,700 m). The variation in root traits across the elevation gradient fits better with the concept of a multi-dimensional RES, as root tissue density and specific root length showed variable relations to each other, which does not agree with a simple trade-off between acquisitive and conservative root traits. In conclusion, despite large variation in fine root biomass, production, and morphology among the different plant species and ecosystems, a general belowground shift in carbohydrate partitioning is evident from 900 to 4,500 m a.s.l., suggesting that plant growth is increasingly limited by nutrient (probably N) shortage toward higher elevations.

SUBMITTER: Sierra Cornejo N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7010809 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Biomass, Morphology, and Dynamics of the Fine Root System Across a 3,000-M Elevation Gradient on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Sierra Cornejo Natalia N Hertel Dietrich D Becker Joscha N JN Hemp Andreas A Leuschner Christoph C

Frontiers in plant science 20200204

Fine roots (≤2 mm) consume a large proportion of photosynthates and thus play a key role in the global carbon cycle, but our knowledge about fine root biomass, production, and turnover across environmental gradients is insufficient, especially in tropical ecosystems. Root system studies along elevation transects can produce valuable insights into root trait-environment relationships and may help to explore the evidence for a root economics spectrum (RES) that should represent a trait syndrome wi ...[more]

PMID: 32117363

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background and aimsLessons from above-ground trait ecology and resource economics theory may not be directly translatable to below-ground traits due to differences in function, trade-offs and environmental constraints. Here we examine root functional traits within and across species along a fine-scale hydrological gradient. We ask two related questions: (1) What is the relative magnitude of trait variation across the gradient for within- versus among-species variation? (2) Do correlations among below-ground plant traits conform with predictions from resource-economic spectrum theory?MethodsWe sampled four below-ground fine-root traits (specific root length, branching intensity, root tissue density and root dry matter content) and four above-ground traits (specific leaf area, leaf size, plant height and leaf dry matter content) in vascular plants along a fine-scale hydrological gradient within a wet heathland community in south-eastern Australia. Below-ground and above-ground traits were sampled both within and among species.Key resultsRoot traits shifted both within and among species across the hydrological gradient. Within- and among-species patterns for root tissue density showed similar declines towards the wetter end of the gradient. Other root traits showed a variety of patterns with respect to within- and among-species variation. Filtering of species has a stronger effect compared with the average within-species shift: the slopes of the relationships between soil moisture and traits were steeper across species than slopes of within species. Between species, below-ground traits were only weakly linked to each other and to above-ground traits, but these weak links did in some cases correspond with predictions from economic theory.ConclusionsOne of the challenges of research on root traits has been considerable intraspecific variation. Here we show that part of intraspecific root trait variation is structured by a fine-scale hydrological gradient, and that the variation aligns with among-species trends in some cases. Patterns in root tissue density are especially intriguing and may play an important role in species and individual response to moisture conditions. Given the importance of roots in the uptake of resources, and in carbon and nutrient turnover, it is vital that we establish patterns of root trait variation across environmental gradients.

Project description:AimSpecies differ in their degree of specialization when interacting with other species, with significant consequences for the function and robustness of ecosystems. In order to better estimate such consequences, we need to improve our understanding of the spatial patterns and drivers of specialization in interaction networks.MethodsHere, we used the extensive environmental gradient of Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania, East Africa) to study patterns and drivers of specialization, and robustness of plant-pollinator interactions against simulated species extinction with standardized sampling methods. We studied specialization, network robustness and other network indices of 67 quantitative plant-pollinator networks consisting of 268 observational hours and 4,380 plant-pollinator interactions along a 3.4 km elevational gradient. Using path analysis, we tested whether resource availability, pollinator richness, visitation rates, temperature, and/or area explain average specialization in pollinator communities. We further linked pollinator specialization to different pollinator taxa, and species traits, that is, proboscis length, body size, and species elevational ranges.ResultsWe found that specialization decreased with increasing elevation at different levels of biological organization. Among all variables, mean annual temperature was the best predictor of average specialization in pollinator communities. Specialization differed between pollinator taxa, but was not related to pollinator traits. Network robustness against simulated species extinctions of both plants and pollinators was lowest in the most specialized interaction networks, that is, in the lowlands.ConclusionsOur study uncovers patterns in plant-pollinator specialization along elevational gradients. Mean annual temperature was closely linked to pollinator specialization. Energetic constraints, caused by short activity timeframes in cold highlands, may force ectothermic species to broaden their dietary spectrum. Alternatively or in addition, accelerated evolutionary rates might facilitate the establishment of specialization under warm climates. Despite the mechanisms behind the patterns have yet to be fully resolved, our data suggest that temperature shifts in the course of climate change may destabilize pollination networks by affecting network architecture.

Dataset Information

Biomass, Morphology, and Dynamics of the Fine Root System Across a 3,000-M Elevation Gradient on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Publications

Biomass, Morphology, and Dynamics of the Fine Root System Across a 3,000-M Elevation Gradient on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets