Influence of wind and slope on buttress development in temperate tree species

Vascular plants develop diverse root system architectures and exudates to facilitate acquisition of soil nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). Plant species have inherently specific properties of root system architectures and exudates, but some plants exhibit high plasticity to respond to spatiotemporal variations in soil nutrient forms and availability. This paper synthesizes evidence on how plant species diversity and root plasticity contribute to soil nutrient mobilization and uptake in plants from the tropics to the Arctic with varying plant species diversity. The development of finer roots in the surface soil is a well‐known strategy for the acquisition of limited nutrients (especially phosphorus), but the allocation of roots foraging “nutrient hotspots” in deeper soil (podzolic soil or permafrost‐affected soils) is an alternative strategy for coniferous trees tested in the Arctic and boreal forests. This contrasts with findings in tropical forests, where diverse plant species with different capacities of organic acid exudation coexist and species composition shifts in response to phosphorus deficiency. In particular, high malate exudation from roots and rhizosphere microbes stimulates phosphorus solubilization, aluminum detoxification, and lignin degradation in acidic soils. The diversity and plasticity of the root system architecture, root exudation, and the flexibility of nutrient sources mitigate nutrient limitation in soil. Root plasticity facilitating soil nutrient acquisition has a large impact on biogeochemistry and soil formation, such as podzolization, in the long term.

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Asymmetric growth of belowground and aboveground tree organs and their architectural relationships: a review

Wang

Quan

et al. 2023

Can. J. For. Res.

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The issue of forest trees biologically designed to withstand wind and slope stresses for improving tree anchorage and stability has been of interest to many forest ecologists for over 200 years. Asymmetry in architecture and function is a typical effect of biomechanical design. This review tried to find the architectural connectivity between belowground and aboveground organs of a tree based on a summary of observations of the asymmetric growth of crown, trunk, and root system. The asymmetrical aboveground growth is influenced by a complex interaction of tree species, age, neighborhood competition, wind, lighting, slope, and elevation. The asymmetrical belowground development is dependent on tree species, age, trunk leaning, wind, soil, and slope. Uneven water conduction, nutrient allocation, hormone content, and photosynthesis rate can influence the relationship of architectural mechanisms between the belowground and aboveground organs. The contradictory observations on the directional deformations of the root system (buttresses) reveal the particular prominence of combined effects of multiple factors. Future research should focus on the comprehensive understanding of the belowground and aboveground architectural relationships of different tree species. Our review provides novel insights into the connotations of root–shoot balance in biomass distribution of the individual plant organs.

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Influence of wind and slope on buttress development in temperate tree species

Cited by 4 publications

References 22 publications

An investigation into the wind load analysis of a 14-story building

An investigation into the wind load analysis of a 14-story building

Plant strategy of root system architecture and exudates for acquiring soil nutrients

Asymmetric growth of belowground and aboveground tree organs and their architectural relationships: a review

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