The response of root traits to precipitation change of herbaceous species in temperate steppes

Zhou, Meng; Wang, Jing; Bai, Wenming; Zhang, Yushi; Zhang, Wenhao

doi:10.1111/1365-2435.13420

Cited by 53 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Thus, the apparent disadvantage of building an expensive root system with thicker roots under water‐limited conditions, may be further compensated by long‐lived roots (Kong et al., 2017; Weemstra et al., 2016). Our results support recent studies (Zhou et al., 2018; Zhou, Wang, Bai, Zhang, & Zhang, 2019) showing that plants under drought increase root diameter.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Root trait responses to drought are more heterogeneous than leaf trait responses

et al. 2020

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Drought can strongly modify plant diversity and ecosystem processes. As droughts are expected to intensify in the future, it is important to better understand plant responses to this global driver. Root traits are an overlooked but powerful predictor of plant responses to drought because they are in direct contact with the soil environment and are responsible for taking up nutrients and water. Here, we determine which root traits are sensitive to drought and the magnitude of that response. We also tested whether root trait relationships with shoot biomass are affected by drought and to what extent all these responses depend on plant species identity. To do so, we conducted a glasshouse experiment with 24 plant species grown in pots (10 replicates per species), which included grasses, forbs and legumes. All replicates were well watered during the first month and then half of them were kept under drought (30% water holding capacity [WHC]), with the other half serving as control (70% WHC). After 2 months of treatment, leaf and root traits were measured. Leaf traits had a strong and more uniform response to drought compared to root traits. Root trait responses were variable and differed among plant species. Overall, grasses and several forbs had increased root diameter with drought while forbs had decreased specific root surface area (SRSA) and specific root length (SRL). Increase of root diameter and reduction of root elongation or sacrificing fine roots are different strategies that may promote nutrient and water acquisition, depending on plant species identity. Our results identify changes in root morphological traits as mechanisms to likely tolerate drought and highlight that, although such drought responses are species‐specific, they are phylogenetically clustered. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Root trait responses to drought are more heterogeneous than leaf trait responses

et al. 2020

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“…These different trait patterns could not be attributed to different growth forms, as has been observed elsewhere on root (Zhao et al., 2016) and leaf traits (Midolo et al., 2019), because in our study, root trait patterns were highly variable within growth forms, and overlapping between species of different growth forms (Figure S4). Prior studies also observed idiosyncratic patterns in leaf (Albert et al., 2010; Kichenin et al., 2013; Read et al., 2017) and root trait variation along various environmental gradients (Kumordzi et al., 2019; Roybal & Butterfield, 2019; Zhou et al., 2019) suggesting that idiosyncrasy in intraspecific trait patterns may be a widespread phenomenon. As the different degrees of, and patterns in intraspecific trait variation may be influenced by species' phylogenetic background (Kembel & Cahill, 2005), phylogeny may be relevant to account for in future work.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Patterns in intraspecific variation in root traits are species‐specific along an elevation gradient

et al. 2020

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Patterns in intraspecific variation in root traits are species-specific along an elevation gradient Abstract 1. Intraspecific trait variation is an important driver of plant performance in different environments. Although roots acquire essential resources that vary with the environment, most studies have focused on intraspecific variation in leaf traits, and research on roots is often restricted to a few species. It remains largely unclear how and to what extent root traits vary with the environment and whether general intraspecific patterns exist across species. 2. We compared intraspecific variation in specific root length (SRL), root diameter, root tissue density (RTD) and root branching density of 11 species along a 1000 m elevation gradient in the French Alps. We tested 1) the extent of intra-versus interspecific root trait variation along the gradient, 2) whether intraspecific trait patterns with elevation were consistent among species and 3) whether environmental variables better explained intraspecific variation in root traits than elevation. Specifically, we hypothesised that within a species, root trait values would adjust to enhance resource acquisition (either through an increase in SRL or root diameter, and/or branching density) and/or conservation (increased RTD) at higher elevations. 3. Species identity explained most of the overall variation in root traits. Elevation explained only a minor proportion of intraspecific root trait variation, which varied more strongly within than between elevations. Also, trait relationships with elevation rarely agreed with our hypotheses, Accepted Article This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved varied strongly across species, and were often differently related to environmental variation. Generally, climate, soil and vegetation properties better explained intraspecific root variation than elevation, but these relationships were highly species-dependent. 4. Along complex environmental gradients where multiple properties simultaneously change, roots of different species vary in different ways, leading to species-specific patterns in intraspecific root trait variation. The lack of support for our hypotheses may be caused by the multiple interactions between environmental properties, small-scale soil heterogeneity, species phylogeny, and changing plant-plant interactions. Our findings suggest that, to enhance our understanding of the effects of environmental change on plant performance, we need to better integrate the multiple dimensions of plant responses to change and measure a broader set of root traits and environmental variables.

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“…For example, the mean soil volumetric water contents during growing season were significantly enhanced by increased precipitation from 2005 to 2014 (Supporting Information Fig. S1), and a significant increase in soil nitrate (NO 3 − )‐N concentration by increased precipitation was detected (Zhou et al ., 2019). Detailed information on the water addition experiment was described in our previous study (Zhou et al ., 2019).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…S1), and a significant increase in soil nitrate (NO 3 − )‐N concentration by increased precipitation was detected (Zhou et al ., 2019). Detailed information on the water addition experiment was described in our previous study (Zhou et al ., 2019).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Root anatomical traits determined leaf‐level physiology and responses to precipitation change of herbaceous species in a temperate steppe

Zhou

Bai

et al. 2020

New Phytologist

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Summary Root anatomy plays important roles in the control of leaf water relations. However, few studies have evaluated whether and how anatomical traits of absorptive roots influence leaf physiology of herbaceous species in a temperate grassland. We measured absorptive root anatomical traits and leaf physiological traits of 15 herbaceous species in a temperate steppe and monitored their responses to increased precipitation in a field stimulating experiment. Root anatomical and leaf physiological traits differed among monocotyledonous grasses, monocotyledonous liliaceous species and dicotyledonous forbs. The species with higher stele: root diameter, lower root diameter and cortex thickness exhibited higher transpiration rates and stomatal conductance, but lower intrinsic water‐use efficiency. Increased precipitation enhanced transpiration and stomatal conductance of forbs and lilies, but it enhanced photosynthesis in lilies exclusively. The sensitive response of lilies to precipitation may be related to their large root diameter and cortex thickness. In summary, we observed distinct differences in anatomical traits of absorptive roots among plant groups in temperate steppes. These differences drove variations in leaf physiological traits and their diverse responses to precipitation change. These findings highlight the important roles of root anatomical traits in driving leaf‐level physiological processes in temperate grasslands.

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The response of root traits to precipitation change of herbaceous species in temperate steppes

Cited by 53 publications

References 77 publications

Root trait responses to drought are more heterogeneous than leaf trait responses

Root trait responses to drought are more heterogeneous than leaf trait responses

Patterns in intraspecific variation in root traits are species‐specific along an elevation gradient

Root anatomical traits determined leaf‐level physiology and responses to precipitation change of herbaceous species in a temperate steppe

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