Abstract
We have limited understanding of architecture and morphology of fine root systems in large woody trees. This study investigated architecture, morphology, and biomass of different fine root branch orders of two temperate tree species from Northeastern China—Larix gmelinii Rupr and Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr —by sampling up to five fine root branch orders three times during the 2003 growing season from two soil depths (i.e., 0–10 and.10–20 cm). Branching ratio (R b) differed with the level of branching: R b values from the fifth to the second order of branching were approximately three in both species, but markedly higher for the first two orders of branching, reaching a value of 10.4 for L. gmelinii and 18.6 for F. mandshurica. Fine root diameter, length, SRL and root length density not only had systematic changes with root order, but also varied significantly with season and soil depth. Total biomass per order did not change systematically with branch order. Compared to the second, third and/or fourth order, the first order roots exhibited higher biomass throughout the growing season and soil depths, a pattern related to consistently higher R b values for the first two orders of branching than the other levels of branching. Moreover, the differences in architecture and morphology across order, season, and soil depth between the two species were consistent with the morphological disparity between gymnosperms and angiosperms reported previously. The results of this study suggest that root architecture and morphology, especially those of the first order roots, should be important for understanding the complexity and multi-functionality of tree fine roots with respect to root nutrient and water uptake, and fine root dynamics in forest ecosystems.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boldingh H, Smith GS, Lages KK (2000) Seasonal concentration of non-structural carbohydrates of five Actinidia species in fruit, leaf and fine root tissue. Ann Bot 85:469–476
Comas LH, Eissenstat DM (2004) Linking fine root traits to maximum potential growth rate among 11 mature temperate tree species. Fun Ecol 18:388–397
Drew MC (1975) Comparison of the effects of a localized supply of phosphate, nitrate, ammonium and potassium on the growth of the seminal root system, and the shoot, in barley. New Phytol 75:479–490
Eissenstat DM, Yanai RD (1997) The ecology of root lifespan. Adv Ecol Res 27:1–60
Fahey TJ, Hughes JW (1994) Fine root dynamics in a northern hardwood forest ecosystem. Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH. J Ecol 82:533–548
Fitter AH (1982) Morphological analysis of root systems: application of the technique and influence of soil fertility on root system development in two herbaceous species. Plant Cell Environ 5:313–322
Fitter AH (1987) An architectural approach to the comparative ecology of plant root systems. New Phytol 106(Suppl):61–77
Gaudinski JB, Trumbore SE, Davidson EA, Cook AC, Markewitz D, Richter DD (2001) The age of fine-root carbon in three forests of the eastern United States measured by radiocarbon. Oecologia 129:420–429
Gill RA, Jackson RB (2000) Global patterns of root turnover for terrestrial ecosystems. New Phytol 147:13–31
Gong ZT, Chen ZC, Luo GB, Zhang G. L, Zhao WJ (1999) Soil reference with Chinese soil taxonomy. Soils 31:57–63 (in Chinese)
Guo DL, Mitchell RJ, Hendricks JJ (2004) Fine root branch orders respond differentially to carbon source-sink manipulations in a longleaf pine forest. Oecologia 140:450–457
Hendrick RL, Pregitzer KS (1992) The demography of fine roots in a northern hardwood forest. Ecology 73:1094–1104
Hendricks JJ, Hendrick RL, Wilson CA, Mitchell RJ, Pecot SD, Guo DL (2006) Assessing the patterns and controls of fine root dynamics: an empirical test and methodological review. J. Ecol 94:40–57
Hishi T, Takeda H (2005a) Dynamics of heterorhizic root systems: protoxylem groups within the fine-root system of Chamaecyparis obtuse. New Phytol 167:509–521
Hishi T, Takeda H (2005b) Life cycles of individual roots in fine root system of Chamaecyparis obtuse et Zucc. J. For. Res 10:181–187
Hutchings MJ, John EA (2003) Distribution of roots in soil and root foraging activity. In: de Kroon H, Visser EJW (eds) Root Ecology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg pp33–60
Lascaris D, Deacon JW (1991) Relationship between root cortical senescence and growth of wheat as influenced by mineral nutrient, Idrella bolleyi (Sprague) von Arx and pruning of leaves. New Phytol 118:391–396
Littell RC, Milliken GA, Stroup WW, Wolfinger RD (1996) SAS system for mixed models. SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA
Liljeroth E (1995) Comparison of early root cortical senescence among barley cultivars. Triticum species and other cereals. New Phytol 130:495–501
Liljeroth E, Franzon-Almgren I, Gustafsson M (1996) Root colonization by Bipolaris sorokiniana in different cereals and relations to lesion development and natural root cortical cell death. J Phytopathol 144:301–307
Lyford WH (1975) Rhizography of non-woody roots of trees in the forest floor. In: Terrey JG, Clarkson DT (eds) The development and function of roots. Academic Press, New York, New York, USA pp 179–196
Lyford WH (1980) Development of the root system of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.). Harvard Forest Paper. No.21
Majdi H, Damm E, Nylund JE (2001) Longevity of mycorrhizal roots depends on branching order and nutrient variability. New Phytol 150:195–202
Majdi H, Pregitzer KS, Morén A-S, Nylund J-E, Ågren GI (2005) Measuring fine root turnover in forest ecosystems. Plant Soil 276:1–8
Nguyen PV, Dickmann DI, Pregitzer KS, Hendrick RL (1990) Late-season changes in allocation of starch and sugar to shoots, coarse roots, and fine roots in two hybrid poplar cones. Tree Physiol 7:95–105
Pregitzer KS, Kubiske ME, Yu CK, Hendrick RL (1997) Relationships among root branch order, carbon, and nitrogen in four temperate species. Oecologia 111:302–308
Pregitzer KS, Laskowski MJ, Burton AJ (1998) Variation in sugar maple roots respiration with root diameter and soil depth. Tree Physiol 18:665–670
Pregitzer KS, DeForest JL, Burton AJ, Allen MF, Ruess RW, Hendrick RL (2002) Fine root architecture of nine North American trees. Ecol Monogr 72:293–309
Read DJ (1992) The mycorrhizal mycelium. In: Allen MF (eds) Mycorrhizal functioning: an integrative plant-fungal process. Chapman and Hall, New York, USA pp 102–113
Reid JB, Sorenson I, Petrie RA (1993) Root demography in kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa). Plant Cell Environ 16:949–957
Richardson AD, zu Dohua H (2003) Predicting root biomass from branching patterns of Douglas-fir root systems. Oikos 100:96–104
Robinson D, Hödge A, Fitter A (2003) Constraints on the form and function of root systems. In: de Kroon H, Visser EJW (eds) Root Ecology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg pp 1–30
Robinson D (2004) Scaling the depths:below-ground allocation in plants, forests and biomes. Fun Ecol 18:290–295
Ruess RW, Hendrick RL, Burton AJ, Pregitzer KS, Sveinbjornsson B, Allen MF, Maurer GE (2003) Coupling fine root dynamics with ecosystem carbon cycling in black spruce forests of interior Alaska. Ecol Monogr 73:643–662
Ryser P (1996) The importance of tissue density for growth and life span of leaves and roots: a comparison of five ecologically contrasting grasses. Fun Ecol 10:717–723
SAS Institute. (1996). SAS language guide for personal computers. Release 6.12 edition. SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA
Tierney GL, Fahey TJ (2002) Fine root turnover in a northern hardwood forest: a direct comparison of the radiocarbon and minirhizotron methods. Can J For Res 32:1692–1697
Trumbore SE, Gaudinski JB (2003) The secret lives of roots. Science 302:1344–1345
Wells CE (1999) Advances in the fine root demography of woody species. PhD thesis, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Wells CE, Eissenstat DM (2001) Marked differences in survivorship among apple roots of different diameters. Ecology 82:882–893
Wells CE, Eissenstat DM (2003) Beyond the roots of young seedlings: the influence of age and order on fine root physiology. J Plant Growth Regul 21:324–334
Wells CE, Glenn DM, Eissenstat DM (2002) Changes in the risk of fine root mortality with age: A case study in Peach, Prunus persica (Rosaceae). Am J Bot 89:79–87
West GB, Brown JH, Enquist BJ (1997) A general model for the origin of allometric scaling laws in biology. Science 276:122–126
West GB, Brown JH, Enquist BJ (1999) A general model for structure and allometry of plant vascular systems. Nature 400:664–667
Withington JM, Reich PB, Oleksyn J, Eissenstat DM (2006) Root structure and lifespan are largely independent of leaf structure and lifespan in a common garden comparison of eleven tree species. Ecol Monogr 76 (in press)
Zhang WR (1997) Forest site of China. Academic Press of China, Beijing (in Chinese) pp 129–254
Zhang YD, Bai SB, Wang ZQ, Shen YX (2001) Effects of mixed planting on root growth and distribution of Fraxinus mandshurica and Larix gmelinii. Sci Silvae Sinicae 37(5):16–23 (in Chinese)
Zhou XF (1994) Long-term research on China’s forest ecosystems. Northeast Forestry University Press, Harbin (in Chinese) pp 213–221
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Youzhi Han, Yunhuan Chen, Xiujuan Zhang, Shuiqiang Yu, Jianwei Shi and Lizhong Yu for assistance in the field and laboratory, and Dr Robert J Mitchell, Dr Harbin Li and Dr. Kurt Pregitzer for their insightful comments that greatly improved an earlier draft of this work. The funding for this research was provided by Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC Grants 30130160 and 30470294).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, Z., Guo, D., Wang, X. et al. Fine root architecture, morphology, and biomass of different branch orders of two Chinese temperate tree species. Plant Soil 288, 155–171 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-006-9101-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-006-9101-8