Linking fine root lifespan to root chemical and morphological traits-A global analysis.

ABSTRACT: Fine root lifespan is a critical trait associated with contrasting root strategies of resource acquisition and protection. Yet, its position within the multidimensional "root economics space" synthesizing global root economics strategies is largely uncertain, and it is rarely represented in frameworks integrating plant trait variations. Here, we compiled the most comprehensive dataset of absorptive median root lifespan (MRL) data including 98 observations from 79 woody species using (mini-)rhizotrons across 40 sites and linked MRL to other plant traits to address questions of the regulators of MRL at large spatial scales. We demonstrate that MRL not only decreases with plant investment in root nitrogen (associated with more metabolically active tissues) but also increases with construction

SUBMITTER: Hou J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11032481 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature