Evidence for the importance of land use, site characteristics and vegetation composition for rooting in European Alps.

ABSTRACT: Plant rooting strongly affects most hydrological, biogeochemical and ecological processes in terrestrial ecosystems, as it presents the main pathway for carbon, water and nutrient transfer from soil to the atmosphere and is a key factor in stabilizing the soil layer. Few studies have actually investigated the link between phytosociological and structural vegetation composition and diversity in soil rooting parameters. Our study provides a comprehensive evaluation of plant cover and diversity effects on rooting parameters dependent on different land-use types along a north-south transect in the Eastern Alps. We conducted field studies of root biomass, rooting density and rooting depth for the six main land-use types: intensively and lightly used hay meadows, pastures, arable land, agricultu

SUBMITTER: Tasser E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8159984 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature