Fine Root Growth of Black Spruce Trees and Understory Plants in a Permafrost Forest Along a North-Facing Slope in Interior Alaska.

ABSTRACT: Permafrost forests play an important role in the global carbon budget due to the huge amounts of carbon stored below ground in these ecosystems. Although fine roots are considered to be a major pathway of belowground carbon flux, separate contributions of overstory trees and understory shrubs to fine root dynamics in these forests have not been specifically characterized in relation to permafrost conditions, such as active layer thickness. In this study, we investigated fine root growth and morphology of trees and understory shrubs using ingrowth cores with two types of moss substrates (feather- and Sphagnum mosses) in permafrost black spruce (Picea mariana) stands along a north-facing slope in Interior Alaska, where active layer thickness varied substantially. Aboveground bi

SUBMITTER: Noguchi K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8635146 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature