Abstract
Lifespan of fine root plays an important role in regulating carbon (C) cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Determination of root lifespan and elucidation of its regulatory mechanism in different plant communities are essential for accurate prediction of C cycling from ecosystem to regional scales. There are three major types of grasslands in the temperate steppes of Inner Mongolia, each dominated by a different species of common grass: Stipa krylovi, Stipa grandis, and Stipa breviflora. There have been no studies to compare the root dynamics among the three types of grasslands. In the present study, we determined root lifespan of the three grasslands using the rhizotron technique. We found that root lifespan differed substantially among the three major types of grasslands within the temperate steppes of Inner Mongolia, such that root lifespan of S. breviflora > S. grandis > S. krylovii grasslands. Root lifespan across the three types of grasslands displayed a similar temporal pattern, such that root lifespan followed the order of autumn-born roots > summer-born roots > spring-born roots. The spatial and temporal differences in root lifespan across the three types of grasslands were mainly related to contents of soluble sugars in roots of the dominant species and BNPP/ANPP ratio of the communities. The differences in root lifespan across the major types of grasslands and different seasons highlight the potential importance of taking these differences into account in models of future carbon cycling and climate change.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aerts R, Bakker C, de Caluwe H (1992) Root turnover as determinant of the cycling C, N, and P in dry heathland ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 15:175–190
Anderson LJ, Comas LH, Lakso AN, Eissenstat DM (2003) 0 Multiple risk factors in root survivorship: a 4-year study in Concord grape. New Phytol 158:489–501
Baddeley JA, Watson CA (2005) Influences of root diameter, tree age, soil depth and season on fine root survivorship in Prunus avium. Plant Soil 276:15–22
Bai YF, Han XG, Wu JG, Chen ZZ, Li LH (2004) Ecosystem stability and compensatory effects in the Inner Mongolia grassland. Nature 431:181–184
Bai WM, Wang ZW, Chen QS, Zhang WH, Li LH (2008) Spatial and temporal effects of nitrogen addition on root life span of Leymus chinensis in a typical steppe of Inner Mongolia. Funct Ecol 22:583–591
Bai WM, Xun F, Li Y, Zhang WH, Li LH (2010) Rhizome severing increases root lifespan of Leymus chinensis in a typical steppe of Inner Mongolia. PLoS ONE 5:e12125
Bai WM, Xia JY, Wan SQ, Zhang WH, Li LH (2012) Day and night warming have different effect on root lifespan. Biogeosciences 9:375–384
Bardgett RD, Mommer L, De Vries FT (2014) Going underground: root traits as drivers of ecosystem processes. Trend Ecol Evol 29:692–699
Burton AJ, Pregitzer KS, Hendrick RL (2000) Relationships between fine root dynamics and nitrogen availability in Michigan northern hardwood forests. Oecologia 125:389–399
Chen HYH, Brassard BW (2013) Intrinsic and extrinsic controls of fine root life span. Crit Rev Plant Sci 32:151–161
Chen ZZ, Wang SP (2000) Typical steppe ecosystems of China. Science Press, Beijing
Chen L, Zeng H, Eissenstat DM, Guo DL (2013) Variation of first-order root traits across climatic gradients and evolutionary trends in geological time. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 22:846–856
Eissenstat DM, Yanai RD (1997) The ecology of root life span. Adv Ecol Res 27:1–60
Eissenstat DM, Wells CE, Yanai RD, Whitbeck JL (2000) Building roots in a changing environment: implications for root longevity. New Phytol 147:33–42
Farrar JF, Jones DL (2000) The control of carbon acquisition by roots. New Phytol 147:43–53
Franklin O, Johansson J, Dewar R, DieckmannU McMurtrie RE, Brannstrom A, Dybzinski R (2012) Modeling carbon allocation in trees: a search for principles. Tree Physiol 32:648–666
Gill RA, Jackson RB (2000) Global patterns of root turnover for terrestrial ecosystems. New Phytol 147:13–31
Gill RA, Burke IC, Lauenroth WK, Milchunas DG (2002) Longevity and turnover of roots in the shortgrass steppe: influence of diameter and depth. Plant Ecol 159:241–251
Guo D, Mitchell RJ, Withington JM, Fan PP, Hendricks JJ (2008) Endogenous and exogenous controls of root life span, mortality and nitrogen flux in a longleaf pine forest: root branch order predominates. J Ecol 96:737–745
Hehdrick RL, Pregitzer KS (1993) Patterns of fine root mortality in two sugar maple forest. Nature 361:59–61
Iversen CM, O`Brien SL (2010) Reports from the 2009 ESA annual meeting, missing links in the root–soil organic matter continuum. Ecology 91:54–64
Joslin JD, Wolfe MH, Hanson PJ (2000) Effects of altered water regimes on forest root systems. New Phytol 147:117–129
Leppälammi-Kujansuu J, Salemaa M, Kleja DB, Linder S, Helmisaari HS (2014) Fine root turnover and litter production of Norway spruce in a long-term temperature and nutrient manipulation experiment. Plant Soil 374:73–88
Li CL, Hao XY, Zhao ML, Han GD, Willms WD (2008) Influence of historic sheep grazing on vegetation and soil properties of a Desert Steppe in Inner Mongolia. Agric Ecosyst Environ 128:109–116
López B, Sabate S, Gracia CA (2001) Fine-root longevity of Quercus ilex. New Phytol 151:437–441
Loya WM, Johnson LC, Nadelhoffer KJ (2004) Seasonal dynamics of leaf- and root-derived C in arctic tundra mesocosms. Soil Biol Biochem 36:655–666
Majdi H, Ohrvik J (2004) Interactive effects of soil warming and fertilization on root production, mortality, and longevity in a Norway spruce stand in northern Sweden. Glob Change Biol 10:182–188
Majdi H, Pregitzer K, Moren AS, Nylund JE, Agren GI (2005) Measuring fine root turnover in forest ecosystems. Plant Soil 276:1–8
McCormack ML, Guo DL (2014) Impacts of environmental factors on fine root lifespan. Front Plant Sci 5:1–11
McCormack ML, Adams TS, Smithwick EAH, Eissensat DM (2012) Predicting fine root lifespan from plant functional traits in temperate trees. New Phytol 195:823–8312
McCormack ML, Eissensat DM, Prasad AM, Smithwick EAH (2013) Regional scale patterns of fine root lifespan and turnover under current and future climate. Glob Change Biol 19:1697–1708
Mommer L, Weemstra M (2012) The role of roots in the resource economics spectrum. New Phytol 195:725–727
Norby RJ, Ledford J, Reilly CD, Miller NE, O’Neill EG (2004) Fine-root production dominates response of a deciduous forest to atmospheric CO2 enrichment. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101:9689–9693
Peek MS (2007) Explaining variation in fine root life span. Prog Bot 68:382–398
Pregitzer KS, DeForest JA, Burton AJ, Allen MF, Ruess RW, Hendrick RL (2002) Fine root architecture of nine North American trees. Ecol Monogr 72:293–309
Ranwala AP, Miller WB (2008) Blackwell Publishing Ltd Analysis of nonstructural carbohydrates in storage organs of 30 ornamental geophytes by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection. New Phytol 180:421–433
Reich PB, Luo YJ, Bradford JB, Poorter H, Perry CH, Oleksyn J (2014) Temperate drives global patterns in forest biomass distribution in leaves, stems, and root. Pro Natl Acad Sci USA 111:13721–13726
Strand AE, Pritchard SG, McCormack ML, Davis MA, Oren R (2008) Irreconcilable differences: fine-root life spans and soil carbon persistence. Science 310:456–458
Taylor HM, Upchurch DR, McMichael BL (1990) Applications and limitations of rhizotrons and minirhizotrons for root studies. Plant Soil 129:29–35
Van der Krift TAJ, Berendse F (2002) Root life spans of four grass species from habitats differing in nutrient availability. Funct Ecol 16:198–203
Vogt KA, Grier CC, Vogt DJ (1986) Production, turnover, and nutrient dynamics of above- and belowground detritus of world forests. Adv Ecol Res 15:303–377
Warren JM, Hanson PJ, Iversen CM, Kumar J, Walker AP, Wullschleger SD (2015) Root structural and functional dynamics in terrestrial biosphere models—evaluation and recommendations. New Phytol 205:59–78
Weemstra M, Mommer L, Visser EJW, van Ruijven J, Kuyper TW, Mohren GMJ, Sterck FJ (2016) Towards a multidimensional root trait framework: a tree root review. New Phytol. doi:10.1111/nph.14003
West JB, Espeleta JF, Donovan LA (2003) Root longevity and phenology differences between two co-occurring savanna bunchgrasses with different leaf habits. Funct Ecol 17:20–28
Withington JM, Reich PB, Oleksyn J, Eissenstat DM (2006) Comparisons of structure and life span in roots and leaves among temperate trees. Ecol Monogr 76:381–397
Yang HJ, Wu MY, Liu WX, Zhang Z, Zhang NL, Wan SQ (2011) Community structure and composition in response to climate change in a temperate steppe. Glob Change Biol 17:452–465
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank G Wang and Y Dong for their help in field and laboratory work. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31370468, 31670481) and the State Key Basic Research Development Program of China (2013CB956304). We thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their constrictive suggestions that greatly contributed to improving the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Sasha C. Reed.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bai, W.M., Zhou, M., Fang, Y. et al. Differences in spatial and temporal root lifespan of three Stipa grasslands in northern China. Biogeochemistry 132, 293–306 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0302-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0302-4