Abstract
Nutrient availability and temporal variation of physical stress are usually higher in organic soil layers than in mineral soils. Individual roots within the fine-root system adjust anatomical, morphological, and turnover characteristics to soil conditions, for example nutrient availability and physical stresses. We investigated anatomical traits, including cork formation and passage and protoxylem cell numbers, in cross-sections of individual fine roots of the conifer Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) growing under different soil conditions. The fine-root systems in different soil layers were compared by sampling ingrowth cores buried for 1 year and filled with organic and mineral soil substrates. The number of exodermal passage cells was lower in roots from organic soils than in those from mineral soils, suggesting that apical roots tend to be more stress-tolerant in the organic layer than in mineral soils. In contrast, both root tip and specific root tip density were higher in roots from organic soils than in those from mineral soil layers. The proportion of roots with two strands of protoxylem (diarch) was greater in organic (90%) than in mineral (25%) soils. Thus, although the absorptivity of individual apical roots decreases in organic layers, the absorptivity of the entire fine-root system of C. obtusa may be increased as a result of the increase in apical root density and the proportion of ephemeral roots. We found that the fine-root system had simultaneous plasticity in density, anatomy, and architecture in response to complex soil conditions.
Similar content being viewed by others
Reference
Atkinson D, Black KE, Forbes PJ, Hooker JE, Baddeley JA, Watson CA (2003) The influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization and environment on root development in soil. Eur J Soil Sci 54:751–757
Bauhus J, Messier C (1999) Soil exploitation strategies of fine roots in different tree species of the southern boreal forest of eastern Canada. Can J For Res 29:260–273
Bryla DR, Bouma TJ, Hartmond U, Eissenstat DM (2001) Influence of temperature and soil drying on respiration of individual roots in citrus: integrating greenhouse observations into a predictive model for the field. Plant Cell Environ 24:781–790
Coleman DC, Crossley Jr DA, Hendrix PF (2004) Soil ecology. Elsevier, California
Eissenstat DM, Achor DS (1999) Anatomical characteristics of roots of citrus rootstocks that vary in specific root length. New Phytol 141:309–321
Eissenstat DM, Yanai RD (1997) The ecology of root lifespan. Adv Ecol Res 27:1–60
Esau K (1964) Plant anatomy, 2nd edn. Wiley, New York
Fujimaki R (2005) Mechanism and function of fine root production in forest ecosystems. Ph.D. thesis, Kyoto University, Kyoto
Fujimaki R, McGonigle TP, Takeda H (2004) Soil micro-habitat effects on fine roots of Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.: a field experiment using root ingrowth cores. Plant Soil 266:325–332
Godbold DL, Fritz HW, Jentschke G, Meesenburg H, Rademacher P (2003) Root turnover and root necromass accumulation of Norway spruce (Picea abies) are affected by soil acidity. Tree Physiol 23:915–921
Hishi T, Takeda H (2005a) Life cycles of individual roots in fine root system of Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl. et Zucc. J For Res 10:181–187
Hishi T, Takeda H (2005b) Dynamics of heterorhizic root systems: protoxylem groups within the fine root systemof Chamaecyparis obtusa. New Phytol 167:509–521
Hooker JE, Munro M, Atkinson D (1992) Vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi induced alteration in poplar root system morphology. Plant Soil 145:207–214
Jenny H (1980) The soil resource. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Leuschner C, Hertel D, Schmid I, Koch O, Muhs A, Hölscher D (2004) Stand fine root biomass and fine root morphology in old-growth beech forests as a function of precipitation and soil fertility. Plant Soil 258:43–56
Lynch J (1995) Root architecture and plant productivity. Plant Physiol 109:7–13
Majdi H (1996) Root sampling methods—applications and limitations of the minirhizotron technique. Plant Soil 185:255–258
McCrady RL, Comerford NB (1998) Morphological and anatomical relationships of loblolly pine fine roots. Trees 12:431–437
McKenzie EB, Peterson CA (1995a) Root browning in Pinus banksiana Lamn. and Eucalyptus pilularis Sm. 1. Anatomy and permeability of the white and tannin zones. Bot Acta 108:127–137
McKenzie EB, Peterson CA (1995b) Root browning in Pinus banksiana Lamn. and Eucalyptus pilularis Sm. 2. Anatomy and permeability of the cork zone. Bot Acta 108:138–143
Noelle W (1910) Studien zur vergleichenden Anatomie und Morphologie der Koniferenwuze In mit Rücksicht auf die Systematik (In German). Botanische Zeitung 68:169–266
Pregitzer KS (2002) Fine roots of trees—a new perspective. New Phytol 154:267–273
Pregitzer KS, DeForest JL, Burton AJ, Allen MF, Ruess RW, Hendrick R (2002) Fine-root architecture of nine North American trees. Ecol Monogr 72:293–309
Robinson D, Hodge A, Fitter A (2003) Constrains on the form and function of root systems. Ecol Stud 168:1–32
Takeda H (1987) Dynamic and maintenance of Collembolan community structure in a forest soil system. Res Popul Ecol 29:291–346
Taylor JH, Peterson CA (2000) Morphometric analysis of Pinus banksiana Lamb. root anatomy during a 3-month field study. Trees 14:230–247
Tateno R, Hishi T, Takeda H (2004) Above- and belowground biomass and net primary production in a cool-temperate deciduous forest in relation to topographical changes in soil nitrogen. For Ecol Manage 193:297–306
Tomioka R, Takenaka C (2001) Differential ability of the root to change rhizosphere pH between Chamaecyparis obtusa Sieb. (Hinoki) and Quercus serrata Thumb. (Konara) under alminium stress. Water Air Soil Poll 130:1013–1018
Van Breemen N, Buurman P (2002) Soil formation, 2nd ed. Kluwer, Dordrecht, Netherlands
Vogt KA, Persson H (1991) Measuring growth and development of roots. Techniques and approaches in forest tree ecophysiology. In: Lassoie JL, Hinkley TM (eds) CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp 470–501
Wells CE, Glenn DM, Eissenstat DM (2002) Soil insects alter fine root demography in peach (Prunus persica). Plant Cell Environ 25:431–439
Acknowledgment
We thank Koji Kawamura, Reiji Fujimaki, and members of the Laboratory of Forest Ecology at Kyoto University for helpful comments. Staff of the Kamigamo Experimental Station kindly granted us permission to conduct the field studies. This study was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid for the 21st century COE program for Innovative Food and Environmental Studies Pioneered by Entomomimetic Sciences, from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Hishi, T., Tateno, R. & Takeda, H. Anatomical characteristics of individual roots within the fine-root architecture of Chamaecyparis obtusa (Sieb. & Zucc.) in organic and mineral soil layers. Ecol Res 21, 754–758 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0184-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0184-8