Abstract
Carbon isotope ratios of the main stem in trees, saplings, and seedlings were correlated with their main stem diameter in an Amazonian seasonal forest. This correlation became the basis of using carbon isotope ratios of roots from various levels of the soil profile in order to determine root distribution from emergent, canopy and subcanopy trees, saplings and herbaceous understorey plants. It was observed that the distribution of roots in the soil profile is horizontally and vertically heterogeneous. Pockets of roots from saplings or herbaceous understorey plants were found as deep as 4 m and pockets of roots from emergent trees were found as shallow as 1 m depth.
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Sternberg, L.d.S., Green, L., Moreira, M.Z. et al. Root distribution in an Amazonian seasonal forest as derived from δ13C profiles. Plant and Soil 205, 45–50 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004361029428
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004361029428