Abstract
We revisited a Pinus ponderosa planting 32 years after it was established with one-year-old seedlings grown in copper-treated containers that modified their root systems. This technique was intended to promote more root egress after outplanting from the entire length of the root plug with a goal of providing greater stem stability. After excavating and digitizing the root systems of five treated and five non-treated plants, we observed that regardless of treatment, all trees initiated more roots and accumulated more root volume in apparent response to mechanical stresses invoked by wind and slope, with more roots occurring windward and downslope. Few differences were noted between treatments for root length and volume for either the cage or the entire root system. Trees treated with copper were taller (8%) with stouter taproots (less taper) and less root volume in the lower soil profile than control trees. Although the copper treatment may have induced short-term changes to root system architecture, the long-term, plastic response of this species to mechanical stresses, and the time duration involved, was more critical to the observed expression of traits.
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Data are available at the USFS Research Data Archive (Montagnoli et al. 2021).
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Acknowledgements
For their assistance with data collection, we thank Melissa Topping, and Dr. Robert Keefe and his crew at the University of Idaho Experimental Forest. Our gratitude to Dr. Frédéric Danjon of the French National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA) at Bordeaux for help with digitalization and data processing. Our thanks to Jim Marin Graphics for assistance with visualizations, and to the reviewers and associate editor whose insightful comments helped improve the manuscript. The findings and conclusions in this publication are those of the authors and should not be construed to represent any official U.S. Department of Agriculture or U.S. Government determination or policy.
Funding
This study was supported by the University of Insubria, the University of Molise, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS) Rocky Mountain Research Station, and the USFS National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.
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RKD and DC conceived the research project. RKD provided primary funding. AM, RKD, and DC developed the study plan. GSS provided important insights into the study plan and research process. AM was responsible for field excavations and data collection and analysis. AM and MT equally contributed to the field activities. AM performed the three-dimensional digitalization. BL performed the three-dimensional data arrangement. MA, LSB, and BL analyzed the data. RKD, AM, MA, and DC prepared the manuscript. RKD, LSB, and AM responded to reviewer comments.
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Dumroese, R.K., Terzaghi, M., Acevedo, M. et al. Root system architecture of Pinus ponderosa three decades after copper root pruning in a container nursery. New Forests 53, 983–1001 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-022-09904-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-022-09904-2