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Response of the fine root production, phenology, and turnover rate of six shrub species from a subtropical forest to a soil moisture gradient and shading

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Abstract

Background and aims

Knowledge of the fine root dynamics of different life forms in forest ecosystems is critical to understanding how the overall belowground carbon cycling is affected by climate change. However, our current knowledge regarding how endogenous or exogenous factors regulate the root dynamics of understory vegetation is limited. The aims of this study were to test the effects of soil moisture gradient and shading on the fine root production, phenology, and turnover rate of six shrub species from a subtropical forest.

Methods

We selected a suite of study sites representing different habitats with gradients of soil moisture and solar radiation (shading or no shading). We assessed the fine root production phenology, the total fine root production, and the turnover among six understory shrub species in a subtropical climate, and examined the responses of the fine root dynamics to gradients in the soil moisture and solar radiation. The shrubs included three evergreen species, Loropetalum chinense, Vaccinium bracteatum, and Adinandra millettii, and three deciduous species, Serissa serissoides, Rubus corchorifolius, and Lespedeza davidii. Results We observed that variations in the annual fine root production and turnover among species were significant in the deciduous group but not in the evergreen group. Notably, V. bracteatum and S. serissoides presented the greatest responses in terms of root phenology to gradients in the soil moisture and shading: high-moisture habitat led to a decrease and shade led to an increase in fine root production during spring. Species with smaller fine roots of the 1st+2nd-order diameter presented more sensitive responses in terms of fine root phenology to a soil moisture gradient. Species with a lower fine root carbon- to nitrogen ratio exhibited more sensitive responses in terms of fine root annual production to shading. Soil moisture and shading did not change the annual fine root production as much as the turnover rate.

Conclusions

The fine root dynamics of some understory shrubs varied significantly with soil moisture and solar radiation status and may be different from tree species. Our results emphasize the need to study the understory fine root dynamics in the achievement of a complete understanding of the overall belowground carbon cycling in a forest ecosystem, particularly ecosystems in which the understory fine root highly contributes to the belowground biomass.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dali Guo and Bitao Liu for their valuable comments regarding earlier versions of the manuscript. This work was funded by the National Key Basic Research Special Foundation Project (2012CB416903), the NSFC Projects of International Cooperation and Exchanges (31210103920), the National Natural Science Foundations of China (41101203), and the Gan-Po Distinguished Researcher Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Qianyanzhou Ecological Station, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, A11, Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China

    Xiaoli Fu, Junlong Wang, Huimin Wang, Xiaoqin Dai & Fengting Yang

  2. School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, 100084, China

    Mei Zhao

Authors
  1. Xiaoli Fu
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  2. Junlong Wang
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  3. Huimin Wang
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  4. Xiaoqin Dai
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  5. Fengting Yang
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  6. Mei Zhao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Huimin Wang.

Ethics declarations

Compliance with Ethical Standards The authors have declared that no potential conflicts of interest exist, no specific permissions were required for these activities and the field study did not involve endangered or protected species.

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Responsible Editor: Alexia Stokes.

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Fu, X., Wang, J., Wang, H. et al. Response of the fine root production, phenology, and turnover rate of six shrub species from a subtropical forest to a soil moisture gradient and shading. Plant Soil 399, 135–146 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2686-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2686-z

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