Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Variation patterns of fine root biomass, production and turnover in Chinese forests

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Forestry Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

China’s forests cover 208.3 million ha and span a wide range of climates and a large variety of forest types, including tropical, temperate, and boreal forests. However, the variation patterns of fine root (<2 mm in diameter) biomass, production, and turnover from the south to the north are unclear. This study summarizes fine root biomass (FRB), production (FRP) and turnover rate (FRT) in China’s forests as reported by 140 case studies published from 1983 to 2014. The results showed that the mean values of FRB, FRP and FRT in China’s forests were 278 g m−2, 366 g m−2 a−1, and 1.19 a−1, respectively. Compared with other studies at the regional or global scales, FRB in China’s forests was lower, FRP was similar to estimates at the global scale, but FRT was much higher. FRB, FRP, and FRT in China’s forests increased with increasing mean annual precipitation (MAP), indicating that fine root variables were likely related to MAP, rather than mean annual temperature or latitude. This is possibly due to the small variation in temperature but greater variation in precipitation during the growing season. These findings suggest that spatiotemporal variation in precipitation has a more profound impact on fine root dynamics in China’s forests, and this will impact carbon and nutrient cycles driven by root turnover in the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aber JD, Melillo JM, Nadelhoffer KJ, McClaugherty CA, Pastor J (1985) Fine root turnover in forest ecosystems in relation to quantity and form of nitrogen availability: a comparison of two methods. Oecologia 66:317–321

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • 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

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brassard BW, Chen HYH, Bergeron Y (2009) Influence of environmental variability on root dynamics in northern forests. Crit Rev Plant Sci 28:179–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown S, Lugo AE (1982) The storage and production of organic matter in tropical forests and their role in the global carbon cycle. Biotropica 14:161–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brunner I, Bakker MR, Björk RG, Hirano Y, Lukac M, Aranda X, Børja I, Eldhuset TD, Helmisaari H, Jourdan C (2013) Fine-root turnover rates of European forests revisited: an analysis of data from sequential coring and ingrowth cores. Plant Soil 362:357–372

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brunner I, Herzog C, Dawes MA, Arend M, Sperisen C (2015) How tree roots respond to drought. Front Plant Sci 6:1–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burton AJ, Pregitzer KS, Hendrick RL (2000) Relationships between fine root dynamics and nitrogen availability in Michigan northern hardwood forests. Oecologia 125:389–399

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cairns MA, Brown S, Helmer EH, Baumgardner GA (1997) Root biomass allocation in the world’s upland forests. Oecologia 111:1–11

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cavelier J, Wright SJ, Santamaría J (1999) Effects of irrigation on litterfall, fine root biomass and production in a semideciduous lowland forest in Panama. Plant Soil 211:207–213

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen ZH, Yang GF (2013) Analysis of drought hazards in North China: distribution and interpretation. Nat Hazards 65:279–294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark DA, Brown S, Kicklighter DW, Chambers JQ, Thomlinson JR, Ni J (2001) Measuring net primary production in forests: concepts and field methods. Ecol Appl 11:356–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cudlin P, Kieliszewska-Rokicka B, Rudawska M, Grebenc T, Alberton O, Lehto T, Bakker MR, Børja I, Konôpka B, Leski T (2007) Fine roots and ectomycorrhizas as indicators of environmental change. Plant Biosyst 141:406–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eissenstat DM, Yanai RD (1997) The ecology of root lifespan. Adv Ecol Res 27:1–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eissenstat DM, Wells CE, Yanai RD, Whitbeck JL (2000) Building roots in a changing environment: implications for root longevity. New Phytol 147:33–42

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fahey TJ, Battles JJ, Wilson GF (1998) Responses of early successional northern hardwood forests to changes in nutrient availability. Ecol Monogr 68:183–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang JY, Chen AP, Peng CH, Zhao SQ, Ci LJ (2001) Changes in forest biomass carbon storage in China between 1949 and 1998. Science 292:2320–2322

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2015) Global forest resources assessment 2015: how are the world’s forests changing?. Food and Ariculture Organization, Rome, p 15

    Google Scholar 

  • Finér L, Helmisaari H, Lõhmus K, Majdi H, Brunner I, Børja I, Eldhuset T, Godbold D, Grebenc T, Konôpka B (2007) Variation in fine root biomass of three European tree species: beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.), and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Plant Biosyst 141:394–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finér L, Ohashi M, Noguchi K, Hirano Y (2011a) Factors causing variation in fine root biomass in forest ecosystems. For Ecol Manag 261:265–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finér L, Ohashi M, Noguchi K, Hirano Y (2011b) Fine root production and turnover in forest ecosystems in relation to stand and environmental characteristics. For Ecol Manag 262:2008–2023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao XJ, Shi Y, Zhang DF, Giorgi F (2012) Climate change in China in the 21st century as simulated by a high resolution regional climate model. Chin Sci Bull 57:1188–1195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaul D, Hertel D, Leuschner C (2008) Effects of experimental soil frost on the fine root system of mature Norway spruce. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 171:690–698

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gill RA, Jackson RB (2000) Global patterns of root turnover for terrestrial ecosystems. New Phytol 147:13–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gower ST, McMurtrie RE, Murty D (1996) Aboveground net primary production decline with stand age: potential causes. Trends Ecol Evol 11:378–382

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gu JC, Yu SQ, Sun Y, Wang ZQ, Guo DL (2011) Influence of root structure on root survivorship: an analysis of 18 tree species using a minirhizotron method. Ecol Res 26:755–762

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo DL, Li HB, Mitchell RJ, Han WX, Hendricks JJ, Fahey TJ, Hendrick RL (2008) Fine root heterogeneity by branch order: exploring the discrepancy in root turnover estimates between minirhizotron and carbon isotopic methods. New Phytol 177:443–456

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • He JS, Wang ZQ, Fang JY (2004) Issues and prospects of belowground ecology with special reference to global climate change. Chin Sci Bull 49:1891–1899

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Helmisaari H, Makkonen K, Kellomäki S, Valtonen E, Mälkönen E (2002) Below- and above-ground biomass, production and nitrogen use in Scots pine stands in eastern Finland. For Ecol Manag 165:317–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendrick RL, Pregitzer KS (1993) Patterns of fine root mortality in two sugar maple forests. Nature 361:59–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendricks JJ, Hendrick RL, Wilson CA, Mitchell RJ, Pecot SD, Guo DL (2006) Assessing the patterns and controls of fine root dynamics: an empirical test and methodological review. J Ecol 94:40–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hertel D, Strecker T, Müller Haubold H, Leuschner C (2013) Fine root biomass and dynamics in beech forests across a precipitation gradient—is optimal resource partitioning theory applicable to water-limited mature trees? J Ecol 101:1183–1200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hijmans RJ, Cameron SE, Parra JL, Jones PJ, Jarvis A (2005) Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas. Int J Climatol 25:1965–1978

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson RB, Mooney HA, Schulze E-D (1997) A global budget for fine root biomass, surface area, and nutrient contents. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94:7362–7366

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Joslin JD, Wolfe MH, Hanson PJ (2000) Effects of altered water regimes on forest root systems. New Phytol 147:117–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konôpka B, Lukac M (2012) Moderate drought alters biomass and depth distribution of fine roots in Norway spruce. For Path 43:115–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konôpka B, Noguchi K, Sakata T, Takahashi M, Konôpková Z (2007) Effects of simulated drought stress on the fine roots of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) in a plantation forest on the Kanto Plain, eastern Japan. J For Res 12:143–151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leuschner C, Hertel D (2003) Fine root biomass of temperate forests in relation to soil acidity and fertility, climate, age and species. Prog Bot 64:405–438

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu JG, Yang W (2012) Water sustainability for China and beyond. Science 337:649–650

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCormack ML, Dickie IA, Eissenstat DM, Fahey TJ, Fernandez CW, Guo D, Helmisaari H, Hobbie EA, Iversen CM, Jackson RB, Leppälammi-Kujansuu J, Norby RJ, Phillips RP, Pregitzer KS, Pritchard SG, Rewald B, Zadworny M (2015) Redefining fine roots improves understanding of below-ground contributions to terrestrial biosphere processes. New Phytol 207:505–518

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nadelhoffer KJ, Raich JW (1992) Fine root production estimates and belowground carbon allocation in forest ecosystems. Ecology 73:1139–1147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noguchi K, Konôpka B, Satomura T, Kaneko S, Takahashi M (2007) Biomass and production of fine roots in Japanese forests. J For Res 12:83–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norby RJ, Jackson RB (2000) Root dynamics and global change: seeking an ecosystem perspective. New Phytol 147:3–12

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Olesinski J, Krasowski MJ, Lavigne MB, Kershaw JA Jr, Bernier PY (2012) Fine root production varies with climate in balsam fir (Abies balsamea). Can J For Res 42:364–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostonen I, Helmisaari H, Borken W, Tedersoo L, Kukumägi M, Bahram M, Lindroos AJ, Nöjd P, Uri V, Merilä P (2011) Fine root foraging strategies in Norway spruce forests across a European climate gradient. Global Change Biol 17:3620–3632

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piao SL, Ciais P, Huang Y, Shen ZH, Peng SS, Li JS, Zhou LP, Liu HY, Ma YC, Ding YH, Friedlingstein P, Liu CZ, Tan K, Yu YQ, Zhang TY, Fang JY (2010) The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in China. Nature 467:43–51

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pregitzer KS, King JS, Burton AJ, Brown SE (2000) Responses of tree fine roots to temperature. New Phytol 147:105–115

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ruess RW, Cleve KV, Yarie J, Viereck LA (1996) Contributions of fine root production and turnover to the carbon and nitrogen cycling in taiga forests of the Alaskan interior. Can J For Res 26:1326–1336

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ruess RW, Hendrick RL, Burton AJ, Pregitzer KS, Sveinbjornssön B, Allen MF, Maurer GE (2003) Coupling fine root dynamics with ecosystem carbon cycling in black spruce forests of interior Alaska. Ecol Monogr 73:643–662

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saugier B, Roy J, Mooney HA (2001) Estimations of global terrestrial productivity: converging toward a single number? In: Roy J, Saugier B, Mooney HA (eds) Terrestrial global productivity. Academic, San Diego, pp 543–556

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Steinaker DF, Wilson SD (2008) Phenology of fine roots and leaves in forest and grassland. J Ecol 96:1222–1229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uselman SM, Qualls RG, Lilienfein J (2007) Fine root production across a primary successional ecosystem chronosequence at Mt. Shasta, California. Ecosystems 10:703–717

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vogt KA, Grier CC, Vogt DJ (1986) Production, turnover, and nutrient dynamics of above- and belowground detritus of world forests. Adv Ecol Res 15:3–377

    Google Scholar 

  • Vogt KA, Vogt DJ, Palmiotto PA, Boon P, O’Hara J, Asbjornsen H (1996) Review of root dynamics in forest ecosystems grouped by climate, climatic forest type and species. Plant Soil 187:159–219

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vogt KA, Vogt DJ, Bloomfield J (1998) Analysis of some direct and indirect methods for estimating root biomass and production of forests at an ecosystem level. Plant Soil 200:71–89

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wells CE, Eissenstat DM (2001) Marked differences in survivorship among apple roots of different diameters. Ecology 82:882–892

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu MX, Li QF, Hayes M, Svoboda M, Heim RR (2014) Are droughts becoming more frequent or severe in China based on the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index: 1951–2010? Int J Climatol 34:545–558

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan ZY, Chen HYH (2010) Fine root biomass, production, turnover rates, and nutrient contents in boreal forest ecosystems in relation to species, climate, fertility, and stand age: literature review and meta-analyses. Crit Rev Plant Sci 29:204–221

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Yao YT, Wang XH, Liu YW, Piao SL (2016) Mapping spatial distribution of forest age in China. Earth Space Sci. doi:10.1002/2016EA000177

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Dongnan Wang, Wenna Wang for their part in the literature collection, and AK Heinz in Cornell University for editing the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, People’s Republic of China

    Shaozhong Wang, Zhengquan Wang & Jiacun Gu

Authors
  1. Shaozhong Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhengquan Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jiacun Gu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiacun Gu.

Additional information

Project funding: This research was supported by Grants from the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD06004040604) and the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (No. C2016004).

The online version is available at http://www.springerlink.com

Corresponding editor: Zhu Hong

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (XLSX 4112 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (DOCX 721 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, S., Wang, Z. & Gu, J. Variation patterns of fine root biomass, production and turnover in Chinese forests. J. For. Res. 28, 1185–1194 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-017-0386-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-017-0386-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation