Abstract
We measured the proliferation of roots into experimental nutrient patches in a grassland community, distinguishing roots of graminoids and forbs.
Biomass, length, and specific length were estimated for roots of each of the two functional groups, collected from patches differing in nutrient concentration, and established at four different times during a season. The ratio of graminoid and forb roots was compared with the graminoid-forb ratio in the above-ground biomass.
Plant roots proliferated more intensively into patches with higher nutrient concentration, but the roots of the two functional groups had a similar ability to target richer patches. Relative proportion of graminoids was higher below-ground than above-ground and changed during the season, being lowest after mowing. Specific root length was higher for graminoid species, but did not respond to nutrient concentration in patches for either functional group.
This is the first study to provide comparative information about root morphological response for graminoids and forbs, measured in a real, semi-natural plant community. The study shows no significant overall difference in the ability of these two functional types to place roots into nutrient-rich patches, but indicates other important differences among the two functional groups.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anonymous (2003):WinRHIZO 2003b. Basic, Reg & Pro. Régent Instruments Inc., Sainte-Foy.
Arredondo J.T. &Johnson D.A. (1999): Root architecture and biomass allocation of three range grasses in response to nonuniform supply of nutrients and shoot defoliation.New Phytol. 143: 373–385.
Bilbrough C.J. &Caldwell M.M. (1995): The effects of shading and N status on root proliferation in nutrient patches by the perennial grassAgropyron desertorum in the field.Oecologia 103: 10–16.
Burns I.G. (1991): Short- and long-term effects of a change in the spatial distribution of nitrate in the root zone on nitrogen uptake, growth and root development of young lettuce plants.Pl. Cell Environm. 14: 21–33.
Caldwell M.M. (1994): Exploiting nutrients in fertile soil microsites. In:Caldwell M.M. &Pearcy R.W. (eds.),Exploitation of environmental heterogeneity by plants: ecophysiological processes above- and below-ground, Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 325–347.
Caldwell M.M., Manwaring J.H. &Durham S.L. (1996): Species interactions at the level of fine roots in the field: influence of soil nutrient heterogeneity and plant size.Oecologia 106: 440–447.
Campbell B.D., Grime J.P. &Mackey J.M.L. (1991): A trade-off between scale and precision in resource foraging.Oecologia 87: 532–538.
Craine J.M., Froehle J., Tilman D.G., Wedin D.A. &Chapin F.S. (2001): The relationship among root and leaf traits of 76 grassland species and relative abundance along fertility and disturbance gradients.Oikos 93: 274–285.
Cui M. &Caldwell M.M. (1996): Facilitation of plant phosphate acquisition by arbuscular mycorrhizas from enriched soil patches. I. Roots and hyphae exploiting the same soil volume.New Phytol. 133: 453–460.
Day K.J., Hutchings M.J. &John E.A. (2003): The effects of spatial pattern of nutrient supply on yield, structure and mortality in plant populations.J. Ecol. 91: 541–553.
Eissenstat D.M. &Caldwell M.M. (1988): Seasonal timing of root growth in favourable microsites.Ecology 69: 870–873.
Farley R.A. &Fitter A.H. (1999a): Temporal and spatial variation in soil resources in a deciduous woodland.J. Ecol. 87: 688–696.
Farley R.A. &Fitter A.H. (1999b): The response of seven co-occurring woodland herbaceous perennials to localized nutrient-rich patches.J. Ecol. 87: 849–859.
Fitter A.H. (1986): Spatial and temporal patterns of root activity in a species-rich alluvial grassland.Oecologia 69: 594–599.
Fitter A.H., Williamson L., Linkohr B. &Leyser O. (2002): Root system architecture determines fitness in anArabidopsis mutant in competition for immobile phosphate ions but not for nitrate ions.Proc. Roy. Soc. London, Ser. B, Biol. Sci. 269: 2017–2022.
Fransen B., De Kroon H. &Berendse F. (1998): Root morphological plasticity and nutrient acquisition of perennial grass species from habitats of different nutrient availability.Oecologia 115: 351–358.
Grime J.P. (1994): The role of plasticity in exploiting environmental heterogeneity. In:Caldwell M.M. &Pearcy R.W. (eds.),Exploitation of environmental heterogeneity by plants: ecophysiological processes above- and below-ground, Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 1–19.
Gross K.L., Peters A. &Pregitzer K.S. (1993): Fine root growth and demographic responses to nutrient patches in four old-field plant species.Oecologia 95: 61–64.
Hertel D. &Leuschner C. (2002): A comparison of four different fine root production estimates with ecosystem carbon balance data in aFagus-Quercus mixed forest.Pl. & Soil 239: 237–251.
Hodge A. (2004): The plastic plant: root responses to heterogeneous supplies of nutrients.New Phytol. 162: 9–24.
Hodge A., Stewart J., Robinson D., Griffiths B.S. &Fitter A.H. (1998): Root proliferation, soil fauna and plant nitrogen capture from nutrient-rich patches in soil.New Phytol. 139: 479–494.
Hodge A., Robinson D., Griffiths B.S. &Fitter A.H. (1999): Why plants bother: root proliferation results in increased nitrogen capture from an organic patch when two grasses compete.Pl. Cell. Environm. 22: 811–820.
Hodge A., Stewart J., Robinson D., Griffiths B.S. &Fitter A.H. (2000): Competition between roots and soil micro-organisms for nutrients from nitrogen-rich patches of varying complexity.J. Ecol. 88: 150–164.
Huber-Sannwald E., Pyke D.A., Caldwell M.M. &Durham S. (1998): Effects of nutrient patches and root systems on the clonal plasticity of a rhizomatous grass.Ecology 79: 2267–2280.
Hutchings M.J., John E.A. &Wijsinghe D.K. (2003): Towards understanding the consequences of soil heterogeneity for plant populations and communities.Ecology 84: 2322–2334.
Hutchings M.J. &John E.A. (2004): The effects of environmental heterogeneity on root growth and root/shoot partitioning.Ann. Bot. (Oxford) 94: 1–8.
Jackson L.E., Schimel J.P. &Jackson M.K. (1989): Short-term partitioning of ammonium and nitrate between plants and microbes in an annual grassland.Soil Biol. Biochem. 21: 409–415.
Jackson R.B. &Caldwell M.M. (1993): Geostatistical patterns of soil heterogeneity around individual perennial plants.J. Ecol. 81: 683–692.
Joslin J.D. &Wolfe M.H. (1999): Disturbances during minirhizotron installation can affect root observation data.Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 63: 218–221.
Kubát K. et al. (2002):Klíč ke květeně České republiky (Key to the Flora of the Czech Republic). Academia, Praha.
Lepik M., Liira J. &Zobel K. (2004): The space-use strategy of plants with different growth forms, in a field experiment with manipulated nutrients and light.Folia Geobot. 39: 113–127.
Levang-Brilz N. &Biondini M.E. (2002): Growth rate, root development and nutrient uptake of 55 plant species from the Great Plains Grasslands, USA.Pl. Ecol. 165: 117–144.
Neill C. (1992): Comparison of soil coring and ingrowth methods for measuring below-ground production.Ecology 73: 1918–1921.
Pecháčková S., During H.J., Rydlová V. &Herben T. (1999): Species-specific spatial pattern of below-ground plant parts in a montane grassland community.J. Ecol. 87: 569–582.
Rajaniemi T.J. &Reynolds H.L. (2004): Root foraging for patchy resources in eight herbaceous plant species.Oecologia 141: 519–525.
Robinson D. (2001): Root proliferation, nitrate inflow and their carbon costs during nitrogen capture by competing plants in patchy soil.Pl. Soil 232: 41–50.
Robinson D. &Rorison I.H. (1983): A comparison of the responses ofLolium perenne L.,Holcus lanatus L. andDeschampsia flexuosa (L.)Trin. to a localized supply of nitrogen.New Phytol. 94: 263–273.
Robinson D. &van Vuuren M.M.I. (1998): Responses of wild plants to nutrient patches in relation to growth rate and life-form. In:Lambers H., Poorter H. &van Vuuren M.M.I. (eds.),Variation in plant growth, Backhuys, Leiden, pp. 237–257.
Schwinning S. &Weiner J. (1998): Mechanisms determining the degree of size asymmetry in competition among plants.Oecologia 113: 447–455.
Shields J.A., Paul E.A. &Lowe W.E. (1973): Turnover of microbial tissue in soil under field conditions.Soil Biol. Biochem. 5: 753–764.
Šmilauerová M. (2001): Plant root response to heterogeneity of soil resources: effects of nutrient patches, AM symbiosis, and species composition.Folia Geobot. 36: 337–351.
Šmilauerová M. &Šmilauer P. (2002): Morphological responses of plant roots to heterogeneity of soil resources.New Phytol. 154: 703–715.
Steingrobe B., Schmid H. &Claassen N. (2001): The use of the ingrowth core method for measuring root production of arable crops — influence of soil and root disturbance during installation of the bags on root ingrowth into the cores.Eur. J. Agron. 15: 143–151.
van Vuuren M.M.I., Robinson D. &Griffiths B.S. (1996): Nutrient inflow and root proliferation during the exploitation of a temporally and spatially discrete source of nitrogen in soil.Pl. & Soil 178: 185–192.
Wijesinghe D.K., John E.A. &Hutchings M.J. (2005): Does pattern of soil resource heterogeneity determine plant community structure? An experimental investigation.J. Ecol. 93: 99–112.
Zhang H., Jennings A., Barlow P.W. &Forde B.G. (1999): Dual pathways for regulation of root branching by nitrate.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96: 6529–6534.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Šmilauerová, M., Šmilauer, P. Co-occurring graminoid and forb species do not differ in their root morphological response to soil heterogeneity. Folia Geobot 41, 121–135 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02806474
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02806474