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Fine Root Growth Increases in Response to Nitrogen Addition in Phosphorus-limited Northern Hardwood Forests

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Abstract

Resource allocation theory posits that increased soil nutrient availability results in decreased plant investment in nutrient acquisition. We evaluated this theory by quantifying fine root biomass and growth in a long term, nitrogen (N) × phosphorus (P) fertilization study in three mature northern hardwood forest stands where aboveground growth increased primarily in response to P addition. We did not detect a decline in fine root biomass or growth in response to either N or P. Instead, fine root growth increased in response to N, by 40% for length (P = 0.04 for the main effect of N in ANOVA), and by 36% for mass, relative to controls. Fine root mass growth was lower in response to N + P addition than predicted from the main effects of N and P (P = 0.01 for the interaction of N × P). The response of root growth to N availability did not result in detectable responses in fine root biomass (P = 0.61), which is consistent with increased root turnover with N addition. We propose that the differential growth response to fertilization between above- and belowground components is a mechanism by which trees enhance P acquisition in response to increasing N availability, illustrating how both elements may co-limit northern hardwood forest production.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the NSF Long-Term Ecological Research Program (DEB-1114804) and by NSF (DEB-0949317) and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (2019-67019-29464). Joel Blum was involved in designing and implementing the root ingrowth study as part of a larger project. Shinjini Goswami, Jenna Tiller, Jerome Barner, Caitlin Holmes, and Brad Wells assisted with sample processing. We are grateful for the cooperation and support of the U.S Forest Service Northern Research Station and the Bartlett Experimental Forest. We thank Joseph Wright and an anonymous reviewer for thoughtful input that helped us to improve the manuscript. This project is a contribution to the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study.

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  1. Shan Shan

    Present address: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Dr, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, United States of America

  2. MCF, RDY, TJF, and SS designed the study. SS, HD, MCF, and TJF collected the data. SS performed analyses and drafted the manuscript, and MCF, RDY, and TJF contributed substantially to writing and revisions.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 45056, United States of America

    Shan Shan, Hannah Devens & Melany C. Fisk

  2. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, United States of America

    Timothy J. Fahey

  3. Department of Sustainable Resources Management, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York, 13210, United States of America

    Ruth D. Yanai

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Correspondence to Melany C. Fisk.

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Shan, S., Devens, H., Fahey, T.J. et al. Fine Root Growth Increases in Response to Nitrogen Addition in Phosphorus-limited Northern Hardwood Forests. Ecosystems 25, 1589–1600 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-021-00735-4

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