Proportion of fine roots, but not plant biomass allocation belowground, increases with elevation in arctic tundra. Blume-Werry, G., Lindén, E., Andresen, L., Classen, A. T., Sanders, N. J., von Oppen, J., & Sundqvist, M. K. Journal of Vegetation Science, 29:226–235, 2018. 00000
Proportion of fine roots, but not plant biomass allocation belowground, increases with elevation in arctic tundra [link]Paper  doi  abstract   bibtex   
Questions Roots represent a considerable proportion of biomass, primary production, and litter input in arctic tundra, and plant allocation of biomass to above- or belowground tissue in response to climate change is a key factor in the future carbon balance of these ecosystems. According to optimality theory plants allocate carbon to the above- or belowground structure that captures the most limiting resource. We used an elevational gradient to test this theory and as a space-for-time substitution to inform on tundra carbon allocation patterns under a shifting climate, by exploring if increasing elevation was positively related to the root:shoot ratio, as well as a greater plant allocation to adsorptive over storage roots. Location Arctic tundra heath dominated by Empetrum hermaphroditum close to Abisko, Sweden. Methods We measured root:shoot and fine:coarse root ratios of the plant communities along an elevational gradient by sampling above- and belowground biomass, further separating root biomass into fine (\textless 1 mm) and coarse roots. Results Plant biomass was higher at the lower elevations, but the root:shoot ratio did not vary with elevation. Resource allocation to fine relative to coarse roots increased with elevation, resulting in a fine:coarse root ratio that more than doubled with increasing elevation. Conclusions Contrary to previous works, the root:shoot ratio along this elevational gradient remained stable. However, communities along our study system were dominated by the same species at each elevation which suggests that when changes in the root:shoot ratio occur with elevation these changes may be driven by differences in allocation patterns among species and thus turnover in plant community structure. Our results further reveal that the allocation of biomass to fine relative to coarse roots can differ between locations along an elevational gradient even when overall above- versus belowground biomass allocation does not. Given the functionally different roles of fine versus coarse roots this could have large implications for belowground carbon cycling. Our results highlight the importance of direct effects versus indirect effects (such as changes in plant community composition and nutrient availability) of climate change for future carbon allocation above- and belowground. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
@article{blume-werry_proportion_2018,
	title = {Proportion of fine roots, but not plant biomass allocation belowground, increases with elevation in arctic tundra},
	volume = {29},
	issn = {1654-1103},
	url = {http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jvs.12605/abstract},
	doi = {10.1111/jvs.12605},
	abstract = {Questions

Roots represent a considerable proportion of biomass, primary production, and litter input in arctic tundra, and plant allocation of biomass to above- or belowground tissue in response to climate change is a key factor in the future carbon balance of these ecosystems. According to optimality theory plants allocate carbon to the above- or belowground structure that captures the most limiting resource. We used an elevational gradient to test this theory and as a space-for-time substitution to inform on tundra carbon allocation patterns under a shifting climate, by exploring if increasing elevation was positively related to the root:shoot ratio, as well as a greater plant allocation to adsorptive over storage roots.


Location

Arctic tundra heath dominated by Empetrum hermaphroditum close to Abisko, Sweden.


Methods

We measured root:shoot and fine:coarse root ratios of the plant communities along an elevational gradient by sampling above- and belowground biomass, further separating root biomass into fine ({\textless} 1 mm) and coarse roots.


Results

Plant biomass was higher at the lower elevations, but the root:shoot ratio did not vary with elevation. Resource allocation to fine relative to coarse roots increased with elevation, resulting in a fine:coarse root ratio that more than doubled with increasing elevation.


Conclusions

Contrary to previous works, the root:shoot ratio along this elevational gradient remained stable. However, communities along our study system were dominated by the same species at each elevation which suggests that when changes in the root:shoot ratio occur with elevation these changes may be driven by differences in allocation patterns among species and thus turnover in plant community structure. Our results further reveal that the allocation of biomass to fine relative to coarse roots can differ between locations along an elevational gradient even when overall above- versus belowground biomass allocation does not. Given the functionally different roles of fine versus coarse roots this could have large implications for belowground carbon cycling. Our results highlight the importance of direct effects versus indirect effects (such as changes in plant community composition and nutrient availability) of climate change for future carbon allocation above- and belowground.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.},
	language = {en},
	urldate = {2018-01-02},
	journal = {Journal of Vegetation Science},
	author = {Blume-Werry, Gesche and Lindén, Elin and Andresen, Lisa and Classen, Aimée T. and Sanders, Nathan J. and von Oppen, Jonathan and Sundqvist, Maja K.},
	year = {2018},
	note = {00000},
	keywords = {\#nosource, Above- and belowground linkages, Betula nana, Empetrum hermaphroditum, above- and below-ground linkages, arctic tundra, biomass allocation, elevational gradient, fine roots, heath vegetation},
	pages = {226--235},
}

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