Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology >
Traits for 1 to 3 order fine roots of 30 shrub species and their root economic spectrum in karst areas
Received date: 2024-08-27
Accepted date: 2024-12-31
Online published: 2025-01-02
Supported by
Guangxi Natural Science Foundation(2022GXNSFAA035583);National Natural Science Foundation of China(32460270);National Natural Science Foundation of China(32060305)
Aims The root economic spectrum helps explore the trade-offs between resource acquisition strategies and lifespan of fine-roots of different orders, providing essential insights into the relationships among root traits and the mechanisms of species’ adaptation under local environments.
Methods This study investigates 30 shrub species with different life forms (evergreen and deciduous) suitable for the severely degraded karst region. Using the root order classification method, we analyzed the morphology, nutrient contents and stoichiometric ratios of 1-3 order fine-roots among different life forms. We aimed to understand the variations in morphology and nutrients across different root orders and explore the survival strategies and variation dimensions of fine-roots in different life forms, searching for the presence of a root economic spectrum.
Important findings The results showed that (1) the average contents of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in fine-roots of 30 karst shrubs (438.67, 5.16, and 0.31 mg·g-1, respectively) were lower than those in fine-roots of Chinese plants (473.9, 9.16, and 1.03 mg·g-1, respectively). Among 1-3 order fine-roots, the coefficient of variation for carbon content was minimal (all are less than 1), while phosphorus content showed the largest coefficient of variation (94%). (2) The phosphorus content in fine-roots of evergreen shrubs was significantly lower than that of deciduous shrubs, indicating that evergreen shrubs in karst areas are more prone to phosphorus limitations compared to deciduous shrubs. (3) Root diameter and specific surface area showed a highly significant negative correlation only in the third-order fine-roots of deciduous shrubs, while evergreen shrubs exhibited significant negative correlations across 1-3 order fine roots. (4) Principal component analysis results indicate that variations in fine-root traits of 30 karst shrubs can be decomposed into multiple principal components. The first principal component mainly includes morphological traits such as specific root surface area, average diameter, specific root length, fine root biomass, and root tissue density. The second principal component mainly reflects nutrient factors, corresponding to fast and slow resource acquisition strategies. This demonstrates the existence of a root economic spectrum among the 30 karst shrubs. These findings facilitate a deeper understanding of the ecological strategies of shrub adaptation to rocky desertification habitats in karst regions and further recognize the nutrient utilization strategies of suitable shrubs in these areas.
HU Yan , LI Lin , WEI Shi-Guang , YIN Yu-Hang , ZHOU Jing-Gang , ZHONG Jian-Jun , WANG Xue . Traits for 1 to 3 order fine roots of 30 shrub species and their root economic spectrum in karst areas[J]. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 2025 , 49(12) : 1991 -2003 . DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2024.0291
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