Abstract
MUCH of the carbon assimilated by plants is allocated to fine root production1–5, and the amount of carbon and nutrients subsequently returned to the soil from fine root turnover equals or surpasses that returned through leaf litter in many forests6–9. Unfortunately, limitations in traditional methods of studying roots have prevented us from thoroughly understanding the dynamic nature of fine root mortality in most forests, and better measurements of fine root longevity are needed to quantify and model more accurately ecosystem carbon and nutrient budgets8–11. We used minirhizotrons12,13 to follow the mortality of contemporaneous fine root cohorts in two sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) forests located 80 km apart (north–south) during 1989 and 1990. We report here that roots in the northern forest consistently lived the longest, principally owing to greater rates of mortality early in the life of roots at the southern site. Differences in site factors suggest that warmer soil temperatures seem to be associated with the more rapid death of roots at the southern site.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gower, S. T., Vogt, K. A. & Grier, C. C. Ecol. Monogr. 62, 43–65 (1992).
Grier, C. C., Vogt, K. A., Keyes, M. R. & Edmonds, R. L. Can. J. For. Res. 11, 155–167 (1981).
Keyes, M. R. & Grier, C. C. Can. J. For. Res. 11, 599–605 (1981).
Harris, W. F., Kinerson, R. S. & Edwards, N. T. Pedobiologia 17, 369–381 (1977).
Fogel, R. in Ecological Interactions in Soil (eds. Fitter, A. H., Atkinson, D., Read, D. J. & Usher, M. B.) 23–36 (Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1985).
Cox, T. L., Harris, W. F., Ausmus, B. S. & Edwards, N. T. Pedobiologia 18, 264–271 (1978).
Joslin, J. D. & Henderson, G. S. For. Sci. 33, 330–346 (1987).
Raich, J. W. & Nadelhoffer, K. J. Ecology 70, 1346–1354 (1989).
Ewel, K. C. & Gholz, H. L. For. Sci. 37, 397–438 (1991).
Landsberg, J. J., Kaufmann, M. R., Binkley, D., Isebrands, J. & Jarvis, P. G. Tree Physiol. 9, 1–15 (1991).
Hendrick, R. L. & Pregitzer, K. S. Ecology 73, 1094–1104 (1992).
Upchurch, D. R. & Ritchie, J. T. Agron, J. 75, 1009–1015 (1983).
Hendrick, R. L. & K. S. Pregitzer, Pl. Soil 143, 283–288 (1992).
Atkinson, D. Trends Ecol. Evol. 7, 173–174 (1992).
MacDonald, N. W., Burton, A. J., Jurgensen, M. F., McLaughlin, J. W. & Morz, G. D. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 55, 1709–1715 (1991).
Burton, A. J., Pregitzer, K. S. & Reed, D. D. For. Sci. 37, 1041–1059 (1991).
Pregitzer, K. S. & Burton, A. J. Can. J. For. Res. 21, 1148–1153 (1991).
Pyke, D. A. & Thompson, J. N. Ecology 67, 240–245 (1986).
Fogel, R. Pl. Soil 71, 75–85 (1983).
McClaugherty, C. A., Aber, J. A. & Melillo, J. M. Ecology 63, 1481–1490 (1982).
Persson, H. Vegetatio 41, 101–109 (1979).
Amthor, J. S. Pl. Cell Environ. 7, 561–569 (1984).
Lawrence, W. T. & Oechel, W. C. Can. J. For. Res. 13, 840–849 (1983).
Marshall, J. P. & Waring, R. H. Can. J. For. Res. 15, 791–800 (1985).
Atkinson, D. in Ecological Interactions in Soil (eds Fitter, A. H., Atkinson, D., Read. D. J. & Usher M. B.) 43–65 (Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1985).
Head, G. C. in Shedding of Roots (ed. T. T. Kozlowski) 237–293 (Academic, New York, 1973).
Aber, J. D., Melillo, J, M., Nadelhoffer, K. J., Pastor, J. & Boone, R. D. Ecol. Appl. 1, 303–315 (1991).
Running, S. W. & Gower, S. T. Tree Physiol. 9, 147–160 (1991).
Bonan, G. B. J. geophys. Res. 96, 7301–7312 (1991).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hendrick, R., Pregitzer, K. Patterns of fine root mortality in two sugar maple forests. Nature 361, 59–61 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/361059a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/361059a0
This article is cited by
-
Fine root dynamics, longevity, and canopy characteristics of cotton under varying water and nitrogen levels
Plant and Soil (2023)
-
Fine root litter quality regulates soil carbon storage efficiency in subtropical forest soils
Soil Ecology Letters (2023)
-
Effects of long-term nitrogen addition and precipitation reduction on the fine root dynamics and morphology in a temperate forest
European Journal of Forest Research (2022)
-
Spatial and temporal patterns of root dynamics in a Bornean tropical rainforest monitored using the root scanner method
Plant and Soil (2019)
-
Evergreenness influences fine root growth more than tree diversity in a common garden experiment
Oecologia (2019)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.