Below‐ground carbon input to soil is controlled by nutrient availability and fine root dynamics in loblolly pine
- 30 April 2002
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in New Phytologist
- Vol. 154 (2) , 389-398
- https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.2002.00393.x
Abstract
• Availability of growth limiting resources may alter root dynamics in forest ecosystems, possibly affecting the land-atmosphere exchange of carbon. This was evaluated for a commercially important southern timber species by installing a factorial experiment of fertilization and irrigation treatments in an 8-yr-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantation. • After 3 yr of growth, production and turnover of fine, coarse and mycorrhizal root length was observed using minirhizotrons, and compared with stem growth and foliage development. • Fertilization increased net production of fine roots and mycorrhizal roots, but did not affect coarse roots. Fine roots had average lifespans of 166 d, coarse roots 294 d and mycorrhizal roots 507 d. Foliage growth rate peaked in late spring and declined over the remainder of the growing season, whereas fine roots experienced multiple growth flushes in the spring, summer and fall. • We conclude that increased nutrient availability might increase carbon input to soils through enhanced fine root turnover. However, this will depend on the extent to which mycorrhizal root formation is affected, as these mycorrhizal roots have much longer average lifespans than fine and coarse roots.Keywords
This publication has 50 references indexed in Scilit:
- Fine-root biomass and fluxes of soil carbon in young stands of paper birch and trembling aspen as affected by elevated atmospheric CO2 and tropospheric O3Oecologia, 2001
- Relationships between fine root dynamics and nitrogen availability in Michigan northern hardwood forestsOecologia, 2000
- Responses of tree fine roots to temperatureNew Phytologist, 2000
- Growth and C allocation of Populus tremuloides genotypes in response to atmospheric CO2 and soil N availabilityNew Phytologist, 1998
- Relationships among root branch order, carbon, and nitrogen in four temperate speciesOecologia, 1997
- Seasonal branch and fine root growth of juvenile loblolly pine five growing seasons after fertilizationTree Physiology, 1996
- Effects of carbon dioxide, fertilization, and irrigation on photosynthetic capacity of loblolly pine treesTree Physiology, 1996
- Nitrogen fixation: Anthropogenic enhancement‐environmental responseGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles, 1995
- Biomass distribution and above- and below-ground production in young and mature Abiesamabilis zone ecosystems of the Washington CascadesCanadian Journal of Forest Research, 1981
- Variation in Nutrient Content of Loblolly Pine Needles with Season, Age, Soil, and Position on the CrownSoil Science Society of America Journal, 1963