Fine-root dynamics vary with soil depth and precipitation in a low-nutrient tropical forest in the Central Amazonia

Amanda L. Cordeiro; Richard J. Norby; Kelly M. Andersen; Oscar Valverde-Barrantes; Lucia Fuchslueger; Erick Oblitas; Iain P. Hartley; Colleen M. Iversen; Nathan B. Gonçalves; Bruno Takeshi; David M. Lapola; Carlos A. Quesada

doi:10.1002/pei3.10010

Fine-root dynamics vary with soil depth and precipitation in a low-nutrient tropical forest in the Central Amazonia

Amanda L. Cordeiro, Richard J. Norby, Kelly M. Andersen, Oscar Valverde-Barrantes, Lucia Fuchslueger, Erick Oblitas, Iain P. Hartley, Colleen M. Iversen, Nathan B. Gonçalves, Bruno Takeshi, David M. Lapola, Carlos A. Quesada

Plant-Soil Interactions

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

A common assumption in tropical ecology is that root systems respond rapidly to climatic cues but that most of that response is limited to the uppermost layer of the soil, with relatively limited changes in deeper layers. However, this assumption has not been tested directly, preventing models from accurately predicting the response of tropical forests to environmental change. We measured seasonal dynamics of fine roots in an upper-slope plateau in Central Amazonia mature forest using minirhizotrons to 90 cm depth, which were calibrated with fine roots extracted from soil cores. Root productivity and mortality in surface soil layers were positively correlated with precipitation, whereas root standing length was greater during the dry periods at the deeper layers. Contrary to historical assumptions, a large fraction of fine-root standing biomass (46%) and productivity (41%) was found in soil layers deeper than 30 cm. Furthermore, root turnover decreased linearly with soil depth. Our findings demonstrate a relationship between fine-root dynamics and precipitation regimes in Central Amazonia. Our results also emphasize the importance of deeper roots for accurate estimates of primary productivity and the interaction between roots and carbon, water, and nutrients.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	3-16
Number of pages	14
Journal	Plant-Environment Interactions
Volume	1
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/pei3.10010
State	Published - Jun 2020

Funding

We thank the AmazonFACE team, and Joanne Childs (ORNL) for help in the field. The AmazonFACE program provided logistical support to conduct this study. This program was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank through a technical cooperation agreement with the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (Grant BR-T1284), by Brazil's Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) Grant 23038.007722/2014-77, and by Amazonas Research Foundation (FAPEAM) Grant 2649/2014. Research was also supported as part of the CNPq/LBA grant 68/2013; the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments-Tropics project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research; and FAPESP (grant #2015/02537-7). The authors thank CAPES?Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel?for their financial support. We thank the LBA/INPA, PDBFF, NERC, and AFEX team for all the support. We thank the AmazonFACE team, and Joanne Childs (ORNL) for help in the field. The AmazonFACE program provided logistical support to conduct this study. This program was funded by the Inter‐American Development Bank through a technical cooperation agreement with the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (Grant BR‐T1284), by Brazil's Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) Grant 23038.007722/2014‐77, and by Amazonas Research Foundation (FAPEAM) Grant 2649/2014. Research was also supported as part of the CNPq/LBA grant 68/2013; the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments‐Tropics project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research; and FAPESP (grant #2015/02537‐7). The authors thank CAPES—Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel—for their financial support. We thank the LBA/INPA, PDBFF, NERC, and AFEX team for all the support.

Funders	Funder number
Brazil's Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel
Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications	BR‐T1284
LBA	68/2013
PDBFF
U.S. Department of Energy
Inter-American Development Bank
Office of Science
Biological and Environmental Research
Natural Environment Research Council
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo	2015/02537‐7
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior	23038.007722/2014‐77
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas	2649/2014
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

Keywords

Terra firme
belowground productivity
fine-root dynamics
minirhizotrons
precipitation
root turnover
rooting depth
tropical forest

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10.1002/pei3.10010

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Cordeiro, A. L., Norby, R. J., Andersen, K. M., Valverde-Barrantes, O., Fuchslueger, L., Oblitas, E., Hartley, I. P., Iversen, C. M., Gonçalves, N. B., Takeshi, B., Lapola, D. M., & Quesada, C. A. (2020). Fine-root dynamics vary with soil depth and precipitation in a low-nutrient tropical forest in the Central Amazonia. Plant-Environment Interactions, 1(1), 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/pei3.10010

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title = "Fine-root dynamics vary with soil depth and precipitation in a low-nutrient tropical forest in the Central Amazonia",

abstract = "A common assumption in tropical ecology is that root systems respond rapidly to climatic cues but that most of that response is limited to the uppermost layer of the soil, with relatively limited changes in deeper layers. However, this assumption has not been tested directly, preventing models from accurately predicting the response of tropical forests to environmental change. We measured seasonal dynamics of fine roots in an upper-slope plateau in Central Amazonia mature forest using minirhizotrons to 90 cm depth, which were calibrated with fine roots extracted from soil cores. Root productivity and mortality in surface soil layers were positively correlated with precipitation, whereas root standing length was greater during the dry periods at the deeper layers. Contrary to historical assumptions, a large fraction of fine-root standing biomass (46%) and productivity (41%) was found in soil layers deeper than 30 cm. Furthermore, root turnover decreased linearly with soil depth. Our findings demonstrate a relationship between fine-root dynamics and precipitation regimes in Central Amazonia. Our results also emphasize the importance of deeper roots for accurate estimates of primary productivity and the interaction between roots and carbon, water, and nutrients.",

keywords = "Terra firme, belowground productivity, fine-root dynamics, minirhizotrons, precipitation, root turnover, rooting depth, tropical forest",

author = "Cordeiro, {Amanda L.} and Norby, {Richard J.} and Andersen, {Kelly M.} and Oscar Valverde-Barrantes and Lucia Fuchslueger and Erick Oblitas and Hartley, {Iain P.} and Iversen, {Colleen M.} and Gon{\c c}alves, {Nathan B.} and Bruno Takeshi and Lapola, {David M.} and Quesada, {Carlos A.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 The Authors. Journal of Plant-Environment Interactions Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",

year = "2020",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1002/pei3.10010",

language = "English",

volume = "1",

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Cordeiro, AL, Norby, RJ, Andersen, KM, Valverde-Barrantes, O, Fuchslueger, L, Oblitas, E, Hartley, IP, Iversen, CM, Gonçalves, NB, Takeshi, B, Lapola, DM & Quesada, CA 2020, 'Fine-root dynamics vary with soil depth and precipitation in a low-nutrient tropical forest in the Central Amazonia', Plant-Environment Interactions, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 3-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/pei3.10010

TY - JOUR

T1 - Fine-root dynamics vary with soil depth and precipitation in a low-nutrient tropical forest in the Central Amazonia

AU - Cordeiro, Amanda L.

AU - Norby, Richard J.

AU - Andersen, Kelly M.

AU - Valverde-Barrantes, Oscar

AU - Fuchslueger, Lucia

AU - Oblitas, Erick

AU - Hartley, Iain P.

AU - Iversen, Colleen M.

AU - Gonçalves, Nathan B.

AU - Takeshi, Bruno

AU - Lapola, David M.

AU - Quesada, Carlos A.

PY - 2020/6

Y1 - 2020/6

N2 - A common assumption in tropical ecology is that root systems respond rapidly to climatic cues but that most of that response is limited to the uppermost layer of the soil, with relatively limited changes in deeper layers. However, this assumption has not been tested directly, preventing models from accurately predicting the response of tropical forests to environmental change. We measured seasonal dynamics of fine roots in an upper-slope plateau in Central Amazonia mature forest using minirhizotrons to 90 cm depth, which were calibrated with fine roots extracted from soil cores. Root productivity and mortality in surface soil layers were positively correlated with precipitation, whereas root standing length was greater during the dry periods at the deeper layers. Contrary to historical assumptions, a large fraction of fine-root standing biomass (46%) and productivity (41%) was found in soil layers deeper than 30 cm. Furthermore, root turnover decreased linearly with soil depth. Our findings demonstrate a relationship between fine-root dynamics and precipitation regimes in Central Amazonia. Our results also emphasize the importance of deeper roots for accurate estimates of primary productivity and the interaction between roots and carbon, water, and nutrients.

AB - A common assumption in tropical ecology is that root systems respond rapidly to climatic cues but that most of that response is limited to the uppermost layer of the soil, with relatively limited changes in deeper layers. However, this assumption has not been tested directly, preventing models from accurately predicting the response of tropical forests to environmental change. We measured seasonal dynamics of fine roots in an upper-slope plateau in Central Amazonia mature forest using minirhizotrons to 90 cm depth, which were calibrated with fine roots extracted from soil cores. Root productivity and mortality in surface soil layers were positively correlated with precipitation, whereas root standing length was greater during the dry periods at the deeper layers. Contrary to historical assumptions, a large fraction of fine-root standing biomass (46%) and productivity (41%) was found in soil layers deeper than 30 cm. Furthermore, root turnover decreased linearly with soil depth. Our findings demonstrate a relationship between fine-root dynamics and precipitation regimes in Central Amazonia. Our results also emphasize the importance of deeper roots for accurate estimates of primary productivity and the interaction between roots and carbon, water, and nutrients.

KW - Terra firme

KW - belowground productivity

KW - fine-root dynamics

KW - minirhizotrons

KW - precipitation

KW - root turnover

KW - rooting depth

KW - tropical forest

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U2 - 10.1002/pei3.10010

DO - 10.1002/pei3.10010

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:85092926395

SN - 2575-6265

VL - 1

SP - 3

EP - 16

JO - Plant-Environment Interactions

JF - Plant-Environment Interactions

IS - 1

ER -

Fine-root dynamics vary with soil depth and precipitation in a low-nutrient tropical forest in the Central Amazonia

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Keywords

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