Tropical root responses to global changes: A synthesis

Daniela Yaffar; Laynara F. Lugli; Michelle Y. Wong; Richard J. Norby; Shalom D. Addo-Danso; Marie Arnaud; Amanda L. Cordeiro; Lee H. Dietterich; Milton H. Diaz-Toribio; Ming Y. Lee; Om Prakash Ghimire; Chris M. Smith-Martin; Laura Toro; Kelly Andersen; Lindsay A. McCulloch; Ina C. Meier; Jennifer S. Powers; Mareli Sanchez-Julia; Fiona M. Soper; Daniela F. Cusack

doi:10.1111/gcb.17420

Tropical root responses to global changes: A synthesis

Daniela Yaffar, Laynara F. Lugli, Michelle Y. Wong, Richard J. Norby, Shalom D. Addo-Danso, Marie Arnaud, Amanda L. Cordeiro, Lee H. Dietterich, Milton H. Diaz-Toribio, Ming Y. Lee, Om Prakash Ghimire, Chris M. Smith-Martin, Laura Toro, Kelly Andersen, Lindsay A. McCulloch, Ina C. Meier, Jennifer S. Powers, Mareli Sanchez-Julia, Fiona M. Soper, Daniela F. Cusack

Ecosystem Processes

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

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Tropical ecosystems face escalating global change. These shifts can disrupt tropical forests' carbon (C) balance and impact root dynamics. Since roots perform essential functions such as resource acquisition and tissue protection, root responses can inform about the strategies and vulnerabilities of ecosystems facing present and future global changes. However, root trait dynamics are poorly understood, especially in tropical ecosystems. We analyzed existing research on tropical root responses to key global change drivers: warming, drought, flooding, cyclones, nitrogen (N) deposition, elevated (e) CO₂, and fires. Based on tree species- and community-level literature, we obtained 266 root trait observations from 93 studies across 24 tropical countries. We found differences in the proportion of root responsiveness to global change among different global change drivers but not among root categories. In particular, we observed that tropical root systems responded to warming and eCO₂ by increasing root biomass in species-scale studies. Drought increased the root: shoot ratio with no change in root biomass, indicating a decline in aboveground biomass. Despite N deposition being the most studied global change driver, it had some of the most variable effects on root characteristics, with few predictable responses. Episodic disturbances such as cyclones, fires, and flooding consistently resulted in a change in root trait expressions, with cyclones and fires increasing root production, potentially due to shifts in plant community and nutrient inputs, while flooding changed plant regulatory metabolisms due to low oxygen conditions. The data available to date clearly show that tropical forest root characteristics and dynamics are responding to global change, although in ways that are not always predictable. This synthesis indicates the need for replicated studies across root characteristics at species and community scales under different global change factors.

Original language	English
Article number	e17420
Journal	Global Change Biology
Volume	30
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17420
State	Published - Jul 2024

Funding

This study was supported by the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments-Tropics, funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the DOE under contract DE-AC05-1008 00OR22725. This review is a result of activities involving many members of the TropiRoot Research Network, to whom we are grateful. This network was funded in part by the New Phytologist 28th Workshop: \u201CCoordinating and Synthesizing Tropical Forest Root Trait Studies: Understanding belowground NPP, root responses to global change, and nutrient acquisition dynamics across tropical forests,\u201D held in at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, April 2023. L. F. Lugli would like to thank the financial support of the Bayerische Staatskanzlei through the grant associated with the Amazon-FLUX project. I.C. Meier wishes to thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) for the financial support awarded within the Heisenberg program (grant no. ME 4156/5-1). M Arnaud was supported by HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01 grant funding to Sorbonne University, grant no. 10106240. DF Cusack was supported by US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Early Career Award DE\u2014SC0015898, and US National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB), award no. 2332006. We thank Cristian Pereyra Morales for the artistic designs in Figures\u00A01 and 4. This study was supported by the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments\u2010Tropics, funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory managed by UT\u2010Battelle, LLC, for the DOE under contract DE\u2010AC05\u20101008 00OR22725. This review is a result of activities involving many members of the TropiRoot Research Network, to whom we are grateful. This network was funded in part by the New Phytologist 28th Workshop: \u201CCoordinating and Synthesizing Tropical Forest Root Trait Studies: Understanding belowground NPP, root responses to global change, and nutrient acquisition dynamics across tropical forests,\u201D held in at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, April 2023. L. F. Lugli would like to thank the financial support of the Bayerische Staatskanzlei through the grant associated with the Amazon\u2010FLUX project. I.C. Meier wishes to thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) for the financial support awarded within the Heisenberg program (grant no. ME 4156/5\u20101). M Arnaud was supported by HORIZON\u2010MSCA\u20102021\u2010PF\u201001 grant funding to Sorbonne University, grant no. 10106240. DF Cusack was supported by US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Early Career Award DE\u2014SC0015898, and US National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB), award no. 2332006. We thank Cristian Pereyra Morales for the artistic designs in Figures 1 and 4 .

Keywords

belowground
carbon allocation
disturbances
root traits
tropical forests

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10.1111/gcb.17420

Cite this

Yaffar, D., Lugli, L. F., Wong, M. Y., Norby, R. J., Addo-Danso, S. D., Arnaud, M., Cordeiro, A. L., Dietterich, L. H., Diaz-Toribio, M. H., Lee, M. Y., Ghimire, O. P., Smith-Martin, C. M., Toro, L., Andersen, K., McCulloch, L. A., Meier, I. C., Powers, J. S., Sanchez-Julia, M., Soper, F. M., & Cusack, D. F. (2024). Tropical root responses to global changes: A synthesis. Global Change Biology, 30(7), Article e17420. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17420

@article{ba1f90d9171e4e03ab47a0aaa0364b8e,

title = "Tropical root responses to global changes: A synthesis",

abstract = "Tropical ecosystems face escalating global change. These shifts can disrupt tropical forests' carbon (C) balance and impact root dynamics. Since roots perform essential functions such as resource acquisition and tissue protection, root responses can inform about the strategies and vulnerabilities of ecosystems facing present and future global changes. However, root trait dynamics are poorly understood, especially in tropical ecosystems. We analyzed existing research on tropical root responses to key global change drivers: warming, drought, flooding, cyclones, nitrogen (N) deposition, elevated (e) CO2, and fires. Based on tree species- and community-level literature, we obtained 266 root trait observations from 93 studies across 24 tropical countries. We found differences in the proportion of root responsiveness to global change among different global change drivers but not among root categories. In particular, we observed that tropical root systems responded to warming and eCO2 by increasing root biomass in species-scale studies. Drought increased the root: shoot ratio with no change in root biomass, indicating a decline in aboveground biomass. Despite N deposition being the most studied global change driver, it had some of the most variable effects on root characteristics, with few predictable responses. Episodic disturbances such as cyclones, fires, and flooding consistently resulted in a change in root trait expressions, with cyclones and fires increasing root production, potentially due to shifts in plant community and nutrient inputs, while flooding changed plant regulatory metabolisms due to low oxygen conditions. The data available to date clearly show that tropical forest root characteristics and dynamics are responding to global change, although in ways that are not always predictable. This synthesis indicates the need for replicated studies across root characteristics at species and community scales under different global change factors.",

keywords = "belowground, carbon allocation, disturbances, root traits, tropical forests",

author = "Daniela Yaffar and Lugli, {Laynara F.} and Wong, {Michelle Y.} and Norby, {Richard J.} and Addo-Danso, {Shalom D.} and Marie Arnaud and Cordeiro, {Amanda L.} and Dietterich, {Lee H.} and Diaz-Toribio, {Milton H.} and Lee, {Ming Y.} and Ghimire, {Om Prakash} and Smith-Martin, {Chris M.} and Laura Toro and Kelly Andersen and McCulloch, {Lindsay A.} and Meier, {Ina C.} and Powers, {Jennifer S.} and Mareli Sanchez-Julia and Soper, {Fiona M.} and Cusack, {Daniela F.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2024 Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC and The Author(s). Global Change Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",

year = "2024",

month = jul,

doi = "10.1111/gcb.17420",

language = "English",

volume = "30",

journal = "Global Change Biology",

issn = "1354-1013",

publisher = "wiley",

number = "7",

}

Yaffar, D, Lugli, LF, Wong, MY, Norby, RJ, Addo-Danso, SD, Arnaud, M, Cordeiro, AL, Dietterich, LH, Diaz-Toribio, MH, Lee, MY, Ghimire, OP, Smith-Martin, CM, Toro, L, Andersen, K, McCulloch, LA, Meier, IC, Powers, JS, Sanchez-Julia, M, Soper, FM & Cusack, DF 2024, 'Tropical root responses to global changes: A synthesis', Global Change Biology, vol. 30, no. 7, e17420. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17420

TY - JOUR

T1 - Tropical root responses to global changes

T2 - A synthesis

AU - Yaffar, Daniela

AU - Lugli, Laynara F.

AU - Wong, Michelle Y.

AU - Norby, Richard J.

AU - Addo-Danso, Shalom D.

AU - Arnaud, Marie

AU - Cordeiro, Amanda L.

AU - Dietterich, Lee H.

AU - Diaz-Toribio, Milton H.

AU - Lee, Ming Y.

AU - Ghimire, Om Prakash

AU - Smith-Martin, Chris M.

AU - Toro, Laura

AU - Andersen, Kelly

AU - McCulloch, Lindsay A.

AU - Meier, Ina C.

AU - Powers, Jennifer S.

AU - Sanchez-Julia, Mareli

AU - Soper, Fiona M.

AU - Cusack, Daniela F.

PY - 2024/7

Y1 - 2024/7

N2 - Tropical ecosystems face escalating global change. These shifts can disrupt tropical forests' carbon (C) balance and impact root dynamics. Since roots perform essential functions such as resource acquisition and tissue protection, root responses can inform about the strategies and vulnerabilities of ecosystems facing present and future global changes. However, root trait dynamics are poorly understood, especially in tropical ecosystems. We analyzed existing research on tropical root responses to key global change drivers: warming, drought, flooding, cyclones, nitrogen (N) deposition, elevated (e) CO2, and fires. Based on tree species- and community-level literature, we obtained 266 root trait observations from 93 studies across 24 tropical countries. We found differences in the proportion of root responsiveness to global change among different global change drivers but not among root categories. In particular, we observed that tropical root systems responded to warming and eCO2 by increasing root biomass in species-scale studies. Drought increased the root: shoot ratio with no change in root biomass, indicating a decline in aboveground biomass. Despite N deposition being the most studied global change driver, it had some of the most variable effects on root characteristics, with few predictable responses. Episodic disturbances such as cyclones, fires, and flooding consistently resulted in a change in root trait expressions, with cyclones and fires increasing root production, potentially due to shifts in plant community and nutrient inputs, while flooding changed plant regulatory metabolisms due to low oxygen conditions. The data available to date clearly show that tropical forest root characteristics and dynamics are responding to global change, although in ways that are not always predictable. This synthesis indicates the need for replicated studies across root characteristics at species and community scales under different global change factors.

AB - Tropical ecosystems face escalating global change. These shifts can disrupt tropical forests' carbon (C) balance and impact root dynamics. Since roots perform essential functions such as resource acquisition and tissue protection, root responses can inform about the strategies and vulnerabilities of ecosystems facing present and future global changes. However, root trait dynamics are poorly understood, especially in tropical ecosystems. We analyzed existing research on tropical root responses to key global change drivers: warming, drought, flooding, cyclones, nitrogen (N) deposition, elevated (e) CO2, and fires. Based on tree species- and community-level literature, we obtained 266 root trait observations from 93 studies across 24 tropical countries. We found differences in the proportion of root responsiveness to global change among different global change drivers but not among root categories. In particular, we observed that tropical root systems responded to warming and eCO2 by increasing root biomass in species-scale studies. Drought increased the root: shoot ratio with no change in root biomass, indicating a decline in aboveground biomass. Despite N deposition being the most studied global change driver, it had some of the most variable effects on root characteristics, with few predictable responses. Episodic disturbances such as cyclones, fires, and flooding consistently resulted in a change in root trait expressions, with cyclones and fires increasing root production, potentially due to shifts in plant community and nutrient inputs, while flooding changed plant regulatory metabolisms due to low oxygen conditions. The data available to date clearly show that tropical forest root characteristics and dynamics are responding to global change, although in ways that are not always predictable. This synthesis indicates the need for replicated studies across root characteristics at species and community scales under different global change factors.

KW - belowground

KW - carbon allocation

KW - disturbances

KW - root traits

KW - tropical forests

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85199410764&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/gcb.17420

DO - 10.1111/gcb.17420

M3 - Review article

C2 - 39044411

AN - SCOPUS:85199410764

SN - 1354-1013

VL - 30

JO - Global Change Biology

JF - Global Change Biology

IS - 7

M1 - e17420

ER -

Tropical root responses to global changes: A synthesis

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