Abstract
Aims
Periodic flooding profoundly influences the root adaptation strategies of riparian plants and their soil interactions, with root exudation playing a pivotal role. However, the differentiation of plant survival strategies, driven by the trait syndrome associated with root exudation and the phylogenetic signal, remains unknown under the altered man-made hydrological regime.
Methods
We selected 19 common herbs in the drawdown zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) and comprehensively determined their root exudates and associated morphological and chemical traits in situ.
Results
Root exudation emerged as a competitive trait in the root economics space of riparian plants, with minimal influence from phylogenetic signals on the trait syndrome. The root exudation rate of annuals was significantly higher than that of perennials. Annuals were characterized by high specific root length, high specific root area, and high root exudation rate, standing on the fast side of the root conservation gradient. In contrast, perennials were characterized by large root diameter, high root tissue density, low exudation rate, and positioned on the conservative side.
Conclusions
Our findings reveal that root exudation is involved in, and likely facilitate, diverse adaptation strategies of different life history plants in the drawdown zone of the TGR. Stress resistance and efficient resource access were the two main dimensions of trait variation in perennials and annuals contributing to their coexistence. Such knowledge will provide important insights into the mechanisms of species coexistence driven by belowground ecological processes and ecosystem responses to heterogeneous environmental change.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Funding
This research was financially supported by The Three Gorges “Follow-up Research Project” from Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Water Resources (No. 5000002021BF40001), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M703137), and Chongqing Postdoctoral Science Foundation (cstc2021jcyj-bshX0195).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. XY investigated, studied, and wrote the original manuscript. SZ, SC, MA were involved in the field sampling and data analysis. SZ provided the frame, the research goal of article, and supervised this work. SW, MM, QC, PH were responsible for revising, proofreading and reviewing the article. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Yin, X., Zhang, S., Chen, S. et al. Root exudation and associated traits explain the differentiation of plant survival strategy in a drawdown zone in China. Plant Soil (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06472-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06472-y