PRIMARY RESEARCH ARTICLE
Linking root respiration to chemistry and morphology across species
Mengguang Han,
Biao Zhu,
Mengguang Han
Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Biao Zhu
Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
Correspondence
Biao Zhu, Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this author
Mengguang Han,
Biao Zhu,
Mengguang Han
Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Biao Zhu
Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
Correspondence
Biao Zhu, Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Root respiration is a critical physiological trait involved in root resource acquisition strategies, yet it is less represented in root trait syndrome. Here we compiled a large dataset of root respiration associated with root chemical and morphological traits from 245 plant species. Our results demonstrated that root respiration correlated positively with root nitrogen concentration (RNC) and negatively with root tissue density (RTD) across and within woody and non-woody species. However, the relationships between root respiration and specific root length (SRL) and root diameter (RD) were weak or even insignificant. Such root respiration–traits relationships were not completely in line with predictions by the root economics spectrum (RES). Furthermore, the principal component analysis showed that root trait syndrome was multidimensional. Root respiration was associated more strongly with the RNC-RTD axis (the classical RES) than with the orthogonal SRL-RD axis for woody species, but not for non-woody species. Collectively, the linkages of root physiological, chemical, and morphological traits provide a better understanding of root trait covariation and root resource acquisition strategies.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in figshare at http://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13064552.
Supporting Information
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| gcb15391-sup-0001-Supinfo.pdfPDF document, 1.6 MB | Supplementary Material |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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