Functional Traits of Pinus ponderosa Coarse Roots in Response to Slope Conditions
We excavated the root systems of Pinus ponderosa trees growing on a steeply sloped, volcanic ash-influenced soil in the northern Rocky Mountains of the United States to assess their functional coarse-root traits and root system architecture. Trees, outplanted as one-year-old seedlings from a contain...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2019.00947/full |
| _version_ | 1818128052432928768 |
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| author | R. Kasten Dumroese Mattia Terzaghi Donato Chiatante Gabriella S. Scippa Bruno Lasserre Antonio Montagnoli |
| author_facet | R. Kasten Dumroese Mattia Terzaghi Donato Chiatante Gabriella S. Scippa Bruno Lasserre Antonio Montagnoli |
| author_sort | R. Kasten Dumroese |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We excavated the root systems of Pinus ponderosa trees growing on a steeply sloped, volcanic ash-influenced soil in the northern Rocky Mountains of the United States to assess their functional coarse-root traits and root system architecture. Trees, outplanted as one-year-old seedlings from a container nursery, were in their 32nd growing season on the site. We found that the trees had deployed more roots, in terms of length and volume, in the downslope and windward quadrants than in their upslope and leeward quadrants, likely a response to mechanical forces toward improving stability. Moreover, we observed the development of three types of root cages (tight, enlarged, and diffused) that likely reflect micro-site characteristics. As the cage type transitioned from tight to enlarged to diffused we measured a decrease in the overall volume of the roots associated with the cage and the taproot becoming a more prominent contributor to the overall volume of the cage. Finally, we noted the development of specialty roots, namely those with I-beam and T-beam shapes in cross section, in the downslope quadrant; these types of roots are known to better counteract compression mechanical forces. These observations improve our understanding of root plasticity and tree rooting response to environmental stimuli, which is becoming an increasingly critical topic as changes in climate increase the frequency and intensity of storms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T07:27:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c0b273ee197d47dc9badcd178f292715 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T07:27:07Z |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-c0b273ee197d47dc9badcd178f2927152022-12-22T01:15:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2019-07-011010.3389/fpls.2019.00947459628Functional Traits of Pinus ponderosa Coarse Roots in Response to Slope ConditionsR. Kasten Dumroese0Mattia Terzaghi1Donato Chiatante2Gabriella S. Scippa3Bruno Lasserre4Antonio Montagnoli5Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Moscow, ID, United StatesDepartment of Biotechnology and Life Science, University of Insubria, Varese, ItalyDepartment of Biotechnology and Life Science, University of Insubria, Varese, ItalyDepartment of Biosciences and Territory, University of Molise, Pesche, ItalyDepartment of Biosciences and Territory, University of Molise, Pesche, ItalyDepartment of Biotechnology and Life Science, University of Insubria, Varese, ItalyWe excavated the root systems of Pinus ponderosa trees growing on a steeply sloped, volcanic ash-influenced soil in the northern Rocky Mountains of the United States to assess their functional coarse-root traits and root system architecture. Trees, outplanted as one-year-old seedlings from a container nursery, were in their 32nd growing season on the site. We found that the trees had deployed more roots, in terms of length and volume, in the downslope and windward quadrants than in their upslope and leeward quadrants, likely a response to mechanical forces toward improving stability. Moreover, we observed the development of three types of root cages (tight, enlarged, and diffused) that likely reflect micro-site characteristics. As the cage type transitioned from tight to enlarged to diffused we measured a decrease in the overall volume of the roots associated with the cage and the taproot becoming a more prominent contributor to the overall volume of the cage. Finally, we noted the development of specialty roots, namely those with I-beam and T-beam shapes in cross section, in the downslope quadrant; these types of roots are known to better counteract compression mechanical forces. These observations improve our understanding of root plasticity and tree rooting response to environmental stimuli, which is becoming an increasingly critical topic as changes in climate increase the frequency and intensity of storms.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2019.00947/fullfunctional root traitsI-beamroot cageroot system architectureroot topologyT-beam |
| spellingShingle | R. Kasten Dumroese Mattia Terzaghi Donato Chiatante Gabriella S. Scippa Bruno Lasserre Antonio Montagnoli Functional Traits of Pinus ponderosa Coarse Roots in Response to Slope Conditions Frontiers in Plant Science functional root traits I-beam root cage root system architecture root topology T-beam |
| title | Functional Traits of Pinus ponderosa Coarse Roots in Response to Slope Conditions |
| title_full | Functional Traits of Pinus ponderosa Coarse Roots in Response to Slope Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Functional Traits of Pinus ponderosa Coarse Roots in Response to Slope Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Functional Traits of Pinus ponderosa Coarse Roots in Response to Slope Conditions |
| title_short | Functional Traits of Pinus ponderosa Coarse Roots in Response to Slope Conditions |
| title_sort | functional traits of pinus ponderosa coarse roots in response to slope conditions |
| topic | functional root traits I-beam root cage root system architecture root topology T-beam |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2019.00947/full |
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