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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Water Management and Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #373848
Research Project: Improving the Sustainability of Irrigated Farming Systems in Semi-Arid Regions

Location: Water Management and Systems Research

Title: Root traits as drivers of plant and ecosystem functioning: Current understanding, pitfalls and future research needs

Author
item FRESCHET, GREGROIRE - National Council For Scientific Research-Cnrs
item ROUMET, CATHERINE - National Council For Scientific Research-Cnrs
item Comas, Louise
item WEEMSTRA, MONIQUE - National Council For Scientific Research-Cnrs
item BENGOUGH, A.GLYN - University Of Dundee
item REWALD, BORIS - University Of Natural Resources & Applied Life Sciences - Austria
item BARDGETT, RICHARD - University Of Manchester
item DE DEYN, GERLINDE - Wageningen University
item JOHNSON, DAVID - University Of Manchester
item KLIMEŠOVÁ, JITKA - Institute Of Botany - China
item LUKAC, MARTIN - University Of Reading
item MCCORMACK, LUKE - Morton Arboretum
item MEIER, INA - Goettingen University
item PAGÈS, LOÏC - Servier International Research Institute
item POORTER, HENDRIK - Institute Of Bio- And Geosciences: Agrosphere (IBG-3)
item PRIETO, IVAN - Centro De Edafología Y Biología Aplicada Del Segura-Csic
item WURZBURGER, NINA - University Of Georgia
item ZADWORNY, MARCIN - Polish Academy Of Sciences
item BAGNIEWSKA-ZADWORNA, AGNIESZKA - Adam Mickiewicz University
item BLANCAFLOR, ELISON - Noble Research Institute
item BRUNNER, IVANO - Swiss Federal Research Institute Wsl
item GESSLER, ARTHER - Swiss Federal Research Institute Wsl
item HOBBIE, SARAH - University Of Minnesota
item IVERSEN, COLLEEN - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
item MOMMER, LIESJE - Wageningen University
item PICON-COCHARD, CATHERINE - Servier International Research Institute
item POSTMA, JOHANNES - Institute Of Bio- And Geosciences: Agrosphere (IBG-3)
item ROSE, LAURA - Senckenberg German Entomological Institute
item RYSER, PETER - Laurentian University
item SCHERER-LORENZEN, MICHAEL - University Of Freiburg
item SOUDZILOVSKAIA, NADEJDA - Leiden University
item SUN, TAO - Chinese Academy Of Sciences
item VALVERDE-BARRANTES, OSCAR - Florida International University
item WEIGELT, ALEXANDRA - Leipzig University
item YORK, LARRY - Noble Research Institute
item STOKES, ALEXIA - Servier International Research Institute

Submitted to: New Phytologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/30/2020
Publication Date: 11/7/2020
Citation: Freschet, G.T., Roumet, C., Comas, L.H., Weemstra, M., Bengough, A., Rewald, B., Bardgett, R.D., De Deyn, G.B., Johnson, D., Klimešová, J., Lukac, M., McCormack, L.M., Meier, I.C., Pagès, L., Poorter, H., Prieto, I., Wurzburger, N., Zadworny, M., Bagniewska-Zadworna, A., Blancaflor, E.B., Brunner, I., Gessler, A., Hobbie, S.E., Iversen, C.M., Mommer, L., Picon-Cochard, C., Postma, J.A., Rose, L., Ryser, P., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Soudzilovskaia, N.A., Sun, T., Valverde-Barrantes, O.J., Weigelt, A., York, L.M., Stokes, A. 2020. Root traits as drivers of plant and ecosystem functioning: Current understanding, pitfalls and future research needs. New Phytologist. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17072.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17072

Interpretive Summary: Plants affect many key processes in terrestrial systems. Despite substantial progress understanding below-ground plant components, we are still only beginning to understand and define root functional traits. Drawing on literature in plant physiology, ecophysiology, ecology, agronomy and soil science, we review 24 aspects of plant and ecosystem functioning and their linkages to root traits, including root architecture, physiology, morphology, anatomy, chemistry, biomechanics and biotic interactions. We critically evaluate the current strengths and gaps in our knowledge, and identify future research challenges in the field of root ecology. We find that below-ground traits with greatest importance in plant and ecosystem functioning are not those most commonly measured. Also, to fairly estimate the relative importance of root functional traits, we need to consider a more comprehensive range of traits from a more diverse range of species, environments and temporal series. We advocate for establishing causal hierarchical linkages among root traits to provide a hypothesis-based framework to identify a parsimonious sets of traits with strongest influence on ecosystem functions and plants to functioning.

Technical Abstract: Plants affect many key processes in terrestrial systems. Despite substantial progress understanding below-ground plant components, we are still only beginning to understand and define root functional traits. Drawing on literature in plant physiology, ecophysiology, ecology, agronomy and soil science, we review 24 aspects of plant and ecosystem functioning and their linkages to root traits, including root architecture, physiology, morphology, anatomy, chemistry, biomechanics and biotic interactions. We critically evaluate the current strengths and gaps in our knowledge, and identify future research challenges in the field of root ecology. We find that below-ground traits with greatest importance in plant and ecosystem functioning are not those most commonly measured. Also, to fairly estimate the relative importance of root functional traits, we need to consider a more comprehensive range of traits from a more diverse range of species, environments and temporal series. We advocate for establishing causal hierarchical linkages among root traits to provide a hypothesis-based framework to identify a parsimonious sets of traits with strongest influence on ecosystem functions and plants to functioning.