Metcalfe, Daniel
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- University of Edinburgh
Research article2008Peer reviewed
The effects of water availability on root growth and morphology in an Amazon rainforest
Metcalfe, Daniel B.; Meir, Patrick; Aragao, Luiz Eduardo O. C.; da Costa, Antonio C. L.; Braga, Alan P.; Goncalves, Paulo H. L.; Silva, Joao de Athaydes, Jr.; de Almeida, Samuel S.; Dawson, Lorna A.; Malhi, Yadvinder; Williams, Mathew
Abstract
This study examined how root growth and morphology were affected by variation in soil moisture at four Amazon rainforest sites with contrasting vegetation and soil types. Mean annual site root mass, length and surface area growth ranged between 3-7 t ha(-1), 2-4 km m(-2) and 8-12 m(2) m(-2) respectively. Mean site specific root length and surface area varied between 8-10 km kg(-1) stop and 24-34 m(2) kg(-1). Growth of root mass, length and surface area was lower when soil water was depleted (P < 0.001) while specific root length and surface area showed the opposite pattern (P < 0.001). These results indicate that changes in root length and surface area per unit mass, and pulses in root growth to exploit transient periods of high soil water availability may be important means for trees in this ecosystem to increase nutrient and water uptake under seasonal and longer-term drought conditions.
Keywords
Amazon rainforest; soil water availability; root mass growth; root length; root surface area; specific root length
Published in
Plant and Soil
2008, volume: 311, number: 1-2, pages: 189-199
Publisher: Springer Verlag (Germany)
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Environmental Sciences and Nature Conservation
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-008-9670-9
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/19786