Tree species diversity increases fine root productivity through increased soil volume filling

Journal of Ecology

Volumn 101, Issue 1, 2013, Pages 210-219

  Brassard, Brian W ^a   Chen, Han Y H ^a   Cavard, Xavier ^b   Laganière, Jérôme ^c   Reich, Peter B ^d,e   Bergeron, Yves ^b   Paré, David ^c   Yuan, Zhiyou ^a  

^a LAKEHEAD UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

^b UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC EN ABITIBI TÉMISCAMINGUE   (Canada)

^c LAURENTIAN FORESTRY CENTRE   (Canada)

^d UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA   (United States)

^e WESTERN SYDNEY UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

Below ground production; Boreal forest; Fine root biomass and necromass; Mixed and single species stands; Over yielding; Plant plant interactions; Spatial rooting heterogeneity; Species complementarity

Indexed keywords

BELOWGROUND PRODUCTION; BOREAL FOREST; COMPLEMENTARITY; FINE ROOT; GROWTH RATE; HETEROGENEITY; PHYTOMASS; SPECIES DIVERSITY; SPECIES EVENNESS; STAND DYNAMICS; TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM; TREE; VOLUME;

EID: 84871507633     PISSN: 00220477     EISSN: 13652745     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.12023     Document Type: Article

References (61)

1. Augusto, L., Dupouey, J.L. & Ranger, J. (2003) Effects of tree species on understory vegetation and environmental conditions in temperate forests. Annals of Forest Science, 60, 823-831.
2. Bauhus, J., Khanna, P.K. & Menden, N. (2000) Aboveground and belowground interactions in mixed plantations of Eucalyptus globulus and Acacia mearnsii. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 30, 1886-1894.
3. Bennett, J.N., Andrew, B. & Prescott, C.E. (2002) Vertical fine root distributions of western red cedar, western hemlock, and salal in old-growth cedar-hemlock forests on northern Vancouver Island. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 32, 1208-1216.
4. Bolte, A. & Villanueva, I. (2006) Interspecific competition impacts on the morphology and distribution of fine roots in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). European Journal of Forest Research, 125, 15-26.
5. Brassard, B.W., Chen, H.Y.H. & Bergeron, Y. (2009) Influence of environmental variability on root dynamics in northern forests. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 28, 179-197.
6. Brassard, B.W., Chen, H.Y.H., Wang, J.R. & Duinker, P.N. (2008) Effects of time since stand-replacing fire and overstory composition on live-tree structural diversity in the boreal forest of central Canada. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 38, 52-62.
7. Brassard, B.W., Chen, H.Y.H., Bergeron, Y. & Paré, D. (2011) Differences in fine root productivity between mixed- and single-species stands. Functional Ecology, 25, 238-246.
8. Burke, M.K. & Raynal, D.J. (1994) Fine root growth phenology, production, and turnover in a northern hardwood forest ecosystem. Plant and Soil, 162, 135-146.
9. Cadotte, M.W., Cardinale, B.J. & Oakley, T.H. (2008) Evolutionary history and the effect of biodiversity on plant productivity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105, 17012-17017.
10. Cahill, J.F., McNickle, G.G., Haag, J.J., Lamb, E.G., Nyanumba, S.M. & Clair, C.C.S. (2010) Plants integrate information about nutrients and neighbors. Science, 328, 1657.
11. Casper, B., Cahill, J. & Jackson, R. (2000) Plant competition in spatially heterogeneous environments. The Ecological Consequences of Environmental Heterogeneity (eds M.J. Hutchings, E.A. John & A.J.A. Stewart), pp. 111-130. Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK.
12. Casper, B.B. & Jackson, R.B. (1997) Plant competition underground. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 28, 545-570.
13. Cavard, X., Bergeron, Y., Chen, H.Y.H. & Pare, D. (2011a) Effect of forest canopy composition on soil nutrients and dynamics of the understorey: mixed canopies serve neither vascular nor bryophyte strata. Journal of Vegetation Science, 22, 1105-1119.
14. Cavard, X., Bergeron, Y., Chen, H.Y.H., Paré, D., Laganière, J. & Brassard, B. (2011b) Competition and facilitation between tree species change with stand development. Oikos, 120, 1695.
15. Clark, J.S. (2010) Individuals and the variation needed for high species diversity in forest trees. Science, 327, 1129-1132.
16. Environment Canada (2011) Canadian Climate Normals 1981-2010. http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_e.html. Accessed on June 25, 2011.
17. Finér, L., Messier, C. & DeGrandpré, L. (1997) Fine-root dynamics in mixed boreal conifer-broad-leafed forest stands at different successional stages after fire. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 27, 304-314.
18. Franklin, J.F., Spies, T.A., Van Pelt, R., Carey, A.B., Thornburgh, D.A., Berg, D.R., Lindenmayer, D.B., Harmon, M.E., Keeton, W.S., Shaw, D.C., Bible, K. & Chen, J.Q. (2002) Disturbances and structural development of natural forest ecosystems with silvicultural implications, using Douglas-fir forests as an example. Forest Ecology and Management, 155, 399-423.
19. Goldberg, D.E., Rajaniemi, T., Gurevitch, J. & Stewart-Oaten, A. (1999) Empirical approaches to quantifying interaction intensity: competition and facilitation along productivity gradients. Ecology, 80, 1118-1131.
20. Gower, S.T., Pongracic, S. & Landsberg, J.J. (1996) A global trend in belowground carbon allocation: can we use the relationship at smaller scales? Ecology, 77, 1750-1755.
21. Haynes, B.E. & Gower, S.T. (1995) Belowground carbon allocation in unfertilized and fertilized red pine plantations in northern Wisconsin. Tree Physiology, 15, 317-325.
22. Hendricks, J.J., Hendrick, R.L., Wilson, C.A., Mitchell, R.J., Pecot, S.D. & Guo, D.L. (2006) Assessing the patterns and controls of fine root dynamics: an empirical test and methodological review. Journal of Ecology, 94, 40-57.
23. Hodge, A. (2004) The plastic plant: root responses to heterogeneous supplies of nutrients. New Phytologist, 162, 9-24.
24. Honer, T.G., Ker, M.F. & Alemdag, I.S. (1983) Metric Timber Tables for the Commercial Tree Species of Central and Eastern Canada. Maritimes Forest Research Centre, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
25. Hooper, D.U., Chapin, F.S., Ewel, J.J., Hector, A., Inchausti, P., Lavorel, S. et al. (2005) Effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: a consensus of current knowledge. Ecological Monographs, 75, 3-35.
26. Ilisson, T. & Chen, H.Y.H. (2009) Response of six boreal tree species to stand replacing fire and clearcutting. Ecosystems, 12, 820-829.
27. Isbell, F., Calcagno, V., Hector, A., Connolly, J., Harpole, W.S., Reich, P.B. et al. (2011) High plant diversity is needed to maintain ecosystem services. Nature, 477, 199-202.
28. Jackson, R.B., Mooney, H.A. & Schulze, E.D. (1997) A global budget for fine root biomass, surface area, and nutrient contents. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 94, 7362-7366.
29. Jackson, R.B., Canadell, J., Ehleringer, J.R., Mooney, H.A., Sala, O.E. & Schulze, E.D. (1996) A global analysis of root distributions for terrestrial biomes. Oecologia, 108, 389-411.
30. Johnson, E.A. (1992) Fire and Vegetation Dynamics. Studies from the North American Boreal Forest. Cambridge University Press, New York.
31. de Kroon, H. (2007) Ecology - How do roots interact? Science, 318, 1562-1563.
32. de Kroon, H., Hendriks, M., van Ruijven, J., Ravenek, J., Padilla, F.M., Jongejans, E., Visser, E.J.W. & Mommer, L. (2012) Root responses to nutrients and soil biota: drivers of species coexistence and ecosystem productivity. Journal of Ecology, 100, 6-15.
33. Lambert, M.C., Ung, C.H. & Raulier, F. (2005) Canadian national tree aboveground biomass equations. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 35, 1996-2018.
34. Lei, P., Scherer-Lorenzen, M. & Bauhus, J. (2012) The effect of tree species diversity on fine-root production in a young temperate forest. Oecologia, 169, 1105-1115.
35. Leuschner, C., Hertel, D., Coners, H. & Buttner, V. (2001) Root competition between beech and oak: a hypothesis. Oecologia, 126, 276-284.
36. MacPherson, D.M., Lieffers, V.J. & Blenis, P.V. (2001) Productivity of aspen stands with and without a spruce understory in Alberta's boreal mixedwood forests. Forestry Chronicle, 77, 351-356.
37. Mcclaugherty, C.A., Aber, J.D. & Melillo, J.M. (1982) The role of fine roots in the organic matter and nitrogen budgets of two forested ecosystems. Ecology, 63, 1481-1490.
38. Meinen, C., Hertel, D. & Leuschner, C. (2009a) Biomass and morphology of fine roots in temperate broad-leaved forests differing in tree species diversity: is there evidence of below-ground overyielding? Oecologia, 161, 99-111.
39. Meinen, C., Hertel, D. & Leuschner, C. (2009b) Root growth and recovery in temperate broad-leaved forest stands differing in tree species diversity. Ecosystems, 12, 1103-1116.
40. Nadelhoffer, K.J. (2000) The potential effects of nitrogen deposition on fine-root production in forest ecosystems. New Phytologist, 147, 131-139.
41. Naeem, S., Duffy, J.E. & Zavaleta, E. (2012) The functions of biological diversity in an age of extinction. Science, 336, 1401-1406.
42. Paré, D. & Bergeron, Y. (1995) Above-ground biomass accumulation along a 230-year chronosequence in the southern portion of the Canadian boreal forest. Journal of Ecology, 83, 1001-1007.
43. Persson, H.Å. (1983) The distribution and productivity of fine roots in boreal forests. Plant and Soil, 71, 87-101.
44. Powers, J.S., Becknell, J.M., Irving, J. & Perez-Aviles, D. (2009) Diversity and structure of regenerating tropical dry forests in Costa Rica: geographic patterns and environmental drivers. Forest Ecology and Management, 258, 959-970.
45. Pregitzer, K.S., DeForest, J.L., Burton, A.J., Allen, M.F., Ruess, R.W. & Hendrick, R.L. (2002) Fine root architecture of nine North American trees. Ecological Monographs, 72, 293-309.
46. R Development Core Team (2011) R version 2.11. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
47. Rajaniemi, T.K. (2007) Root foraging traits and competitive ability in heterogeneous soils. Oecologia, 153, 145-152.
48. Rowe, J.S. (1972) Forest Regions of Canada. Department of Fisheries and Environment, Canadian Forest Service, Publication Number 1300, Ottawa, Ontario.
49. Schenk, H.J. (2006) Root competition: beyond resource depletion. Journal of Ecology, 94, 725-739.
50. Schmid, I. & Kazda, M. (2002) Root distribution of Norway spruce in monospecific and mixed stands on different soils. Forest Ecology and Management, 159, 37-47.
51. Schnitzer, S.A., Klironomos, J.N., Hillerislambers, J., Kinkel, L.L., Reich, P.B., Xiao, K. et al. (2011) Soil microbes drive the classic plant diversity-productivity pattern. Ecology, 92, 296-303.
52. Senici, D., Chen, H.Y.H., Bergeron, Y. & Cyr, D. (2010) Spatiotemporal variations of fire frequency in central boreal forest. Ecosystems, 13, 1227-1238.
53. Soil Classification Working Group (1998) The Canadian System of Soil Classification. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Publication Number 1646, Ottawa, Ontario.
54. Taylor, A.R. & Chen, H.Y.H. (2011) Multiple successional pathways of boreal forest stands in central Canada. Ecography, 34, 208-219.
55. Taylor, K.C., Arnup, R.W., Meredith, M.P., Parton, W.J. & Nieppola, J. (2000) A Field Guide to Forest Ecosystems of Northeastern Ontario, 2nd edn. NEST Field Guide FG-01, Northeast Science and Technology, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Timmins, Ontario, Canada.
56. Vogt, K.A., Vogt, D.J. & Bloomfield, J. (1998) Analysis of some direct and indirect methods for estimating root biomass and production of forests at an ecosystem level. Plant and Soil, 200, 71-89.
57. Wardle, D.A. (1999) Is "sampling effect" a problem for experiments investigating biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships? Oikos, 87, 403-407.
58. Warton, D.I. (2007) The 'SMATR' Package for R. Version 2.1. http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/smatr/index.html.
59. Wendel, G.W. & Smith, H.C. (1990) Silvics of North America: 1. Conifers. Pinus strobus L. - Eastern White Pine (eds R.M. Burns & B.H. Honkala), pp. 476-488. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, DC, USA.
60. Yuan, Z.Y. & Chen, H.Y.H. (2010) Fine root biomass, production, turnover rates, and nutrient contents in boreal forest ecosystems in relation to species, climate, fertility, and stand age: literature review and meta-analyses. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 29, 204-221.
61. Zhang, Y., Chen, H.Y.H. & Reich, P.B. (2012) Forest productivity increases with evenness, species richness and trait variation: a global meta-analysis. Journal of Ecology, 100, 742-749.