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Winter climate change and fine root biogenic silica in sugar maple trees ( Acer saccharum ): Implications for silica in the Anthropocene
Author(s) -
Maguire Timothy J.,
Templer Pamela H.,
Battles John J.,
Fulweiler Robinson W.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: biogeosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8961
pISSN - 2169-8953
DOI - 10.1002/2016jg003755
Subject(s) - maple , sugar , aceraceae , temperate climate , environmental science , temperate rainforest , biomass (ecology) , nutrient , temperate forest , botany , agronomy , ecosystem , chemistry , biology , ecology , biochemistry
Winter temperatures are projected to increase over the next century, leading to reductions in winter snowpack and increased frequency of soil freezing in many northern forest ecosystems. Here we examine biogenic silica (BSi) concentrations in sugar maple ( Acer saccharum ) fine roots collected from a snow manipulation experiment at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (New Hampshire, USA). Increased soil freezing significantly lowered the BSi content of sugar maple fine roots potentially decreasing their capacity to take up water and dissolved nutrients. The reduced silica uptake (8 ± 1 kmol silica km −2 ) by sugar maple fine roots is comparable to silica export from temperate forest watersheds. We estimate that fine roots account for 29% of sugar maple BSi, despite accounting for only 4% of their biomass. These results suggest that increased frequency of soil freezing will reduce silica uptake by temperate tree roots, thereby changing silica availability in downstream receiving waters.