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Limited evidence of vertical fine‐root segregation in a subtropical forest
Author(s) -
Luo Wenqi,
Ni Ming,
Wang Youshi,
Lan Runxuan,
Eissenstat David M.,
Cahill James F.,
Li Buhang,
Chu Chengjin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.17546
Subject(s) - interspecific competition , biology , tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests , soil water , subtropics , ecology , abundance (ecology) , soil horizon , niche differentiation , botany , niche
Summary Vertical root segregation and the resulting niche partitioning can be a key underpinning of species coexistence. This could result from substantial interspecific variations in root profiles and rooting plasticity in response to soil heterogeneity and neighbours, but they remain largely untested in forest communities. In a diverse forest in subtropical China, we randomly sampled > 4000 root samples from 625 0–30 cm soil profiles. Using morphological and DNA‐based methods, we identified 109 woody plant species, determined the degree of vertical fine‐root segregation, and examined rooting plasticity in response to soil heterogeneity and neighbour structure. We found no evidence of vertical fine‐root segregation among cooccurring species. By contrast, root abundance of different species tended to be positively correlated within soil zones. Underlying these findings was a lack of interspecific variation in fine‐root profiles with over 90% of species concentrated in the 0–10 cm soil zone with only one species dominating in the 10–20 cm soil zone. Root profiles exhibited low responsiveness to root neighbours but tended to be shallow in soils with low phosphorus and copper content. These findings suggest that if there is niche differentiation leading to coexistence in this diverse forest, it would be occurring by mechanisms other than vertical fine‐root segregation.