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Linking conifer root growth and production to soil temperature and carbon supply in temperate forests

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Abstract

Background and aims

In temperate conifer forests, soil temperature is an important driver of fine root growth and winter root growth can occur during aerial dormancy. We hypothesize that in conifers, stocks of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in fine roots are high enough to provide energy for root growth and production throughout the year, even when photosynthesis is reduced.

Methods

We measured monthly root production (i.e. the number of roots undergoing elongation) and their elongation rate (RER) in mature Picea abies for one year, along a soil temperature gradient (three altitudes of 1400, 1700 and 2000 m). Every two months we harvested needles, branches, stem, large, medium and fine roots, and quantified starch and soluble sugars in each organ using analytical methods and near infra-red spectroscopy (NIRS). Soil water potential was monitored continuously. We analysed RER data with regard to climate variables and NSC levels of the current and preceding month.

Results

NIRS was a reliable method for measuring starch and soluble sugars. NSC was high in the crown and roots but very low in the trunk all year round. Soil temperature was positively correlated to RER (of the current month) between 0 and 8 °C, above which RER stabilised and was not explained by NSC levels or soil water potential. However, mean RER of fine roots in the month following the measurement of NSC was significantly and negatively correlated to soluble sugar and positively correlated with starch content. Very fine root starch content was also positively correlated with root production in the month following the starch measurement.

Conclusion

Soil temperature was a major driver of fine root elongation, but at low temperatures only. At soil temperatures >8 °C, no particular driver was dominant. NSC levels were negligible in the stem and root-bases, suggesting that wood production is a major sink that depletes carbohydrates. A large pool of NSC, principally in the form of starch, existed in fine roots of P. abies, and acted as an energy supply for root production throughout the year, even when photosynthesis was limited. Soluble sugars were depleted in fine roots during the growing season, but no relationship was found between fine root production and soluble sugars. The physiological mechanism by which NSC accumulation actively or passively occurs in fine roots is not known but could be due to the symplastic pathway of phloem unloading in conifer root tips, which suggests a passive mechanism.

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Acknowledgements

Funding was received from the China Scholarship Council (YW) and the INRA metaprogram AAFCC (Adaptation of Agriculture and Forests to Climate Change). Thanks are due to S. Tron, M. Ramel and F. Pailler (INRA) for technical assistance. We thank the Mairie de Chamrousse and the ONF for allowing us access to the field sites. Thanks are also due to two anonymous reviewers and the Plant and Soil section editor Richard J. Simpson for their helpful comments.

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Author notes

  1. Y. Wang

    Present address: Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Amap, Inra, University Montpellier, Cnrs, Ird, Cirad, Montpellier, France

    Y. Wang, Z. Mao, H. Rey & A. Stokes

  2. Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR 1391 ISPA, 33170, Gradignan, France

    M. R. Bakker

  3. INRA, UMR 1391 ISPA, 33140, Villenave d’Ornon, France

    M. R. Bakker

  4. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 10, 07745, Jena, Germany

    J. H. Kim

  5. Cirad, BioWooEB, Montpellier, France

    L. Brancheriau

  6. Plate-forme d’Analyses Chimiques en Ecologie, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive CEFE, UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    B. Buatois & R. Leclerc

  7. Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 50, 40127, Bologna, Italy

    L. Selli

  8. CIRAD, UMR AMAP, F-34398, Montpellier, France

    H. Rey

  9. Eco&Sols, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, INRA, IRD, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, France

    C. Jourdan

  10. CIRAD, UMR Eco&Sols, F-34398, Montpellier, France

    C. Jourdan

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Correspondence to A. Stokes.

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Wang, Y., Mao, Z., Bakker, M.R. et al. Linking conifer root growth and production to soil temperature and carbon supply in temperate forests. Plant Soil 426, 33–50 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3596-7

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