Relating fine root biomass to soil and climate conditions in the Pacific Northwest

The additive contribution of fine root biomass for Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) and western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) to the stand average fine root biomass were estimated for eight conifer stands in the Pacific Northwest. Based on the Ribbens m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Forest ecology and management Vol. 242; no. 2; pp. 195 - 208
Main Authors:	Lee, E. Henry, Tingey, David T., Beedlow, Peter A., Johnson, Mark G., Burdick, Constance A.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 30-04-2007 Elsevier
Subjects:	Animal and plant ecology Animal, plant and microbial ecology Biological and medical sciences Climate climatic factors coniferous forests conifers environmental factors equations Fine root biomass forest stands forest trees Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology nitrogen Pseudotsuga menziesii roots Soil nitrogen soil nutrients soil properties spatial variation statistical models Synecology Terrestrial ecosystems Tsuga heterophylla Oregon Washington Northwest Pacific Pacific Ocean Climate Tsuga heterophylla Pseudotsuga menziesii Fine root biomass Soil nitrogen Soils Root Gymnospermae Coniferales Spermatophyta Biomass Nitrogen
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Summary:	The additive contribution of fine root biomass for Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) and western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) to the stand average fine root biomass were estimated for eight conifer stands in the Pacific Northwest. Based on the Ribbens model fits to root coring data and the size and location of trees in the conifer stands, the estimated stand-level fine root biomass was 188–1157 g m −2 for P. menziesii and 24–347 g m −2 for T. heterophylla. Site differences in the stand-level fine root biomass for P. menziesii and T. heterophylla were largely explained by climate and soil nitrogen. Fine root biomass for P. menziesii was inversely related to soil nitrogen and, to a lesser extent, annual precipitation and temperature. These relationships were unchanged when data from our sites and four studies in the published literature were combined. In comparison, fine root biomass for T. heterophylla was positively related to temperature and precipitation and, to a lesser extent, inversely related to soil nitrogen. Because temperature and precipitation have opposite effects on fine root biomass for P. menziesii and T. heterophylla, these climate variables were not important predictor variables for total fine root biomass. In addition, the inverse relationship between total fine root biomass and soil nitrogen was obscured and confounded by the root–climate–species interaction.
Bibliography:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.01.033 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0378-1127 1872-7042
DOI:	10.1016/j.foreco.2007.01.033