Abstract
Distribution of small roots (diameter between 2 mm and 5 mm) was studied in 19 pits with a total of 72 m2 trench profile walls in pure stands of Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies. Root positions within the walls were marked and transformed into x-coordinates and y-coordinates. In a GIS-based evaluation, zones of potential influence around each root were calculated. The total potential influence produced isoline maps of relative root influence zones, thus indicating small root clustering. The questions studied were (1) whether there were marked clusters of small roots in the soil and (2) whether trees surrounding the pit (defined as tree density) correlate with the root abundance and distribution on the trench profile walls. Small roots of both species showed maximum abundance in the top 20 cm of the soil, where pronounced root clusters occurred next to areas with only low root accumulation. The area of root clusters did not differ significantly between the two stands. Weighted clumping, WC, calculated as a product of root class, and its area was used as an index of root clustering, which again did not differ between beech and spruce stands. However, evaluations on a single root level showed that beech achieved the same degree of clustering with lower number of roots. Regardless of soil properties related to root clusters, a significantly higher clustering acquired per root for beech than for spruce suggests beech to be more efficient in belowground acquisition of space. Because none of the parameters describing root clustering were correlated with tree density around the investigated soil profiles, clusters of small roots are inherently present within the tree stands.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Böhm W (1976) In site estimation of root length at natural soil profiles. J Agric Sci 87:365–368
Bouillet J-P, Laclau J-P, Arnaud M, Thongo M’Bou A, Saint-André L, Jourdan C (2002) Changes with age in a spatial distribution of roots of Eucalyptus clone in Congo—impact on water and nutrient uptake. For Ecol Manage 171:43–57
Büttner V, Leuschner Ch (1994) Spatial and temporal patterns of fine root abundance in a mixed oak beech forest. For Ecol Manage 70:11–21
Caldwell MM, Manwaring JH, Durham SL (1996) Species interactions at the level of fineroots in the field: influence of soil nutrient heterogeneity and plant size. Oecologia 106:440–447
Drew MC (1975) Comparison of the effects of a localized supply of phosphate, nitrate, ammonium and potassium on the growth of the seminal root system, and the shoot, of barley. New Phytol 75:479–490
Facelli E, Facelli JM (2002) Soil phosphorus heterogeneity and mycorrhizal symbiosis regulate plant intra-specific competition and size distribution. Oecologia 133:54–61
Göttlein A, Heim A, Matzner E (1999) Mobilazation of aluminium in the rhizosphere soil solution of growing tree roots in an acidic soil. Plant Soil 211:41–49
Hendriks CMA, Bianchi FJJA (1995) Root density and root biomass in pure and mixed forest stands of Douglas-fir and Beech. Neth J Agric Sci 43:321–331
Hölscher D, Hertel D, Leuschner C, Hottkowitz M (2002) Tree species diversity and soil patchiness in a temperate broad-leaved forest with limited rooting space. Flora 197:118–125
Jackson RB, Caldwell MM (1993) Geostatistical patterns of soil heterogeneity around individual perennial plants. J Ecol 81:683–692
Jackson RB, Canadell J, Ehleringer JR, Mooney HA, Sala OE, Schulze ED (1996) A global analysis of root distribution for terrestrial biomes. Oecologia 108:389–411
Köstler JN, Brückner E, Bibelriether H (1968) Die Wurzeln der Waldbäume. Paul Parey, Hamburg
Krauss G, Müller K, Gärtner G, Härtel F, Schanz H, Blanckmeister H (1939) Standortsgemäße Durchführung der Abkehr von der Fichtenwirtschaft im nordwestsächsischen Niederland. Tharandter Forstl Jahrb 90:481–715
Lindenmair J, Matzner E, Göttlein A, Kuhn AJ, Schröder WH (2001) Ion exchange and water uptake of coarse roots of mature Norway spruce trees (Picea abies L. Karst.). In: Horst WJ et al. (eds) Plant nutrition: food security and sustainability of agro-ecosystems. Kluwer, Dordrecht
Linkohr BI, Williamson LC, Fitter AH, Leyser HMO (2002) Nitrate and phosphate availability and distribution have different effects on root system architecture of Arabidopsis. Plant J 29:751–760
MacFall J, Johnson G, Kramer P (1991) Comparative water uptake by roots of different ages in seedlings of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L). New Phytol 119:551–560
Morris EC (1996) Effect of localized placement of nutrients on root-thinning in self-thinning populations. Ann Bot 78:353–364
Parker MM, van Lear DH (1996) Soil heterogeneity and root distribution of mature loblolly pine stands in piedmont soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 60:1920–1925
Pellerin S, Pages L (1996) Evaluation in field conditions of a three-dimensional architectural model of the maize root system: comparison of simulated and observed horizontal root maps. Plant Soil 178:101–112
Ryel RJ, Caldwell MM, Manwaring JH (1996) Temporal dynamics of soil spatial heterogeneity in sagebrush-wheatgrass steppe during a growing season. Plant Soil 184:299–309
Schmid I (2002) The influence of soil type and interspecific competition on the fine root system of Norway spruce and European beech. Basic Appl Ecol 3:339–346
Schmid I, Kazda M (2001) Vertical distribution and radial growth of coarse roots in pure and mixed stands of Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies. Can J For Res 31:539–548
Schmid I, Kazda M (2002) Root distribution of Norway spruce in monospecific and mixed stands on different soils. For Ecol Manage 159:37–47
Steudle E, Peterson CA (1998) How does water get through roots? J Exp Bot 49:775–788
Tardieu F (1988) Analysis of the spatial variability of maize root density. Plant Soil 107:259–266
Wijesinge DK, Hutchings MJ (1997) The effects of spatial scale of environmental heterogeneity on the growth of a clonal plant: an experimental study with Glechoma hederacea. J Ecol 85:17–28
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Austrian Science Foundation for supporting this research within the Special Research Program “Restoration of Forest Ecosystems”, F008-08, and the Forest Management of the Monastery Lilienfeld for soil pit excavation. We are grateful to three anonymous reviewers for comments that improved previous drafts of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Christian Koerner
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schmid, I., Kazda, M. Clustered root distribution in mature stands of Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies . Oecologia 144, 25–31 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0036-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0036-1