ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Nutrition
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1583127
This article is part of the Research TopicIntegrative Root Responses to Multiple Environmental Signals for Plant ResilienceView all 4 articles
Nitrogen trade-offs between roots and leaves of Moso bamboo and different effects of management practices on root traits and processes in subtropical forests
Provisionally accepted
- Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou, China
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Plant traits mediate resource acquisition strategies via trade-off between belowground root nutrient absorption and aboveground leaf nutrient resorption, yet mechanistic insights remain limited for clonal species like Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis). This study was conducted in Moso bamboo plantations in Zhejiang Province, China. We measured rhizome-system absorptive roots, leaf properties, and soil nutrient contents to explore acquisition-resorption relationships. We also examined how management practices (abandonment [AM], conventional biennial [CM], and high-intensity annual plus understory planting [HM]) influence the traits and processes in Moso bamboo forests. Key novel findings include: (1) A consistent trade-off emerged for nitrogen [N] (negative relationships between root N absorption and leaf N resorption) but not phosphorus [P]. (2) Principal component analysis revealed root traits economics structured along two axes: first (PC1), specific root length [SRL]and root tissue density [RTD] (root lifespan) and second (PC2), cortex thickness [CT] and branching intensity [BI] (fungal independence). Interestingly, the PC1 was positively correlated with N absorption potential, and negatively correlated with N resorption efficiency. (3) HM significantly enhanced SRL (+75% vs. CM) and resorption efficiency (+23% for N, +37% for P), likely driven by interspecific competition under herb planting. While AM treatment showed relatively slight effects on traits and processes, compared with CM treatment. Our findings advance functional trait theory by decoding how clonal integration reconfigures traditional acquisition-resorption relationships, offering critical insights for bamboo forest management under global change and management.
Keywords: Moso bamboo, root nutrient absorption, leaf nutrient resorption, root traits, different managements
Received: 25 Feb 2025; Accepted: 24 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jiang, Shi, Fu, He, Wang, Ying and Jiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Lei Jiang, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou, China
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