About this Research Topic

Background

The below-ground traits of plants are receiving more recognition in trait ecology as important components of ecosystem processes and functioning. Roots, in particular, are an integral part of the plant body, providing nutrients, water, and minerals to the plant, allowing it to grow, reproduce and thrive in its environment. Roots are also key modulators of soil microbial community dynamics.

Root traits vary greatly, both within and between plant species, reflecting an anatomical system that is both highly plastic and adaptable. Root traits are also often correlated with species distribution patterns, reflecting environmental and climatic gradients. Such traits include root tissue density, specific root length, and branching intensity and in the last years, this has been expanded to their association with mycorrhizal fungi (AMF or ECM). Major advances in this field have revealed functional specialization of root organs, such as by root order, offering new tools in the standardization of root trait measurements beyond the general 2 mm diameter-based cut-off.

Root traits are of great importance to ecosystem functioning and provide essential services like soil stability, soil aggregation, and C and nutrient cycling. Thus, there is growing interest in how, and the extent to which, ecosystem models can be enhanced through parameterization of root trait variation.

Compared to above-ground traits such as leaf morphology or physiology, root traits have been historically somewhat neglected, potentially due to the difficulty in measuring them. Thus, equivalent trait spectra observed aboveground, such as the leaf economics spectrum, are of high interest in root trait research. Multidimensional patterns in root trait covariation are commonly observed involving not only roots but also their mycorrhizal partners. Therefore, there remain important outstanding questions regarding the extent to which phylogeny, mycorrhizal association, and environmental variation shape these patterns and at what scales. Finally, integration and utilization of root trait information in ecosystem models are just beginning, and there are likely major gains to be made through research on key root traits that regulate ecosystem processes.

This Research Topic aims to achieve a better understanding of the distribution and diversity of root traits across plant taxa and will collate articles that provide insights into the wider influence of root traits on species distribution and ecosystem functioning. Such information on root dynamics can help parameterize terrestrial biosphere ecosystem models.

We welcome Original Research, Review, and Opinion papers covering, for example, the following topics:
• Functional ecology of root traits;
• Evolution of root functional traits;
• Variation of root traits along environmental and geographic gradients.

Keywords: root, functional trait, root trait

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