About this Research Topic
Plant growth and survival require the acquisition of nutrients in a heterogeneous soil environment, which are determined by the inherent resource acquisition ability of focal species. In recent years, trait-based methods have improved our mechanistic understanding of plant nutrient acquisition strategies. The lessons learned from the ecology of aboveground traits may not be directly translated into root traits, as underground organs have functions beyond resource absorption, including physical support, and they undergo various environmental constraints and trade-offs related to spatial structure nutrients, oxygen availability, and soil physical structure. Also, evidence has suggested that relationships between root functions are suggested to include symbiotic relationships between mycorrhizal fungi and root system, and the former collectively play a role in nutrient acquisition.
Research emphasizes the importance of taking multiple-trait responses into account at the same time to better represent underground nutrient uptake strategies, all of which involve adjustments in root structure and morphology, root exudates, and mycorrhizal symbiosis that enhance soil resource acquisition, allowing plants to access different resource pools in different ways, possibly with distinct benefits and costs. However, we still have limited knowledge about how plant species use these different underground functional traits to facilitate the acquisition of nutrient which is in insufficient supply. It is currently unclear whether the differences in plant species in these underground plastic responses, as well as whether the aboveground and underground characteristics that control plant resource acquisition and investment, will be coordinated and consistent due to different soil conditions. The extent to which different organs decouple and respond to environmental gradients may help us to improve our prediction of species distribution changes in response to habitat changes and global change.
Characterizing plant nutrient-inquiring behavior through the measurement of multiple root traits would be helpful for modeling and predicting how to plant underground traits function, especially in the context of global change. This Research Topic intends (1) to explore the relationships among different root foraging traits in response to soil nutrient availability at the species level; (2) to characterize the plasticity of under and above-ground plant traits and their interspecific variation in inquiring soil resources; (3) to the coordination of under- and aboveground nutrient acquisition‐related traits in response to edaphic conditions.
For this Research Topic the following themes will be covered such as:
1) root structure and root function for nutrient acquisition;
2) symbiotic relationship between roots and mycorrhizal fungi in plant nutrient acquisition;
3) root exudate as a plant functional trait in plant nutrient acquisition;
4) how the root strategies respond to edaphic conditions and plant intraspecific/ interspecific competition and thus determine plant performance;
5) coordination of under and aboveground nutrient acquisition‐related traits.
Research emphasizes the importance of taking multiple-trait responses into account at the same time to better represent underground nutrient uptake strategies, all of which involve adjustments in root structure and morphology, root exudates, and mycorrhizal symbiosis that enhance soil resource acquisition, allowing plants to access different resource pools in different ways, possibly with distinct benefits and costs. However, we still have limited knowledge about how plant species use these different underground functional traits to facilitate the acquisition of nutrient which is in insufficient supply. It is currently unclear whether the differences in plant species in these underground plastic responses, as well as whether the aboveground and underground characteristics that control plant resource acquisition and investment, will be coordinated and consistent due to different soil conditions. The extent to which different organs decouple and respond to environmental gradients may help us to improve our prediction of species distribution changes in response to habitat changes and global change.
Characterizing plant nutrient-inquiring behavior through the measurement of multiple root traits would be helpful for modeling and predicting how to plant underground traits function, especially in the context of global change. This Research Topic intends (1) to explore the relationships among different root foraging traits in response to soil nutrient availability at the species level; (2) to characterize the plasticity of under and above-ground plant traits and their interspecific variation in inquiring soil resources; (3) to the coordination of under- and aboveground nutrient acquisition‐related traits in response to edaphic conditions.
For this Research Topic the following themes will be covered such as:
1) root structure and root function for nutrient acquisition;
2) symbiotic relationship between roots and mycorrhizal fungi in plant nutrient acquisition;
3) root exudate as a plant functional trait in plant nutrient acquisition;
4) how the root strategies respond to edaphic conditions and plant intraspecific/ interspecific competition and thus determine plant performance;
5) coordination of under and aboveground nutrient acquisition‐related traits.
Keywords: Plant functional traits, plant economic spectrum, plant-microbe interactions, environmental gradient, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, trait coordination, nutrient-acquisition strategy
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