The Ecology of Fine Roots across Forest Biomes
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecophysiology and Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (12 June 2022) | Viewed by 5134
Special Issue Editors
Interests: root anatomy; root architecture; tree stability; ecophysiology; drought
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: root biology mainly focused on the relationships between root form and function (nutrient acquisition and metabolism, exudation process, microbial interaction); plant adaptation in abiotic-stressed environments (nutrient deficiency, drought and heat stress, in single and combined form); root morpho-physiological and molecular mechanisms in response to allelochemicals, biowaste and biostimulants application
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Fine root–soil interactions fundamentally affect the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle and, thereby, ecosystem feedbacks to climate change. Fine roots act as conduits of carbon transfer, from plants to soils, and as agents of nutrient acquisition and transport. In parallel, they are a source of secondary metabolites, i.e., the drivers of rhizosphere development and of the root-facilitated C-cycling in forest soils.
Beyond that, growth, death, and decomposition of fine roots are key processes that occur continuously and simultaneously throughout the whole year, and stocks of living (biomass) and dead fine roots (necromass) represent the end-products of these processes. Thus, modeling responses of forest ecosystems to global changes can benefit greatly from a better characterization of the fine rootstock patterns and dynamics and, consequently, of the carbon transfer into the soil in different forest biomes across the world. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to unveil the interplay between what is beyond (growth, death, and decomposition) and outside (rhizosphere) the root boundary, with special attention to species belonging to different forest biomes to better depict the fine root-derived carbon contribution to C-cycling at biome, hemisphere, and globe scales.
For this Special Issue, we welcome manuscripts that provide novel insights on a broad range of topics on fine roots, including: a) fine root dynamics and seasonal pattern, with a particular focus on the role of starch reserve; b) methods that help to improve the estimation of carbon input into the soil from exudation and decomposition processes; c) plant–plant and plant–microbe interactions, microbial community assemblage and functioning processes, as well as the responses to the environmental stresses, with a particular focus on climate change drivers. Original works, reviews and short communications are all very welcome.
Keywords
fine roots; seasonal pattern; decomposition; starch; carbon storage; rhizosphere; microbial community; exudate profiling; secondary metabolites; CO2 emission; forest biome; climate change
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