e-journal

Functional traits and root morphology of alpine plants

---

Background and Aims Vegetation has long been recognized to protect the soil from erosion. Understanding
species differences in root morphology and functional traits is an important step to assess which species and species mixtures may provide erosion control. Furthermore, extending classification of plant functional types towards root traits may be a useful procedure in understanding important root functions.
Methods In this study, pioneer data on traits of alpine plant species, i.e. plant height and shoot biomass, root depth, horizontal root spreading, root length, diameter, tensile strength, plant age and root biomass, from a disturbed site in the Swiss Alps are presented. The applicability of three classifications of plant functional types (PFTs), i.e. life form, growth form and root type, was examined for above- and below-ground plant traits.
Key Results Plant traits differed considerably among species even of the same life form, e.g. in the case of total root length by more than two orders of magnitude. Within the same root diameter, species differed significantly in tensile strength: some species (Geum reptans and Luzula spicata) had roots more than twice as strong as those of other species. Species of different life forms provided different root functions (e.g. root depth and horizontal root spreading) that may be important for soil physical processes. All classifications of PFTs were helpful to categorize plant traits; however, the PFTs according to root type explained total root length far better than the other PFTs.
Conclusions The results of the study illustrate the remarkable differences between root traits of alpine plants, some of which cannot be assessed from simple morphological inspection, e.g. tensile strength. PFT classification based on root traits seems useful to categorize plant traits, even though some patterns are better explained at the individual species level.
Key words: Growth rings, plant diversity, plant functional types, PFTs, ski slope, soil erosion, tensile strength, alpine plants.

---

Ketersediaan

Tidak ada salinan data

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

Annals of Botany

No. Panggil

-

Penerbit

: Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company., 2011

Deskripsi Fisik

Annals of Botany 108: 537–545, 2011

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

-

Klasifikasi

-

Tipe Isi

-

Tipe Media

-

Tipe Pembawa

-

Edisi

-

Subjek

PERTANIAN.

Info Detail Spesifik

-

Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

yuli/agus

Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

Komentar

---

Anda harus masuk sebelum memberikan komentar