As much as 40% of live biomass in coniferous forests is located belowground, yet the effect of tree density on biomass allocation is poorly understood. We developed allometric equations using traditional harvesting techniques to estimate coarse root biomass for ≈13-year-old postfire lodgepole pine trees (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.). We then used these equations, plus ...

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The contribution of savannas to global carbon storage is poorly understood, in part due to lack of knowledge of the amount of belowground biomass. In these ecosystems, the coexistence of woody and herbaceous life forms is often explained on the basis of belowground interactions among roots. However, the distribution of root biomass in savannas has seldom been investigated, and the dependence of...

$ : Equal contribution 8. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder. It is made available under a The copyright holder for this preprint (which was. ABSTRACT: 9 Plant strategies for nutrient acquisition and recycling are key components of ecosystem 10 functioning. How the evolution of such strategies modifies ecosystem functioning and 11 services is still not...

Uncertainty surrounds belowground plant responses to rising atmospheric CO₂ because roots are difficult to measure, requiring frequent monitoring as a result of fine root dynamics and long-term monitoring as a result of sensitivity to resource availability. We report belowground plant responses of a scrub-oak ecosystem in Florida exposed to 11 yr of elevated atmospheric CO₂ using open-top chamb...

Climate change has profound influences on plant community composition and ecosystem functions. However, its effects on plant community composition and biomass production are not well understood. A four-year field experiment was conducted to examine the effects of warming, nitrogen (N) addition, and their interactions on plant community composition and biomass production in a temperate meadow ec...

BACKGROUND Refined estimation of carbon (C) stocks within forest ecosystems is a critical component of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of projected climate change through forest C management. Specifically, belowground C stocks are currently estimated in the United States' national greenhouse gas inventory (US NGHGI) using nationally consistent species- and di...

INTERISLAND VARIABILITY OF DUNE PLANT COMMUNITY STRUCTURE ON VIRGINIA’S BARRIER ISLANDS Justin K. Shafer Old Dominion University, 2010 Director: Dr. Frank P. Day The barrier islands of the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER site provide an opportunity to study interisland variability of dune plant communities. My research focused on the variation in biomass and diversity of communities among islands a...

Resource allocation to different functions is central in life-history theory. Plasticity of functional traits allows clonal plants to regulate their resource allocation to meet changing environments. In this study, biomass allocation traits of clonal plants were categorized into absolute biomass for vegetative growth vs. for reproduction, and their relative ratios based on a data set including ...