Kwatcho Kengdo Steve, McCormack M Luke, Ostonen Ivika, Torn Margaret S
Earth and Environmental Sciences Area, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
The Center for Tree Science, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL, 60532, USA.
New Phytol. 2025 Sep;247(6):2507-2513. doi: 10.1111/nph.70326. Epub 2025 Jun 25.
Climate warming is predicted to strongly affect the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. The plant root system is a critical component of these ecosystems, with fine roots, in particular, playing a key role in plant water and nutrient uptake and transport. In addition, root litter and exudation represent the dominant plant carbon inputs into soil. Consequently, understanding fine-root responses to warming is essential for predicting how the growth, resilience, and carbon storage of terrestrial ecosystems will respond to future climate change. Despite the growing literature on fine-root responses to warming, most studies have focused on topsoil (0-30 cm). However, a significant portion of the fine-root mass occurs below this depth. For instance, c. 40% of fine-root mass is found below 30 cm in temperate and tropical ecosystems. Due to the importance of fine roots for plants and belowground carbon cycling, focusing solely on surface soils overlooks the critical need for insights into how roots in deeper soil layers (e.g. below 30 cm) respond to warming. We argue that studying the entire soil profile is necessary to comprehensively understand fine-root dynamics under climate warming and the implications for soil organic carbon cycling, water, and nutrient uptake.
预计气候变暖将对陆地生态系统的功能产生重大影响。植物根系是这些生态系统的关键组成部分，尤其是细根，在植物水分和养分的吸收与运输中起着关键作用。此外，根系凋落物和分泌物是植物向土壤输入碳的主要形式。因此，了解细根对变暖的响应对于预测陆地生态系统的生长、恢复力和碳储存如何应对未来气候变化至关重要。尽管关于细根对变暖响应的文献越来越多，但大多数研究都集中在表土（0-30厘米）。然而，相当一部分细根生物量出现在这个深度以下。例如，在温带和热带生态系统中，约40%的细根生物量位于30厘米以下。由于细根对植物和地下碳循环的重要性，仅关注表层土壤忽略了深入了解深层土壤（如30厘米以下）中的根系如何响应变暖的迫切需求。我们认为，研究整个土壤剖面对于全面理解气候变暖下的细根动态以及对土壤有机碳循环、水分和养分吸收的影响是必要的。
