Affiliation:
1. Experimental Plant Ecology, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Greifswald University, Greifswald, Germany
2. Landscape Ecology and Ecosystem Dynamics, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Greifswald University, Greifswald, Germany
Abstract
Abstract
Background and Aims
Forest peatlands represent 25 % of global peatlands and store large amounts of carbon (C) as peat. Traditionally they have been drained in order to increase forestry yield, which may cause large losses of C from the peat. Rewetting aims to stop these losses and to restore the initial storage function of the peatlands. As roots represent major peat-forming elements in these systems, we sampled roots with diameter <5 mm in a drained and a rewetted forest peatland in north-east Germany to evaluate differences in tree biomass investments below ground, root functional characteristics and root age.
Methods
We cored soil next to Alnus glutinosa stems and sorted root biomass into <1, 1–2 and 2–5 mm diameter classes. We measured biomass distribution and specific root area (SRA) in 10-cm depth increments down to 50 cm, and estimated root age from annual growth rings.
Key Results
Root biomass in the rewetted site was more than double that in the drained site. This difference was mostly driven by very fine roots <1 mm, which accounted for 51 % of the total root biomass and were mostly (75 %) located in the upper 20 cm. For roots <1 mm, SRA did not differ between the sites. However, SRA of the 1–2 mm and 2–5 mm diameter roots was higher in the drained than in the rewetted site. Root age did not differ between sites.
Conclusions
The size-dependent opposite patterns between root biomass and their functional characteristics under contrasting water regimes indicate differences between fine and coarse roots in their response to environmental changes. Root age distribution points to similar root turnover rates between the sites, while higher root biomass in the rewetted site clearly indicates larger tree C stocks below ground under rewetting, supporting the C sink function of the ecosystem.
Funder
European Social Fund
Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Cited by
6 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献