Variation patterns of fine root biomass, production and turnover in Chinese forests

Abstract

China’s forests cover 208.3 million ha and span a wide range of climates and a large variety of forest types, including tropical, temperate, and boreal forests. However, the variation patterns of fine root (<2 mm in diameter) biomass, production, and turnover from the south to the north are unclear. This study summarizes fine root biomass (FRB), production (FRP) and turnover rate (FRT) in China’s forests as reported by 140 case studies published from 1983 to 2014. The results showed that the mean values of FRB, FRP and FRT in China’s forests were 278 g m⁻², 366 g m⁻² a⁻¹, and 1.19 a⁻¹, respectively. Compared with other studies at the regional or global scales, FRB in China’s forests was lower, FRP was similar to estimates at the global scale, but FRT was much higher. FRB, FRP, and FRT in China’s forests increased with increasing mean annual precipitation (MAP), indicating that fine root variables were likely related to MAP, rather than mean annual temperature or latitude. This is possibly due to the small variation in temperature but greater variation in precipitation during the growing season. These findings suggest that spatiotemporal variation in precipitation has a more profound impact on fine root dynamics in China’s forests, and this will impact carbon and nutrient cycles driven by root turnover in the future.

Keywords

Fine root biomass / Fine root production / Fine root turnover / Climate change

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