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SEASONAL PATTERNS OF FINE ROOT PRODUCTION AND TURNOVER IN PONDEROSA PINE STANDS OF DIFFERENT AGES
Citation:
Andersen, C P., D L. Phillips, P T. Rygiewicz, AND M. J. Storm. SEASONAL PATTERNS OF FINE ROOT PRODUCTION AND TURNOVER IN PONDEROSA PINE STANDS OF DIFFERENT AGES. Presented at Soil Science Society of America meeting, Charlotte, NC, October 21-25, 2001.
Description:
Root minirhizotron tubes were installed in two ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) stands around three different tree age classes (16, 45, and > 250 yr old) to examine root spatial distribution in relation to canopy size and tree distribution, and to determine if rates of fine root production and turnover varied with age. Digital image analysis from June 1999 through August 2000 showed estimates of standing crop were nearly twice as great at the young site (YS; 558 g m-2) compared to the two tree age classes at the old site (OS; average < 300 g m-2). Both fine root production and turnover were higher at the YS than OS from April through August, 2000. Both sites exhibited >100% turnover of initial standing crop within the first growing season, and production of enough new fine roots to replace losses and increase the standing crop. Estimates of root turnover and production increased around all tree age classes between May and June, 2000. The steady increase in standing crop in all tree age classes suggests either that roots have not fully occupied the zone around the minirhizotron tubes, or that conditions during 1999 and 2000 were optimal for root growth.