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Harvard Forest Symposium Abstract 2012
- Title: Phenology of root production and respiration
- Primary Author: Rose Abramoff (Boston University)
- Additional Authors: Adrien Finzi (Boston University)
- Abstract:
Annual forest productivity and carbon storage are affected by the amount and timing of carbon allocated belowground. Despite clear relationships between some climate factors (e.g. temperature) and NPP, there are still large gaps in our understanding of the partitioning between above and belowground C allocation. Researchers have long assumed that above and belowground phenology is synchronous, but recent studies show that there is wide variability. Some phenological studies suggest that root production peaks are offset from shoot production, potentially affecting current estimates of belowground carbon storage. The timing of belowground carbon allocation and partitioning over the course of a growing season is not well studied, nor is the relative influence of climatic or biotic variables known. Parameters related to these variables consistently explain the least amount of variance in ecosystem models. Therefore, the study of root dynamics has the potential to significantly improve our ability to predict how terrestrial ecosystems will respond to climate change. I will collect measurements of root and shoot phenology for three temperate tree species in the Prospect Hill Tract at Harvard Forest: eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), red oak (Quercus rubra), and white ash (Fraxinus americana). I will measure fine root length growth and turnover, root respiration and total non-structural carbohydrate pools. We will be capturing images of roots using a high-resolution minirhizotron camera inserted into plexiglass tubes and root boxes installed into the ground. Together these measurements provide an integrated view of root phenology and an opportunity to upscale C fluxes to the ecosystem level.
- Research Category: Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
