Drought intensity and duration effects on morphological root traits vary across trait type and plant functional groups: a meta-analysis

The increasing severity and frequency of drought pose serious threats to plant species worldwide. Yet, we lack a general understanding of how various intensities of droughts affect plant traits, in particular root traits. Here, using a meta-analysis of drought experiments (997 effect sizes from 76 p...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC ecology and evolution 2024-07, Vol.24 (1), p.92-11, Article 92
Main Authors: Sun, Yu, Robert, Christelle Am, Thakur, Madhav P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beans
Botanical research
Botany
Comparative analysis
Droughts
Environmental aspects
Hardiness
Legumes
Mimosaceae
Morphology
Physiological aspects
Plant functional group
Plant Roots - anatomy & histology
Plant Roots - growth & development
Plant Roots - physiology
Plants
Root length
Root tissue density
Roots (Botany)
Severe drought
Switzerland
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The increasing severity and frequency of drought pose serious threats to plant species worldwide. Yet, we lack a general understanding of how various intensities of droughts affect plant traits, in particular root traits. Here, using a meta-analysis of drought experiments (997 effect sizes from 76 papers), we investigate the effects of various intensities of droughts on some of the key morphological root traits. Our results show that root length, root mean diameter, and root area decline when drought is of severe or extreme intensity, whereas severe drought increases root tissue density. These patterns are most pronounced in trees compared to other plant functional groups. Moreover, the long duration of severe drought decreases root length in grasses and root mean diameter in legumes. The decline in root length and root diameter due to severe drought in trees was independent of drought duration. Our results suggest that morphological root traits respond strongly to increasing intensity of drought, which further depends on drought duration and may vary among plant functional groups. Our meta-analysis highlights the need for future studies to consider the interactive effects of drought intensity and drought duration for a better understanding of variable plant responses to drought.
ISSN:2730-7182
2730-7182
DOI:10.1186/s12862-024-02275-6