Root biomass distribution in alpine ecosystems of the northern Tibetan Plateau

The root biomass distribution in alpine ecosystems (alpine meadow, alpine steppe, desert grassland and alpine desert) was investigated along a transect on the northern Tibetan Plateau in 2009. The results showed that roots were mainly concentrated in the 0–20 cm layer, and root biomass decreased exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental earth sciences 2011-12, Vol.64 (7), p.1911-1919
Main Authors: Li, Xiaojia, Zhang, Xianzhou, Wu, Jianshuang, Shen, Zhenxi, Zhang, Yangjian, Xu, Xingliang, Fan, Yuzhi, Zhao, Yuping, Yan, Wei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alpine environments
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biogeosciences
Biological and medical sciences
Biomass
Deserts
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Ecosystems
Environmental Science and Engineering
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Geochemistry
Geology
Grasslands
Hydrology/Water Resources
Marine and continental quaternary
Mountains
Organic matter
Original Article
Plant growth
Relative humidity
Soil depth
Soil organic matter
Soil profiles
Soils
Steppes
Surficial geology
Synecology
Terrestrial ecosystems
Terrestrial Pollution
Vegetation
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Summary:The root biomass distribution in alpine ecosystems (alpine meadow, alpine steppe, desert grassland and alpine desert) was investigated along a transect on the northern Tibetan Plateau in 2009. The results showed that roots were mainly concentrated in the 0–20 cm layer, and root biomass decreased exponentially with increasing soil depth. Root biomass was estimated to be 1,381.41 ± 245.29 g m −2 in the top 20 cm soil, accounting for 85% of the total root biomass. The distribution pattern of the root biomass proportion along the soil profile was similar in different alpine ecosystems. The root biomass density varied with different alpine ecosystems and the total average root biomass was 1,626.08 ± 301.76 g m −2 . Root biomass was significantly correlated with average relative humidity, annual precipitation and soil organic matter. This indicates that precipitation and soil organic matter might be crucial for plant growth in the study area, while temperature is not an important factor controlling root growth.
ISSN:1866-6280
1866-6299
DOI:10.1007/s12665-011-1004-1