In the context of a recent massive increase in research on plant root functions and their
impact on the environment, root ecologists currently face many important challenges to keep …

We lack a thorough conceptual and functional understanding of fine roots. Studies that have
focused on estimating the quantity of fine roots provide evidence that they dominate overall …

Trait‐based approaches provide a useful framework to investigate plant strategies for
resource acquisition, growth, and competition, as well as plant impacts on ecosystem …

The effects of plants on the biosphere, atmosphere and geosphere are key determinants of
terrestrial ecosystem functioning. However, despite substantial progress made regarding …

Roots vary in anatomy, morphology and physiology, both spatially (different parts of the
same root system) and temporally (plastic changes, root ageing), suggesting that root trait …

Trait‐based approaches have led to significant advances in plant ecology, but are currently
biased toward above‐ground traits. It is becoming clear that a stronger emphasis on below …

Variation and tradeoffs within and among plant traits are increasingly being harnessed by
empiricists and modelers to understand and predict ecosystem processes under changing …

Background Roots play a pivotal role in defining plant ecological success and mediating
terrestrial ecosystem functioning. However, roots are difficult to study as they are hidden in …

A volume on available methods for the measurement of roots must begin by questioning why
such a volume is needed and thus with questions such as “Why measure roots?”“What root …

The search for a root economics spectrum (RES) has been sparked by recent interest in trait‐
based plant ecology. By analogy with the one‐dimensional leaf economics spectrum (LES) …