Revisiting the H oly G rail: using plant functional traits to understand ecological processes

JL Funk, JE Larson, GM Ames, BJ Butterfield… - Biological …, 2017 - Wiley Online Library
One of ecology's grand challenges is developing general rules to explain and predict highly
complex systems. Understanding and predicting ecological processes from species' traits …

Complementarity in nutrient foraging strategies of absorptive fine roots and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi across 14 coexisting subtropical tree species

B Liu, H Li, B Zhu, RT Koide, DM Eissenstat… - New …, 2015 - Wiley Online Library
In most cases, both roots and mycorrhizal fungi are needed for plant nutrient foraging.
Frequently, the colonization of roots by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi seems to be …

Seedling root responses to soil moisture and the identification of a belowground trait spectrum across three growth forms

JE Larson, JL Funk - New Phytologist, 2016 - Wiley Online Library
Root trait variation and plasticity could be key factors differentiating plant performance under
drought. However, water manipulation and root measurements are rarely coupled …

Microenvironment and functional‐trait context dependence predict alpine plant community dynamics

B Blonder, RE Kapas, RM Dalton, BJ Graae… - Journal of …, 2018 - Wiley Online Library
Predicting the structure and dynamics of communities is difficult. Approaches linking
functional traits to niche boundaries, species co‐occurrence and demography are …

Understanding mechanisms of soil biota involvement in soil aggregation: A way forward with saprobic fungi?

A Lehmann, MC Rillig - Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2015 - Elsevier
Soil aggregation is a key ecosystem process that strongly affects soil structure. Soil structure
is the three dimensional arrangement of primary particles, organic matter, soil aggregates …

Growing season warming and winter freeze–thaw cycles reduce root nitrogen uptake capacity and increase soil solution nitrogen in a northern forest ecosystem

R Sanders-DeMott, PO Sorensen, AB Reinmann… - Biogeochemistry, 2018 - Springer
Northern forest ecosystems are projected to experience warmer growing seasons and
increased soil freeze–thaw cycles in winter over the next century. Past studies show that …

Plant carbon investment in fine roots and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: A cross-biome study on nutrient acquisition strategies

SC Stock, M Koester, J Boy, R Godoy, F Nájera… - Science of the Total …, 2021 - Elsevier
Comparing the belowground allocation of assimilated carbon (C) to roots and mycorrhizal
fungi across biomes can reveal specific plant nutrient acquisition strategies in ecosystems …

Plant size traits are key contributors in the spatial variation of net primary productivity across terrestrial biomes in China

N An, N Lu, M Wang, Y Chen, F Wu, B Fu - Science of The Total …, 2024 - Elsevier
Understanding the spatial variability of ecosystem functions is an important step forward in
predicting changes in ecosystems under global transformations. Plant functional traits are …

Fine root dynamics across pantropical rainforest ecosystems

W Huaraca Huasco, T Riutta, CAJ Girardin… - Global change …, 2021 - Wiley Online Library
Fine roots constitute a significant component of the net primary productivity (NPP) of forest
ecosystems but are much less studied than aboveground NPP. Comparisons across sites …

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in changing mountain grassland ecosystems: a challenge for research

AL Wahl, T Spiegelberger - Botany, 2016 - cdnsciencepub.com
Even though arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are present from foothills to all alpine
habitats, research on their role in mountain ecosystems remains incomplete. Here we …