Fine Root Growth Phenology, Production, and Turnover in a Northern Hardwood Forest Ecosystem

Abstract

A large part of the nutrient flux in deciduous forests is through fine root turnover, yet this process is seldom measured. As part of a nutrient cycling study, fine root dynamics were studied for two years at Huntington Forest in the Adirondack Mountain region of New York, USA. Root growth phenology was characterized using field rhizotrons, three methods were used to estimate fine root production, two methods were used to estimate fine root mortality, and decomposition was estimated using the buried bag technique. During both 1986 and 1987, fine root elongation began in early April, peaked during July and August, and nearly ceased by mid-October. Mean fine root (

Citation

Burke, Marianne K.; Raynal, Dudley J. 1994. Fine Root Growth Phenology, Production, and Turnover in a Northern Hardwood Forest Ecosystem. Plant and Soil, 162: 135-146, 1994