Climate warming in northern ecosystems is accelerating, yet the responses of belowground growth dynamics under warming remain poorly understood. We assessed how soil warming affects seasonal root growth dynamics in subarctic grasslands, aiming to predict belowground responses under future climate scenarios. We investigated root growth across soil depths and seasons in geothermally warmed subarctic grasslands, comparing two war...

Agroforestry (AF) systems are considered more sustainable than conventional agriculture because high production and cover enhance carbon sequestration and water and nutrient retention. However, above- and below-ground carbon stocks in different traditional agroforestry systems and in relation to adjacent land use types remain poorly understood, especially in East Africa. This study evaluates the carbon sequestration potential...

Mixed‐species forestry is a promising approach to enhance productivity, increase carbon sequestration, and mitigate climate change. Diverse forests, composed of species with varying structures and functional trait profiles, may have higher functional and structural diversity, which are attributes relevant to a number of mechanisms that can influence productivity. However, it remains unclear whether the context‐dependent roles...

Mixed‐species forests are proposed to enhance tree resistance and resilience to drought. However, growing evidence shows that tree species richness does not consistently improve tree growth responses to drought. The underlying mechanisms remain uncertain, especially under unprecedented multiyear droughts. We used a network of planted tree diversity experiments to investigate how neighborhood tree diversity and species' functio...

Background and aims Hyperspectral imaging is becoming a key, high-throughput technique in plant research. However, its application to roots has not yet received sufficient attention. The aims of this study are to identify spectral features that distinguish fine roots from soil, non-woody roots of different species, and dead from living roots, and to identify appropriate analytical techniques. Methods Roots of Alopecurus praten...

Increasing tree diversity is considered a key management option to adapt forests to climate change. However, the effect of species diversity on a forest's ability to cope with extreme drought remains elusive. In this study, we assessed drought tolerance (xylem vulnerability to cavitation) and water stress (water potential), and combined them into a metric of drought–mortality risk (hydraulic safety margin) during extreme 2021...

Aims Specific root respiration (RR S ) is a key root trait, determining i.e. nutrient foraging and uptake efficiencies. However, a considerable uncertainty exists regarding the effects of storage time and conditions on RR S measurements. Methods Fine root CO 2 efflux rates of three plant types (tree seedling Carpinus betulus , legume Pisum sativum , grass Lolium perenne ) were measured as depending on storage time (30–1440 min...