As one of the key determinants of water availability in arid regions, groundwater plays an essential role in regulating biodiversity, key ecosystem processes and functioning. Meanwhile, biodiversity is known to modulate ecosystem functions. Numerous studies have focused on the links between aboveground productivity and plant diversity, while the potential influence of root traits on fine root biomass (FRB) has barely been elucidated. Therefore, it remains unclear how groundwater, soil, species diversity, above- and belowground traits jointly regulate FRB. 230 plots were sampled under a broad range of groundwater and soil conditions across a typical arid inland river basin, within which FRB, associated soil properties, species diversity and functional traits were measured. FRB was mainly regulated by the interactions between groundwater and root trait diversity, followed by groundwater, root trait diversity and soil moisture. Although mean and seasonality of groundwater depth had substantial effects on FRB, groundwater affected FRB mainly through indirect pathways mediated by root trait diversity. Furthermore, root trait diversity showed the largest direct effect on FRB, suggesting that it was the main driver of FRB. Species richness and aboveground traits had no significant direct effect on FRB, implying that root traits surpassed species richness and aboveground traits in regulating FRB. Our findings provide robust empirical evidence that groundwater and root trait diversity jointly drive existing belowground carbon storage in arid inland river basin. We emphasize the importance of groundwater and root trait diversity, as well as their interactions in forecasting underground ecological processes and functions under global changes.

Groundwater and root trait diversity jointly drive plant fine root biomass across arid inland river basin

Groundwater depth regulates assembly processes of abundant and rare bacterial communities across arid inland river basin.

Plant community assembly processes and key drivers in an arid inland river basin


 
 
 Multiple elements are critical for plant growth and survival, community structure, and vegetation function. Chemical diversity, defined as the ranges in element concentrations of plant species within communities, could provide essential insights into plant nutrient strategies and community assembly rules. However, little is known about the chemical diversity of multi-elements besides N and P, and current understanding of chemical diversity is largely based on aboveground plant traits.
 
 
 
 We investigated understory plant communities in forest swamps along a local soil chemical gradient and determined 11 major and trace elements in leaves and roots of dominant and subordinate plants. Using n-dimensional hypervolume, we examined the changes in leaf and root chemical diversity and their linkages with soil properties.
 
 
 
 Plant chemical diversity decreased significantly with soil Al, Mn, Mg, and Zn concentrations, but showed no relationships with soil N, P, K, Na, and Fe concentrations, soil pH and C:N. These patterns also held after controlling for species richness and soil moisture. Furthermore, leaf and root chemical diversity were positively correlated and showed similar relationships with soil factors. Root chemical diversity was not significantly higher than leaf chemical diversity. Our results emphasized the important role of soil trace elements for plant chemical diversity along the local soil chemical gradient. Similar patterns and extent of leaf and root chemical diversity may indicate similar local-scale environmental constraint on above- and belowground plant chemical diversity. These findings have important implications for plant community assembly and ecosystem functioning influenced by soil nutrient changes.


Changes in plant multidimensional chemical diversity along a local soil chemical gradient in temperate forest swamps

Stomata can reflect the plant's adaptation to environmental changes. However, the variation patterns of stomatal traits across different habitats and their relationships with environmental drivers are still poorly understood. Here, we assessed the extent of interspecific and intraspecific variation in stomatal traits in two typical riparian forests, and investigated how stomatal traits adapt to habitat change as well as trait–environment relationships.The Irtysh River Basin in China.We measured the stomatal density (SD), stomatal size (SS), and stomatal relative area (SRA) of dominant plant species from two riparian forests: (1) a riparian forest in the valley and (2) a riparian forest in the pediment plain. We analyzed the stomatal trait variation patterns of dominant plant species in different habitats. We then quantified the magnitude of intraspecific and interspecific stomatal trait variability and evaluated the relationships between stomatal traits and environmental factors.We found that SD and SRA were significantly higher in pediment plain forests than in valley forests, whereas SS was not significantly different between these habitats. The SD and SRA of trees in pediment plain forests were significantly higher than those in valley forests, whereas there were no significant differences in understory plants between habitats. The interspecific variation in each stomatal trait was significantly higher than the intraspecific variation. Stomatal traits were more related to the soil environment than to climatic factors.Response strategies of stomatal traits to habitat changes differed between species and functional groups, and trait–environment relationships depended on the habitat type of the riparian forest. Our analysis of stomata trait variation implies adaptive strategies in species of natural riparian forest. Insights into trait–environment relationships could be used to predict carbon and water cycling, and vegetation changes in riparian forests of arid regions, especially in the context of climate change.

Inter‐ and intraspecific stomatal morphological traits vary in response to topographic habitat changes

\n \n \n As the determinant of water availability in drylands, groundwater plays a fundamental role in regulating vegetation distribution and ecosystem processes. Although considerable progress has been made over the past years in the relationship between environment stress and plant community-level traits, the potential influence of water stress induced by groundwater changes on plant community-level stoichiometry remains largely unclear. Here, we examined whether belowground and aboveground community-level stoichiometry responded differently to groundwater changes.\n \n \n \n We measured nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in plant leaves and fine-roots of 110 plots under a broad range of groundwater depths in a typical arid inland river basin. We examined the spatial patterns and drivers of community-level N:P stoichiometry in leaves and fine-roots.\n \n \n \n Community-level leaf and fine-root N, P and N:P ratios were mainly determined by groundwater, vegetation types and species composition, among which groundwater played a dominant role. Groundwater indirectly regulated community-level N:P stoichiometry through affecting vegetation types and species composition. Vegetation types and species composition had significant direct influences on community-level N:P stoichiometry. Furthermore, groundwater depth had opposite influences on community-level leaf and fine-root N:P stoichiometry. Groundwater depth regulated vegetation types and further decreased leaf N, P but increased leaf N:P ratios and fine-root N. Groundwater depth had a positive indirect impact on fine-root P but a negative indirect impact on fine-root N:P ratios primarily by affecting species composition. Our findings indicate that groundwater rather than climate conditions effectively regulates community-level N:P stoichiometry, and below- and aboveground N:P stoichiometry has opposite responses to groundwater.\n

http://academic.oup.com/jpe/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/jpe/rtab062/38607147/rtab062.pdf

Dominant roles but distinct effects of groundwater depth on regulating leaf and fine-root N, P and N:P ratios of plant communities

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Dominant roles but distinct effects of groundwater depth on regulating leaf and fine-root N, P and N:P ratios of plant communities