Climate change: Mismatch between above- and below-ground plant responses to warming

 
A paper is published in Nature Climate Change that reveals that plant responses to climate change may differ between above and below ground.

The timing of plant life history events (spring leaf opening, flowering, autumn leaf fall, etc.) is very important for plant adaptability and survival, and for the world's human food resources, ecosystem functioning, and carbon cycle. Has a meaning.Climate change has brought about changes in the life history of various plants.It is clearly shown by the changes in the above-ground part.However, changes believed to occur in soil have not been well studied, even though root systems play important roles in plant growth and terrestrial ecosystem productivity.

Now, Xuhui Zhou et al. Analyzed data from 88 published studies and found that plants respond differently to climate change above and below ground.The extent of the difference depended on the type of plant studied.For example, herbaceous plants had earlier start and end of the above-ground growth period, and as a result, the overall length of the growth period did not change, but the response of the underground part did not change.On the other hand, in the woody plants, the response in the above-ground part did not change due to climate warming, but the growing season in the underground part became longer.

In conclusion, Zhou et al. Emphasize that the small sample size of this study requires careful interpretation of the study results.The small sample size is due to the limited data available and few studies focusing on subterranean changes that can have a strong impact on plant growth and the terrestrial carbon cycle.Therefore, Zhou et al. Have expressed the view that further research is needed urgently.

 
* This article is reprinted from "Nature Japan Featured Highlights".
Reprinted from: "Climate change: Plants respond differently to global warming above and below ground'