SynthesisBMC ecology and evolution2024
Drought intensity and duration effects on morphological root traits vary across trait type and plant functional groups: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC ecology and evolution, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Varied responses of Atriplex canescens to different intensities of drought, salinity and their coupled stresses.Annals of botany · 2026Pooled it
- Comparative Functional Traits of Bamboo Monospecific Stands and Bamboo-Casuarina Mixed Stands in Coastal Sandy Land Under Different Silvicultural Regimes.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Salinity stress and drought stress differentially affect biomass allocation, leaf orientation and performance of two sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) cultivars.BMC plant biology · 2026Article
- Nitric oxide and abscisic acid: two intimate collaborators regulating plant defense against drought.Protoplasma · 2026Review
- Deciphering the genetic basis of wheat germination under ZnO nano priming and drought stress through integrated QTL mapping and network analyses.BMC plant biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Effect of developmental dynamics on WRKY expression in barley with varying phenologies and trichome micromorphologies.BMC plant biology · 2025Article
- Identification of key genes and signaling pathways in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) under drought stress via comparative transcriptome analysis.BMC plant biology · 2025Article
- Genomic structure and functional trait variation are decoupled across the Atacama-Patagonia arid gradient in the Chilean wineberry.Frontiers in plant science · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The increasing severity and frequency of drought pose serious threats to plant species worldwide. Yet, we lack a general understanding of how various intensities of droughts affect plant traits, in particular root traits. Here, using a meta-analysis of drought experiments (997 effect sizes from 76 papers), we investigate the effects of various intensities of droughts on some of the key morphological root traits. Our results show that root length, root mean diameter, and root area decline when drought is of severe or extreme intensity, whereas severe drought increases root tissue density. These patterns are most pronounced in trees compared to other plant functional groups. Moreover, the long duration of severe drought decreases root length in grasses and root mean diameter in legumes. The decline in root length and root diameter due to severe drought in trees was independent of drought duration. Our results suggest that morphological root traits respond strongly to increasing intensity of drought, which further depends on drought duration and may vary among plant functional groups. Our meta-analysis highlights the need for future studies to consider the interactive effects of drought intensity and drought duration for a better understanding of variable plant responses to drought.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.