ArticleAnnals of botany2025
Tree age affects key fine root morphological traits but does not interfere strongly with (ecto-)mycorrhizal traits.
Article in Annals of botany, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsIt is assumed that trees should adapt their above- and below-ground organs as they age. However, most studies to date have quantified these trait adjustments in homogeneous forest stands, confounding the effect of stand ageing on soil properties and the intrinsic response of trees to ageing.
methodsHere, we examined 11 morphological, architectural, anatomical and mycorrhizal fine root traits of each of the first five orders for 66 Pinus koraiensis individuals aged 16-285 years old in northeast China, while accounting for soil characteristics (pH and total C, N and P concentrations). KEY
resultsAcross all absorptive root orders, Hartig net area and mantle thickness, representative of P. koraiensis reliance on ectomycorrhizal association, displayed an orthogonal pattern to traits describing root economics strategy, specific root length and root tissue density. Hartig net area and mantle thickness were not significantly related to root mycorrhizal colonization intensity and root branching intensity. As trees aged, there was a trade-off between increasing specific root length and decreasing root tissue density in all root orders we measured. Trees facing soil conditions with lower N or P concentrations showed higher dependence on ectomycorrhizal fungi.
conclusionsThis work provides evidence that tree below-ground economics strategy can change significantly throughout their lifetime. In the ectomycorrhizal tree species studied, morphological adjustments are most pronounced, whereas mycorrhizal strategy remains largely consistent. The more conservative root strategy of younger trees than older ones contradicts previous results on the ageing of homogeneous tree stands, suggesting that individual tree responses to ageing in mixed-aged forests might differ strongly from those in homogeneous forest stands experiencing multiple confounding environmental influences.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.