title: Fine root dynamics of mature European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) as influenced by elevated ozone concentrations.
abstract: Fine root dynamics (diameter < 1 mm) in mature Fagus sylvatica, with the canopies exposed to ambient or twice-ambient ozone concentrations, were investigated throughout 2004. The focus was on the seasonal timing and extent of fine root dynamics (growth, mortality) in relation to the soil environment (water content, temperature). Under ambient ozone concentrations, a significant relationship was found between fine root turnover and soil environmental changes indicating accelerated fine root turnover under favourable soil conditions. In contrast, under elevated ozone, this relationship vanished as the result of an altered temporal pattern of fine root growth. Fine root survival and turnover rate did not differ significantly between the different ozone regimes, although a delay in current-year fine root shedding was found under the elevated ozone concentrations. The data indicate that increasing tropospheric ozone levels can alter the timing of fine root turnover in mature F. sylvatica but do not affect the turnover rate.
authors.affiliation: Department for Systematic Botany and Ecology, Ulm University, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany. raphael.mainiero@iap.ch
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mainiero
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kazda
authors.forename: Karl-Heinz
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Häberle
authors.forename: Petia Simeonova
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Nikolova
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Matyssek
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D029964:Fagus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D010126:Ozone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D012621:Seasons; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D012987:Soil; D014867:Water; D010126:Ozone