title: Functional traits and root morphology of alpine plants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Vegetation has long been recognized to protect the soil from erosion. Understanding species differences in root morphology and functional traits is an important step to assess which species and species mixtures may provide erosion control. Furthermore, extending classification of plant functional types towards root traits may be a useful procedure in understanding important root functions.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, pioneer data on traits of alpine plant species, i.e. plant height and shoot biomass, root depth, horizontal root spreading, root length, diameter, tensile strength, plant age and root biomass, from a disturbed site in the Swiss Alps are presented. The applicability of three classifications of plant functional types (PFTs), i.e. life form, growth form and root type, was examined for above- and below-ground plant traits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Plant traits differed considerably among species even of the same life form, e.g. in the case of total root length by more than two orders of magnitude. Within the same root diameter, species differed significantly in tensile strength: some species (Geum reptans and Luzula spicata) had roots more than twice as strong as those of other species. Species of different life forms provided different root functions (e.g. root depth and horizontal root spreading) that may be important for soil physical processes. All classifications of PFTs were helpful to categorize plant traits; however, the PFTs according to root type explained total root length far better than the other PFTs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the study illustrate the remarkable differences between root traits of alpine plants, some of which cannot be assessed from simple morphological inspection, e.g. tensile strength. PFT classification based on root traits seems useful to categorize plant traits, even though some patterns are better explained at the individual species level.
authors.affiliation: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Unit of Community Ecology, Mountain Ecosystems, Flüelastrasse 11, 7260 Davos Dorf, Switzerland. pohl@slf.ch
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pohl
authors.forename: Raphaël
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stroude
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buttler
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rixen
mesh_terms: D000531:Altitude; D044822:Biodiversity; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D012987:Soil; D013557:Switzerland; D013718:Tensile Strength
chemical_list: D012987:Soil