title: Going underground: root traits as drivers of ecosystem processes.
abstract: Ecologists are increasingly adopting trait-based approaches to understand how community change influences ecosystem processes. However, most of this research has focussed on aboveground plant traits, whereas it is becoming clear that root traits are important drivers of many ecosystem processes, such as carbon (C) and nutrient cycling, and the formation and structural stability of soil. Here, we synthesise emerging evidence that illustrates how root traits impact ecosystem processes, and propose a pathway to unravel the complex roles of root traits in driving ecosystem processes and their response to global change. Finally, we identify research challenges and novel technologies to address them.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, Michael Smith Building, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK. Electronic address: richard.bardgett@manchester.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Bardgett
authors.affiliation: Nature Conservation and Plant Ecology Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Liesje
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mommer
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, Michael Smith Building, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Franciska T
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: De Vries
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000502:physiology; D044822:Biodiversity; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism*; D057231:Climate Change; D017753:Ecosystem; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000378:metabolism*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism*; D011157:Population Dynamics / Q000639:trends
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: carbon cycling; global change; nutrient cycling; plant functional traits; roots; soil; soil structure