Data from: Root heterogeneity along an arctic elevational gradient: the importance of resolution ...

Spatial heterogeneity affects plant performance and is influenced by plants, but the scale at which fine roots react to or generate spatial heterogeneity has received little attention. Fine roots might be expected to respond to heterogeneity at a scale comparable to their diameter (mm), but studies...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Träger, Sabrina, Wilson, Scott D.
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: Dryad 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5s3v5
https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.5s3v5
Description
Summary:Spatial heterogeneity affects plant performance and is influenced by plants, but the scale at which fine roots react to or generate spatial heterogeneity has received little attention. Fine roots might be expected to respond to heterogeneity at a scale comparable to their diameter (mm), but studies to date have been conducted at much coarser resolutions (cm – m). Here we quantify root heterogeneity in contrasting habitats with special attention to the influence of resolution. We measured fine root length heterogeneity at resolutions ranging from 1 to 300 mm2, at four elevations along an arctic alpine gradient from 500 m a.s.l. (forest) to 1100 m (tundra). We calculated the magnitude of heterogeneity as the coefficient of variation of root length, and the scale of heterogeneity using semivariance analysis. The magnitude of heterogeneity was about twofold greater at fine than coarse resolution. Further, the magnitude of heterogeneity was generally greatest at the highest elevation, suggesting that soil at 1100 ... : Root_length_HeterogeneityPresented are data of root length (in mm) for each single root per minirhizotron image within a specific minirhizotron tube, sampled on a specific sampling date (June, August, September). The file is a modified output of Rootfly, the program with which root length was determined. ...