Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Root Mass Density in a Coastal Dune in Subarctic Quebec, Canada
On coastal dunes, both plant community composition and abiotic factors change along the foredune-established dune sequence. However, little is known about changes in belowground biomass, particularly in root mass, along such gradients. Yet, belowground plant structures are important for substrate co...
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Journal of Coastal Research
2001
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ftfloridaojojs:oai:journals.flvc.org:article/81512 2023-05-15T18:28:06+02:00 Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Root Mass Density in a Coastal Dune in Subarctic Quebec, Canada Imbert, Eric Houle, Gilles 2001-10-27 application/pdf https://journals.flvc.org/jcr/article/view/81512 eng eng Journal of Coastal Research https://journals.flvc.org/jcr/article/view/81512/78651 https://journals.flvc.org/jcr/article/view/81512 Journal of Coastal Research; Vol 17 No 4 (2001): Journal of Coastal Research 0749-0208 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer-reviewed Article 2001 ftfloridaojojs 2020-11-14T19:22:34Z On coastal dunes, both plant community composition and abiotic factors change along the foredune-established dune sequence. However, little is known about changes in belowground biomass, particularly in root mass, along such gradients. Yet, belowground plant structures are important for substrate cohesiveness and coastal dune integrity. Using soil cores, we determined the spatio-temporal dynamics of root mass density, from the embryo dunes to the stabilised dunes, on a coastal dune system in subarctic Quebec, Canada. Root mass density varied along the gradient, but it did not show a monotonic increase as observed in other studies. Roots were concentrated in the upper layer of the substrate (0-20 cm), except on the embryo dunes where most of the roots were found at 20-60 cm below the surface. Root mass density did not differ among the first three sampling dates (18 June, 07 July and 25 July), probably as a consequence of early root growth in the spring. However, root mass significantly decreased in August at all depths. Root mass density was not significantly correlated with soil water content, but it was correlated negatively with soil pH, and positively with total salts. Because root mass is concentrated near the substrate surface, subarctic coastal dunes may be particularly susceptible to human disturbance, such as trampling. Article in Journal/Newspaper Subarctic Florida Online Journals (FloridaOJ) Canada |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Florida Online Journals (FloridaOJ) |
op_collection_id |
ftfloridaojojs |
language |
English |
description |
On coastal dunes, both plant community composition and abiotic factors change along the foredune-established dune sequence. However, little is known about changes in belowground biomass, particularly in root mass, along such gradients. Yet, belowground plant structures are important for substrate cohesiveness and coastal dune integrity. Using soil cores, we determined the spatio-temporal dynamics of root mass density, from the embryo dunes to the stabilised dunes, on a coastal dune system in subarctic Quebec, Canada. Root mass density varied along the gradient, but it did not show a monotonic increase as observed in other studies. Roots were concentrated in the upper layer of the substrate (0-20 cm), except on the embryo dunes where most of the roots were found at 20-60 cm below the surface. Root mass density did not differ among the first three sampling dates (18 June, 07 July and 25 July), probably as a consequence of early root growth in the spring. However, root mass significantly decreased in August at all depths. Root mass density was not significantly correlated with soil water content, but it was correlated negatively with soil pH, and positively with total salts. Because root mass is concentrated near the substrate surface, subarctic coastal dunes may be particularly susceptible to human disturbance, such as trampling. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Imbert, Eric Houle, Gilles |
spellingShingle |
Imbert, Eric Houle, Gilles Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Root Mass Density in a Coastal Dune in Subarctic Quebec, Canada |
author_facet |
Imbert, Eric Houle, Gilles |
author_sort |
Imbert, Eric |
title |
Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Root Mass Density in a Coastal Dune in Subarctic Quebec, Canada |
title_short |
Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Root Mass Density in a Coastal Dune in Subarctic Quebec, Canada |
title_full |
Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Root Mass Density in a Coastal Dune in Subarctic Quebec, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Root Mass Density in a Coastal Dune in Subarctic Quebec, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Root Mass Density in a Coastal Dune in Subarctic Quebec, Canada |
title_sort |
spatio-temporal dynamics of root mass density in a coastal dune in subarctic quebec, canada |
publisher |
Journal of Coastal Research |
publishDate |
2001 |
url |
https://journals.flvc.org/jcr/article/view/81512 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Subarctic |
op_source |
Journal of Coastal Research; Vol 17 No 4 (2001): Journal of Coastal Research 0749-0208 |
op_relation |
https://journals.flvc.org/jcr/article/view/81512/78651 https://journals.flvc.org/jcr/article/view/81512 |
_version_ |
1766210440506900480 |