To explain plant strategies, one must look belowground

New research by Jitka Klimešová at the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Ecologists try to explain why plants grow in a certain place and rely on the measurement of important plant properties that characterize the life strategies of plants. Traditionally, the properties of the leaves or fine roots, which obtain nutrients, …

Looking belowground can tell us how forest trees will react to environmental changes

New research by Michela Audisio, PhD candidate at Göttingen University, Germany. There is much more to trees than we see aboveground, and their interactions with fungi belowground are vital for their survival. Trees rely on the symbiotic interaction with specialized soil fungi to take up important resources such as nutrients and water. In exchange for …

Rhizomes are important: Results from a split-pot drought study

Recent research by F. Curtis Lubbe from the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Although the importance of belowground storage organs in plant life appears clear to many of us, there is still some debate on the exact role and importance of these organs.  Some argue that allocation of carbohydrates belowground is …

Is belowground storage for use in spring or in summer?

Research by Tim Harris at the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences. In temperate environments, many of the herbaceous plants are perennial. In contrast to trees and shrubs, winter conditions lead to the dieback of aboveground stems of herbs. But when favourable conditions return, perennial herbs can replace their shoots aboveground using …