Department of Biology

Overlooked and understudied --unique attributes of roots in grasslands and savannas

Dr. Jesse Nippert

March 31, 2021
4-5pm

Hosted By Dr. Sally Koerner

Grasslands contain diverse assemblages of grasses, forbs, and woody plant species. These species often have unique physiological and morphological mechanisms that facilitate responses to disturbance and require trade-offs that balance competitive efficiency and the ability to tolerate (or avoid) frequent periods of resource limitation. Grassland plants species also exhibit tremendous diversity in root form and function, with distinct differences in belowground biomass, allocation of roots to varying depths, and differences in water uptake from varying soil layers. Alterations in ecological disturbance have the potential to modify coexistence dynamics based on unique belowground traits among diverse species assemblages. Here, I will present a framework linking the physiological and morphological responses of C4grasses and C3 woody plants to these drivers using data from tallgrass prairie (Konza Prairie) and lowveld savanna (Kruger National Park). These data include long-term observations of grassland change based on legacies of fire management and grazer abundance, as well as short-term experimental manipulations of drought and woody-plant removal. Greater focus on the unique attributes of roots among grassland species provides novel insight for aboveground interactions, improves predictions of ecosystem change using Land Surface models, and may facilitate the development of more sustainable range management.