Abstract
The marked change in above-ground forest stand structure with elevation towards the alpine treeline has been widely recognized, while studies on altitudinal effects on the root system are still scarce. We studied Norway spruce stands along a 700-m-long elevational transect at Mount Brocken (Harz Mountains, central Germany) to test the hypothesis that fine root dry mass partitioning shows an inverse response to elevation towards the treeline compared to above-ground biomass. Microclimate measurements revealed that thermal conditions at the treeline of Mount Brocken are closely comparable to other treeline sites around the world. Above-ground structure did not differ significantly among stands at lower and mid elevations, but tree height and stem biomass decreased strongly with elevation upslope. Fine root biomass increased with elevation by a factor of nearly two. Annual fine root production was found to be highest at mid elevation but was only 40% lower than this maximum at the treeline. Consequently, the ratio of fine root production to above-ground stem biomass increased by a factor of 2–3 with elevation, indicating a strong shift of below- versus above-ground carbon allocation towards the treeline. We hypothesize that the enlargement of the fine root system at cold sites represents an adaptation to the unfavorable soil conditions, such as impaired nutrient supply.
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