Abstract
Average rate of root biomass accumulation in the surface root mat of an Amazonian rain forest near San Carlos de Rio Negro, Venezuela was 117 g°m—2°yr—1, and total root biomass increment was 201 g°m—2°yr—1. Root growth was higher in the surface root mat when fresh litter was present. Root growth rates relative to shoot growth rates at San Carlos were similar to ratios for a temperate forest near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. However, turnover rates of roots were higher at the San Carlos site. High turnover rates result in a relatively large proportion of the roots in smaller size classes, which have a large surface area in relation to their volume and thus area efficient nutrient traps. High efficiency of nutrient trapping is important in the nutrient—poor San Carlos forest.
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