Species-dependent responses of root growth of herbaceous plants to snow cover changes in a temperate desert, Northwest China

Abstract

Changes in snow cover can influence root growth and distribution of herbaceous species in water limiting desert ecosystems. However, how the growth of root systems of herbaceous species responds to snow cover changes remains unclear. Thus, the present study was aimed to examine the influence of snow cover changes on root growth of herbaceous species in a temperate desert of central Asia. Plots with four snow cover depth treatments in winter were investigated in the Gurbantunggut Desert. The four treatments were snow removal (− S), ambient snow, double snow (+ S), and triple snow (+ 2S). We examined the root growth of two typical herbaceous species: one ephemeral species, Erodium oxyrhinchum, and one annual species, Ceratocarpus arenarius. The root length of the annual plant was significantly reduced by snow removal compared with the ambient treatment. The specific root length and specific surface area of the ephemeral plants increased with increasing snow depth, whereas the annual plants showed the opposite trends. Snow removal significantly increased the root–shoot ratio of the annual plants, with no effects found in the ephemeral plants. The individual root biomass and total underground biomass of the two species had similar responses to the snow depth treatments, with the highest values found with the ambient treatment. These results can contribute to explaining to changing winter snow cover depth can alter plant growth, community structure, and ecosystem function in the growing season in temperate desert ecosystems.