Vegetative growth and belowground expansion from transplanted low‐arctic tundra turfs

Abstract

Whole‐turf transplantation is a restoration method used to restore plant communities within disturbed arctic environments. Transplant expansion and restoration success is often determined based on aboveground characteristics, and to our knowledge, this is the first investigation of belowground expansion from transplanted turfs. In this growth chamber experiment, turfs harvested from undisturbed tundra near Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada, were exposed to fertilized and unfertilized substrates to determine the effect of adjacent nutrient‐enrichment on plant community composition within the turfs and substrates, as well as above and belowground biomass and expansion. Next‐generation sequencing was used to determine the species identity of expanding roots. Our results show that fertilization of substrates surrounding tundra transplants did not alter the community composition of the turfs, but did increase biomass and expansion, as well as biological soil crust cover on the adjacent substrate. Belowground biomass far exceeded aboveground, revealing the importance of evaluating belowground roots and rhizomes that dominate the vegetative biomass within arctic ecosystems. Investigation of belowground development is likely to provide holistic interpretations of restoration success and should not be ignored in future transplantation studies.