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DOE OSTI · 2570304

A continental scale analysis reveals widespread root bimodality

Lu, Mingzhen [Santa Fe Inst. (SFI), Santa Fe, NM (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States); New York Univ. (NYU), NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000287078745)·Wang, Sili [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)]·Malhotra, Avni [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Univ. of Zurich (Switzerland); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000278506402)·Tumber-Dávila, Shersingh Joseph [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States); Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000173363943)·Weintraub-Leff, Samantha [National Ecological Observatory Network, Boulder, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000347895086)·McCormack, M. Luke [The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL (United States)] (ORCID:0000000283005215)·Wang, Xingchen Tony [Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)] (ORCID:000000015316789X)·Jackson, Robert B. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000188467147)
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Abstract

An improved understanding of root vertical distribution is crucial for assessing plant-soil-atmosphere interactions and their influence on the land carbon sink. Here, we analyze a continental-scale dataset of fine roots reaching 2 meters depth, spanning from Alaskan tundra to Puerto Rican forests. Contrary to the expectation that fine root abundance decays exponentially with depth, we found root bimodality at ~20% of 44 sites, with secondary biomass peaks often below 1m. Root bimodality was more likely in areas with low total fine root biomass and was more frequent in shrublands than grasslands. Notably, secondary peaks coincided with high soil nitrogen content at depth. Our analyses suggest that deep soil nutrients tend to be underexploited, while root bimodality offers plants a mechanism to tap into deep soil resources. Our findings add to the growing recognition that deep soil dynamics are systematically overlooked, and calls for more research attention to this deep frontier in the face of global environmental change.

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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESbiogeochemistryecosystem ecologyplant ecology

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Lu, Mingzhen [Santa Fe Inst. (SFI), Santa Fe, NM (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States); New York Univ. (NYU), NY (United States)] (ORCID:0000000287078745), Wang, Sili [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)], Malhotra, Avni [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Univ. of Zurich (Switzerland); Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000278506402), Tumber-Dávila, Shersingh Joseph [Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States); Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (United States)] (ORCID:0000000173363943), Weintraub-Leff, Samantha [National Ecological Observatory Network, Boulder, CO (United States)] (ORCID:0000000347895086), McCormack, M. Luke [The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL (United States)] (ORCID:0000000283005215), Wang, Xingchen Tony [Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)] (ORCID:000000015316789X), Jackson, Robert B. [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)] (ORCID:0000000188467147). 2025-06-17. A continental scale analysis reveals widespread root bimodality. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60055-2

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