New nitrogen uptake strategy: specialized snow roots.
Ecol Lett
; 12(8): 758-64, 2009 Aug.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19500130
ABSTRACT
The evolution of plants has yielded a wealth of adaptations for the acquisition of key mineral nutrients. These include the structure, physiology and positioning of root systems. We report the discovery of specialized snow roots as a plant strategy to cope with the very short season for nutrient uptake and growth in alpine snow-beds, i.e. patches in the landscape that remain snow-covered well into the summer. We provide anatomical, chemical and experimental (15)N isotope tracking evidence that the Caucasian snow-bed plant Corydalis conorhiza forms extensive networks of specialized above-ground roots, which grow against gravity to acquire nitrogen directly from within snow packs. Snow roots capture nitrogen that would otherwise partly run off down-slope over a frozen surface, thereby helping to nourish these alpine ecosystems. Climate warming is changing and will change mountain snow regimes, while large-scale anthropogenic N deposition has increased snow N contents. These global changes are likely to impact on the distribution, abundance and functional significance of snow roots.
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Nieve
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Adaptación Fisiológica
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Raíces de Plantas
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Corydalis
País/Región como asunto:
Asia
/
Europa
Idioma:
En
Año:
2009
Tipo del documento:
Article