SPRUCE: Root Production Assessed with Manual Minirhizotrons Resolved to Plant Functional Type, 2015–2021

Description

This data set contains raw root length and diameter for individual roots and estimated root population production measurements from the SPRUCE experiment from the beginning of whole ecosystem warming in 2015 through 2021 (2015-05-26 to 2021-09-01). Root morphology and estimated production were quantified throughout the peat profile with manual minirhizotrons deployed within SPRUCE plots. Images were processed using commercial software to quantify the length and diameter of individual roots. Roots were visually assigned to a plant functional type (PFT) of either (ericaceous) shrub, herb (sedges and Maianthemum trifolium), or tree (Larix laricina, Picea mariana) based on expert opinion. The biomass of individual roots was estimated using PFT-specific allometric equations (Iversen et al., 2018). Production per day was estimated as the length of new roots produced between imaging sessions, divided by the number of days between imaging sessions. These values were placed on a m² aboveground area basis and scaled to a standard depth of 1m (roots are not evenly distributed with depth, do not interpret value as being on a m³ basis). Maximum and average (weighted by production length) depth of each PFT were also estimated within each minirhizotron tube. Annual production was interpolated as the average of four methods to scale these data (see Weber et al. submitted). Standing crop of roots was estimated for each tube as the maximum visible amount (both length and mass) of roots of that PFT for that year. These data expand the ability of researchers to accurately estimate the belowground dynamics of peatland vegetation, as well as the role that fine roots may play in impacting the fluxes of carbon within peatlands. This dataset contains three data files in comma separate (*.csv) format. 

Citation

Weber SE, Childs J, Latimer J, Salmon VG, Iversen CM 2025. SPRUCE Root Production Assessed with Manual Minirhizotrons Resolved to Plant Functional Type, 2015–2021. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TES SFA, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A. https://doi.org/10.25581/spruce.127/2570059

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Monday, June 30, 2025

SPRUCE ID: spruce.127

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