TY - GEN A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Prieto, Iván A1 - Marañón, Teodoro A1 - Pérez-Ramos, Ignacio Manuel A1 - Olmo, Manuel A1 - Villar, Rafael T1 - Root economics spectrum and construction costs in Mediterranean woody plants: the role of symbiotic associations and the environment T2 - Journal of Ecology N2 - 1. Many studies have quantified the functional variation of fine root traits to un-derstand the overarching trade-off between maximizing resource acquisition or conservation (root economics spectrum [RES]). However, we know remarkably less on how plant strategies along the RES are actually constrained by the amount of photosynthates required to construct roots (i.e. construction costs, CC) or how below- ground interactions with symbiotic organisms modify root trait patterns and their relationships with CC.2. Our main aim was to quantify CC of fine roots (<2 mm) and their underlying compo-nents (carbon, minerals and organic nitrogen concentrations) in 60 Mediterranean woody species with contrasting symbiotic association types (ectomycorrhizas, ar-buscular and ericoid mycorrhizas and N-fixing bacteria). We examined (a) whether the covariation among fine root traits along the RES was related to the intrinsic cost of producing roots and whether this relationship was dependent on the type of root symbiosis; (b) whether the relationship of each CC component with the RES was dependent on the type of root symbiosis and (c) whether soil water and nutrient availability determined differences in CC across sites.3. According to the RES hypothesis, fine root traits showed a main covariation trend (acquisition vs. conservation), defined by the first PCA axis, which also segregated species by their two main contrasting symbiotic types (arbuscular and ectomycor-rhizal). We found a positive relationship between root CC and the RES (i.e. PCA axis 1) and, interestingly, slopes differed among symbiotic types, in response to the different role of each specific CC component. In addition, independently of symbiotic type, root CC decreased linearly with soil nutrient availability and quad-ratically with plant water availability.4. Synthesis. Our study demonstrates that woody plants display different functional strategies in their root CC, related with their position on the RES, and that CC differ among symbiotic groups. The influence of the root CC components across species varied among symbiotic associations, pointing to a trade-off between structural and metabolic compounds. Root CC were also strongly modulated by soil resource availability (nutrients and water). This study highlights that root CC are fundamental to better understand below- ground resource-use strategies. KW - below-ground strategies KW - functional traits KW - mycorrhiza KW - resource gradient KW - rhizobium KW - root carbon KW - soil nutrient KW - specific root length Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13612 SN - 1365-2745 VL - 109 IS - 4 SP - 1873 EP - 1885 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Ignacio Querejeta, José A1 - Villar, Rafael A1 - Pérez-Ramos, Ignacio Manuel A1 - Marañón, Teodoro A1 - Galán Díaz, Javier A1 - Tomás Marín, Sergio de A1 - Prieto, Iván T1 - The Economics Spectrum Drives Root Trait Strategies in Mediterranean Vegetation T2 - Frontiers in Plant Science N2 - Extensive research efforts are devoted to understand fine root trait variation and to confirm the existence of a belowground root economics spectrum (RES) from acquisitive to conservative root strategies that is analogous to the leaf economics spectrum (LES). The economics spectrum implies a trade-off between maximizing resource acquisition and productivity or maximizing resource conservation and longevity; however, this theoretical framework still remains controversial for roots. We compiled a database of 320 Mediterranean woody and herbaceous species to critically assess if the classic economics spectrum theory can be broadly extended to roots. Fine roots displayed a wide diversity of forms and properties in Mediterranean vegetation, resulting in a multidimensional trait space. The main trend of variation in this multidimensional root space is analogous to the main axis of LES, while the second trend of variation is partially determined by an anatomical trade-off between tissue density and diameter. Specific root area (SRA) is the main trait explaining species distribution along the RES, regardless of the selected traits. We advocate for the need to unify and standardize the criteria and approaches used within the economics framework between leaves and roots, for the sake of theoretical consistency. KW - ecophysiology KW - ine root strategies KW - non-mass normalized traits KW - root anatomy KW - root economic spectrum KW - specific root area KW - specific root length Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.773118 IS - 12 ER - TY - GEN A1 - De Tomás Marin, Sergio A1 - Galán Díaz, Javier A1 - Rodriguez-Calcerrada, Jesus A1 - Prieto, Ivan A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique T1 - Linking functional composition moments of the sub-Mediterranean ecotone with environmental drivers T2 - Frontiers in Plant Science Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1303022 SN - 1664-462X VL - 14 ER - TY - GEN A1 - De Tomás Marín, Sergio A1 - Rodríguez-Calcerrada, Jesús A1 - Arenas-Castro, Salvador A1 - Prieto, Iván A1 - González, Guillermo A1 - Gil, Luis A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique T1 - Fagus sylvatica and Quercus pyrenaica: Two neighbors with few things in common T2 - Forest Ecosystems KW - Environmental niche KW - European beech KW - Forest dynamics KW - Functional niche KW - Hypervolume KW - Pyrenean oak KW - Species coexistence KW - Sub-Mediterranean community Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fecs.2023.100097 SN - 2197-5620 VL - 10 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Garcia de la Riva, Enrique A1 - Prieto, Iván A1 - Villar, Rafael T1 - The leaf economic spectrum drives leaf litter decomposition in Mediterranean forests T2 - Plant and Soil N2 - BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Leaf litter decomposition is an important process controlling nutrient cycling in most terrestrial ecosystems. We evaluated the relationships among traits of green leaves and decomposition rates of leaf litter (k) at different environmental scales and organisational levels (species and community). We also assessed the relationships at community level between k and the Leaf Economic Spectrum (LES) and between k and different soil variables. METHODS: We measured leaf traits in 38 woody species distributed in nine sampling sites along a topographic gradient in southern Spain. Leaf litter was collected for each species in each sampling site and incubated in a microcosm experiment with soil collected from the top 20 cm of each site. RESULTS: We found positive relationships between k and specific leaf area (SLA), leaf N, K and P and negative relationships with leaf dry matter content (LDMC) and leaf C isotopic composition (δ¹³C), both at species and community levels. Decomposability was positively related with the first PCA axis describing the LES and the relationships were consistent across all sites and within different zones or topographic positions. In addition, community weighted mean values of leaf traits (LESCWM) were stronger predictors of litter decomposition than soil variables. CONCLUSIONS: A major finding of the present study is the main role that leaf traits, and the covariation among them (LES), play on decomposition process in Mediterranean ecosystems both at the species and community levels. In summary, our results support the idea that the suites of leaf traits have a strong control on the pace of C cycling, being the best drivers of decomposition processes under similar climatic conditions. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3883-3 SN - 0032-079X VL - 435 IS - 1-2 SP - 353 EP - 366 ER -