Abstract
Arctic amplification drives "shrubification" in the tundra, where larger shrubs associated with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi displace dwarf shrubs linked to ericoid mycorrhizal (ERM) fungi. This study investigated the relationship between above- and belowground plant traits within a long-term removal experiment (ALTER project, Abisko). During the 2025 growing season, minirhizotron scanning and measurements of aboveground traits (including specific leaf area (SLA), shoot growth, and community composition) were performed. After six (to seven) years of consistent removal experiment, results indicate that a 50% reduction in aboveground biomass corresponds to only a 25% loss in belowground biomass, with ERM belowground traits demonstrating resistance to random biomass removal. Conversely, specific ERM plant removal promotes ECM species, such as Betula nana, by increasing root biomass and length. While single-species SLA remains stable across treatments, evergreen shrubs, specifically, Empetrum nigrum exhibit a non-linear response to neighbour-release and removal gradients. Notably, the decline in graminoid relative abundance following biomass and ECM removal suggests critical positive interspecific interactions. These findings highlight the complex, non-linear dependencies between mycorrhizal systems and plant community stability with consequences for soil carbon (C) storage, in a changing Arctic.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed other-oa. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
A 50% aboveground biomass reduction corresponded to a 25% belowground biomass loss.
Verbatim
e0“a 50% reduction in aboveground biomass corresponds to only a 25% loss in belowground biomass”
t0“Plant communities”
Claim · model-written summary
ERM belowground traits resisted random biomass removal.
- Taxon
- Plant communitiest0
- Treatment
- random biomass removale0
- Outcome
- ERM belowground traitse0
- Direction
- resistancee0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“ERM belowground traits demonstrating resistance to random biomass removal”
t0“Plant communities”
Claim · model-written summary
Specific ERM plant removal promoted ECM species such as Betula nana.
- Taxon
- Betula nana
Betula nanae0 - Treatment
- specific ERM plant removale0
- Outcome
- ECM speciese0
- Direction
- promotese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“specific ERM plant removal promotes ECM species, such as Betula nana, by increasing root biomass and length”
Claim · model-written summary
Specific ERM plant removal increased root biomass and length of ECM species.
- Taxon
- Betula nanaBetula nanae0
- Treatment
- specific ERM plant removale0
- Outcome
- root biomass and lengthe0
- Direction
- increasinge0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“specific ERM plant removal promotes ECM species, such as Betula nana, by increasing root biomass and length”
Claim · model-written summary
Single-species SLA remained stable across treatments.
Verbatim
e0“single-species SLA remains stable across treatments”
t0“Plant communities”
Claim · model-written summary
Empetrum nigrum showed a non-linear response to neighbour release and removal gradients.
- Taxon
- Empetrum nigrum
Empetrum nigrume0 - Treatment
- neighbour-release and removal gradientse0
- Outcome
- non-linear responsee0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Empetrum nigrum exhibit a non-linear response to neighbour-release and removal gradients”
Claim · model-written summary
Graminoid relative abundance declined after biomass and ECM removal.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“the decline in graminoid relative abundance following biomass and ECM removal”