Variations in plant root traits shaped by intraspecific interactions are species-specific

Abstract

Intraspecific plant interactions are crucial in terrestrial ecosystems, especially in artificially controlled ecosystems. Understanding plant root development can facilitate the manipulation of root traits to enhance the productivity and sustainability of agricultural and pastoral ecosystems. To date, most studies on interactions between the plants have focused on environmental factors or individual species; however, the lack of cross-species comparative analyses has resulted in a significant disparity in findings. In this study, we conducted a greenhouse experiment using five dominant species from alpine grasslands, including three legume species (Thermopsis lanceolata, Oxytropis ochrocephala, and Tibetia himalaica) and two grass species (Elymus nutans and Stipa aliena). Using single-plant cultivation as the control, we investigated the overall changes in plant biomass and root traits when two conspecific plants are grown together (intraspecifically). Simultaneously, we explored the differences in roots traits between the interaction and no-interaction zones. The results showed that, firstly, there was no significant difference in biomass and root traits of different zones when single-planted. But the impact of intraspecific interactions on neighboring plants exhibited significant species-specific. In terms of biomass and root traits (except for forks), E. nutans, T. lanceolata and T. himalaica responded significantly negatively to their neighbors. Whereas S. aliena and O. ochrocephala showed no significant changes and even positive responses. The overall trend of changes in the root zones, whether interactive or non-interactive, was consistent, either increasing or decreasing simultaneously, albeit to different extents. For instance, the difference between the interaction and no-interaction zones of T. lanceolata and O. ochrocephala was substantial, leading to allometric growth. Finally, our results showed poor correlations of physicochemical and nutrient factors with root traits in four of the five species, all except for E. nutans. Altogether, our findings confirmed that root trait variations resulting from intraspecific plant interactions are species-specific. These findings underscored the importance of species-specific in intraspecific plant interactions involving biological interactions among plants, which should be considered in future studies.