Data for: Effects of nutrient heterogeneity on root foraging and plant growth at the individual and community level

Plants can respond to heterogeneous nutrient distribution through selective root placement to enhance nutrient uptake. It is believed that nutrient heterogeneity can better promote plant growth than homogeneous nutrient distribution, but comprehensive analyses are relatively few. We meta-analyzed the data from 131 comparative studies and synthesized the effects of nutrient heterogeneity on root foraging and plant growth, and examined the roles of patch scale and contrast. Plant responses to nutrient heterogeneity was phylogenetically conserved, and the response in shoot biomass was more correlated with the response in root biomass than with root foraging precision. Root precision depended on competition status, and plants in interspecific competition had lower precision. Community-level responses to nutrient heterogeneity were more significant than individual-level responses. With increasing patch scale, root foraging precision declined, while overall shoot and root responses of individ...

植物可通过选择性根定位响应异质营养分布，以增强养分吸收。普遍认为，与同质营养分布相比，营养异质性更能促进植物生长，但相关综合分析仍相对匮乏。本研究对131项比较研究的数据进行了元分析，综合探讨了营养异质性对根系觅食（root foraging）及植物生长的影响，并考察了斑块尺度与对比度的作用。植物对营养异质性的响应具有系统发育保守性，且地上生物量的响应与根系生物量响应的相关性，高于其与根系觅食精度的相关性。根系精度依赖于竞争状态，种间竞争中的植物精度更低。群落水平对营养异质性的响应比个体水平更为显著。随着斑块尺度增大，根系觅食精度下降，而个体的地上及根系整体响应...