Linking fine-root diameter across root orders with climatic, biological and edaphic factors in the Northern Hemisphere

The importance of fine-root diameter for ecosystem functioning is increasingly recognized, yet much remains to be learned about the variation in fine-root diameter at large scales. We conducted an analysis of fine-root diameter for five root orders for 1,163 plant species to detect patterns in relation to resource availability (e.g. carbon, nitrogen, water and net primary production (NPP)), stress intensity (e.g. plant/soil biodiversity and soil bulk density) and temperature. First- to fourth-order root diameters showed non-linear relationships with mean annual temperature (except for first-order root diameter) and/or with latitude. The diameters of the five root orders decreased with increasing mean annual precipitation, but increased with greater NPP, which was the strongest determinant of fine-root diameter. Increasing soil biodiversity was associated with decreasing diameters of fourth- and fifth-order roots, while greater plant biodiversity was associated with decreasing diameters ..., , , # Linking fine-root diameter across root orders with climatic, biological and edaphic factors in the Northern Hemisphere [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h70rxwdtf](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h70rxwdtf) ## Description of the data and file structure | Source | Database source | | :------------------------------------------------------------------ | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | References | References of data | | Order | Root order (unitless)Â | | Lat ...