Interspecific differences in root foraging precision cannot be directly inferred from species' mycorrhizal status or fine root economics

Nutrient acquisition in plants can be represented by a suite of intercorrelated root traits such as root diameter, nitrogen content, root tissue density, and specific root length. However, it is unclear how a plant's ability to precisely forage for nutrients in a heterogeneous soil environment (i.e., the precision of placing roots into nutrient-rich areas) relates to these traits. Mycorrhizal symbiosis also affects the relationship between the fine root traits and root foraging precision because fungal hyphae may be used for foraging instead of roots. Hypotheses matching high root foraging precision with low mycorrhizal colonization or \"fast\" acquisitive strategies of plants have been raised based either on data from tree species or a limited number of herbaceous species.
To test these hypotheses, we compiled data quantifying the experimentally measured degree to which root biomass responded to patchy substrate nutrient concentrations (i.e., root foraging precision) for 123 herbaceous ...

植物的养分获取能力可通过一系列相互关联的根系性状进行表征，例如根直径、氮含量、根系组织密度以及比根长（specific root length）。然而，目前尚不清楚植物在异质土壤环境中精准觅养的能力（即，将根系定位至养分富集区域的精准度）与这些性状之间存在何种关联。菌根共生（mycorrhizal symbiosis）同样会影响细根性状与根系觅养精准度之间的关联，因为真菌菌丝（fungal hyphae）可替代根系执行觅养功能。已有研究基于木本物种或有限草本物种的数据，提出了“高根系觅养精准度与低菌根定殖（mycorrhizal colonization）率、植物采用‘快速’养分获取策略相匹配”的假说。
为验证上述假说，我们整合了123种草本植物的相关数据，这些数据量化了实验测定的根系生物量对斑块状基质养分浓度的响应程度（即根系觅养精准度）……