Vertical root distribution underpins belowground resistance to extreme drought

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ID: 328776
2026
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Abstract
Abstract Extreme droughts are becoming more frequent and strongly affect ecosystem productivity, yet their impact on belowground productivity—key to the carbon cycle—remain underexplored. Using a coordinated drought experiment across six Eurasian grassland sites spanning a precipitation gradient, we found that extreme drought had little effect on belowground net primary productivity (BNPP) or root biomass across the 0-20 cm soil profile because drought-induced shifts in root allocation compensated across soil depths. Specifically, drought induced site- and depth-specific shifts: in xeric grasslands, BNPP and root biomass increased in the 0-10 cm layer but declined in the 10-20 cm layer, whereas mesic grasslands exhibited the opposite pattern. These contrasting responses were consistent with shifts in depth-specific soil moisture. Consequently, the apparent resistance of belowground productivity to drought masks a redistribution of root growth along the vertical soil profile. Accounting for such depth-dependent root dynamics is essential for understanding ecosystem functioning, including carbon cycling, plant persistence, and ecosystem responses to intensifying climate extremes.
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Authors Chong Xu, Yunlong Zhang, Honghui Wu, Qiang Yu, Hongqiang Wang, Yuguang Ke, Wei Zhou, Yingjie Yan, Jiale Chen, Yadong Yang, Tian Yang, Xiaoan Zuo, Wentao Luo, Melinda D. Smith, Elizabeth T Borer, Iain P. Hartley, Ingrid J. Slette, Wenping Yuan, Deliang Kong, Xiaoping Xin, Shikui Dong, Baoming Ji, Liebao Han, Wenju Zhang, Minggang Xu, Guirui Yu, Xingguo Han, Yann Hautier
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Journal national science review
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/nsr/nwag592
URL
https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/nsr/nwag592/71088963/nwag592.pdf
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