Ecological significance of plant biomass turnover

在有利和不利季节的气候中，植物的行为表现出季节性的生长和衰老模式。对季节的反应可能因物种而异，一个众所周知的例子是落叶树和万年青树的不同习性，它们的叶子要么是秋天衰老的，要么是越冬的。有迹象表明，湿地植物的根系表现出类似的越冬行为的二分法选择：整个根系要么在秋季衰老，要么在很大程度上生存的冬天。但是，虽然叶周转模式在不同环境中的适应性价值是很好的理解，根的信息很少。甚至连根产生和根衰老的时间也不清楚。然而，最近的研究表明，根的行为可以大大不同的周转模式的地上植物部分。

In climates that have favourable and unfavourable seasons, plant behaviour shows seasonal patterns of growth and senescence. Responses to the seasons may vary from species to species, a well-known example being the contrasting habits of deciduous and evergreen trees with either autumn-senescing or overwintering leaves. There are indications that roots of wetland plants show a similar dichotomous choice of overwintering behavior: the entire root system either senesces in the autumn, or it largely survives the winter. But while the adaptive value of leaf turnover pattern in different environments is well understood, for roots less information is available. Not even the timing of root production and root senescence is well known. Nevertheless, recent research has shown that root behaviour can considerably differ from turnover patterns of the above-ground plant parts.