Belowground functional traits of plants as drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem functions

许多决定植物物种分布和生态系统功能的过程发生在地下。然而，虽然许多研究都集中在地上功能性状的植物，地下功能性状在很大程度上被忽视。显然，需要大量植物物种根系特征的数据，以更好地了解生物多样性模式。因此，我们建议评估根功能性状和真菌内生菌感染的大约350种开花植物物种发生在150个草地实验区（EP）的生物多样性探索。在几个实验中，这些物种的植物将生长以测量根形态、根形态的可塑性（响应于肥料添加）、不同氮形式的净吸收能力和真菌内生菌感染。然后，我们将使用这些数据，结合其他数据从生物多样性探索，测试如何发生频率和丰富的物种与功能根性状，是否有功能根性状和环境变量之间的匹配，如土地利用强度，以及如何地下功能多样性的措施与地上功能多样性和生态系统功能。

Many of the processes that determine the distributions of plant species and the functioning of ecosystems take place belowground. However, while many studies have focussed on aboveground functional traits of plants, belowground functional traits have been largely ignored. Clearly, data on root traits of large numbers of plant species are needed to better understand biodiversity patterns. Therefore, we propose to assess root functional traits and fungal endophyte infection for the approximately 350 flowering plant species that occur in the 150 grassland experimental plots (EPs) of the Biodiversity Exploratories. In several experiments, plants of these species will be grown to measure root morphology, plasticity in root morphology (in response to fertilizer addition), net uptake capacities of different nitrogen forms and fungal endophyte infection. We will then use these data, in combination with other data from the Biodiversity Exploratories, to test how occurrence frequency and abundance of the species relates to functional root traits, whether there is a match between functional root traits and environmental variables, such as land-use intensity, and how measures of belowground functional diversity relate to aboveground functional diversity and ecosystem functions.