Root Biology Lab at
The Morton Arboretum

A starting guide to root ecology!

Beyond the classical compilation of measurement protocols, a team of us root folks have synthesised recommendations from the literature to provide key background knowledge.  This is an epic work led by Grégoire Freschet and with tremendous support from New Phytologist. 

Recent Publications

Freschet GT, L Pagès, CM Iversen, LH Comas, B Rewald, C Roumet, L Klimešová, M Zadworny, H Poorter, JA Postma, TS Adams, A Bagniewska-Zadworna, AG Bengough, EB Blancaflor, I Brunner, JHC Cornelissen, E Garnier, A Gessler, E Hobbie, IC Meier, L Mommer, C Picon-Cochard, L Rose, P Ryser, M Scherer-Lorenzen, NA Soudzilovskaia, A Stokes, T Sun, OJ Valverde-Barrantes, M Weemstra, A Weigelt, N Wurzburger, LM York, SA Batterman, M Gomes de Moraes, Š Janeček, H Lambers, V Salmon, N Tharayil, and McCormack, M.L. (2021), A starting guide to root ecology: strengthening ecological concepts and standardising root classification, sampling, processing and trait measurements. New Phytologist, 232: 973-1122 (2021).
​

Wang J, C Defrenne, ML McCormack, L Yang, D Tian, Y Luo, E Hou, T Yan, Z Li, W Bu, Y Chen, S Niu. Fine-root functional trait responses to experimental warming: a global meta-analysis. New Phytologist (2021).

Hu H, FL Li, ML McCormack, L Huang, WK Bao. Functionally divergent growth, biomass allocation and root distribution of two xerophytic species in response to varying soil rock fragment content. Plant and Soil (2021).
​
Freschet G, C Roumet, LH Comas, M Weemstra, AG Bengough, B Rewald, RD Bardgett, GB De Deyn, D Johnson, J Klimešová, M Lukac, ML McCormack, IC Meier, L Pagès, H Poorter, I Prieto, N Wurzburger, M Zadworny, A Bagniewska‐Zadworna, EB Blancaflor, I Brunner, A Gessler, SE Hobbie, CM Iversen, L Mommer, C Picon‐Cochard, JA Postma, L Rose, P Ryser, M Scherer‐Lorenzen, NA Soudzilovskaia, T Sun, OJ Valverde‐Barrantes, A Weigelt, LM York, A Stokes. Root traits as drivers of plant and ecosystem functioning: current understanding, pitfalls and future research needs. New Phytologist (2021).

McCormack ML*, MA Kaproth*, E Carlson, J Cavender-Bares, PG Kennedy. Fine-root morphology and architecture are interconnected among root orders but are unrelated to climate of origin across a diverse suite of oak species. New Phytologist, 228: 1824-1834 (2020). 

Li FL, ML McCormack, X Liu, H Hu, DF Feng, WK Bao. Vertical fine-root distributions in five subalpine forest types shifts with soil properties across environmental gradients. Plant and Soil 456: 129-143 (2020).

Guerrero-Ramirez N, Mommer L, Freschet GT, Iversen CM, McCormack ML, Kattge J, Poorter H, van der Plas F, Bergmann J, Kuyper TW, ... A Weigelt. Global Root Traits (GRooT) Database. Global Ecology and Biogeography 30: 25-37 (2020).

Bergmann J, A Weigelt, F van der Plas, DC Laughlin, TW Kuyper, N Guerrero-Rameriz, OJ Valverde-Barrantes, H Bruelheide, GT Freschet, CM Iversen, J Kattge, ML McCormack, IC Meier, MC Rillig, C Roumet, M Semchenko, CJ Sweeney, J van Ruijven, LM York, L Mommer, The fungal collaboration gradient dominates the root economics space in plants. Science Advances, 6: eaba3756 (2020).