Plant and belowground ecology in natural and managed ecosystems

Special issue in Plant & Soil: Advances in root ecology

Working with Amandine Erktan and Catherine Roument, I am excited to announce the release of our edited special issue in Plant & Soil on advances in root ecology.  Our editorial can be found here, and the full special issue can be accessed by clicking on the button below.

FRED is alive!

We've been working for several years to build a global database of fine-root traits. Lovingly dubbed the Fine-Root Ecology Database (FRED), version 2.0 is now fully available for download. Click the tab below to learn more and get FRED! Once there, you can send us your comments and feedback.  FRED is on a journey and you can help make it better.

Recent Publications

McCormack ML, AS Powell, CM Iversen. Better plant data at the root of ecosystem models. Eos, 2018.

Mueller KE, DR LeCain, ML McCormack, DM Blumenthal, M Carlson, E Pendall. Root responses to climate change in a semiarid grassland: integrating biomass, length, and lifespan in a 5-year field experiment. Journal of Ecology, In press.

Erktan A*, ML McCormack*, C Roumet*, Editorial: Frontiers in root ecology: recent advances and future challenges. Plant and Soil, 424: 1-9 (2018).

Mao Z, Y Wang, ML McCormack , N Rowe, X Deng, X Yang, S Xia, J Nespoulous, RC Sidle, D Guo, A Stokes. Mechanical properties of fine roots are determined by morphological and anatomical traits. Annals of Botany, in press.

Ma Z, D Guo, X Xu, M Lu, RD Bardgett, DM Eissenstat, ML McCormack, LO Hedin. Evolutionary history resolves global organization of root functional traits. Nature, 555: 94-97 (2018).

Zhu K*, ML McCormack*, RA Lankau, JF Egan, N Wurzburger. Soil carbon and nitrogen relate to mycorrhizal association of forest trees across eastern North America. Journal of Ecology, 106: 524-535 (2018). *Authors contributed equally to this work.

Li H, B Liu, ML McCormack, B Zhu, Z Ma, D Guo. Diverse belowground resource strategies underlie plant species coexistence and spatial distribution. New Phytologist, 216: 1140-1150 (2017).

McCormack ML, D Guo, CM Iversen, W Chen, DM Eissenstat, CW Fernandez, L Li,  C Ma, Z Ma, H Poorter, PB Reich, M Zadworny, AE Zanne. Building a better foundation: Improving root-trait measurements to understand and model plant and ecosystem processes. New Phytologist, 215: 27-37 (2017).

​Iversen CM, ML McCormack, AS Powell, CB Blackwood, GT Freschet, J Kattge, C Roumet, DB Stover, NA Soudzilovskaia, OJ Valverde-Barrantes, PM van Bodegom, C Violle. A global Fine-Root Ecology Database to address belowground challenges in plant ecology. New Phytologist, 215: 15-26 (2017).
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​McCormack ML, CW Fernandez, H Brooks, SG Pritchard. Production dynamics of Cenococcum geophilum ectomycorrhizas in response to long-term elevated CO2 and N fertilization. Fungal Ecology, 26: 11-19 (2017).

Zadworny M, ML McCormack, R Żytkowiak, P Karolewski, J Mucha, J Oleksyn. Patterns of structural and defense investments in fine roots of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) across strong temperature and latitudinal gradient in Europe. Global Change Biology, 23: 1218-1231 (2017).

*Denotes equal contribution among authors