Spatial heterogeneity of fine root biomass and soil carbon in a California oak savanna illuminates plant functional strategy across periods of high and low resource supply

Abstract We sampled isolated trees and tree clusters from a blue oak, Quercus douglasii, savanna to determine the spatial heterogeneity of fine root biomass and soil carbon across the landscape as a function of tree size and configuration. We aimed to understand how fine root structure enables sustained ecosystem metabolism through a summer of limited moisture and high heat and facilitates resource acquisition during the short period of high resource supply. An additional goal was to provide a basis for upscaling root biomass and soil carbon to the landscape scale. We sampled trees of different size and tree clusters via a stratified sampling scheme that accounted for spatial heterogeneity in root biomass and soil carbon with lateral distance from the tree bole, or cluster centre, and soil depth. We upscaled these estimates using site‐specific information from a lidar survey. We found that fine roots and soil carbon are spatially heterogeneous in their landscape distribution and greatly increase with tree size. We also found that Q. douglasii possesses a dimorphic fine root architecture, uniquely suited to the region's climatic constraints and exhibits morphological plasticity among trees of different size and physical setting. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.