In recent years, environmental stressors such as fire, drought, wind, and flooding, consequential of climate change, have affected forest ecosystems and the services they provide. As a result, a large body of literature has rapidly accumulated describing the negative impact of these stressors on the biogeochemical processes that occur in forest ecosystems. The analysis of the effects of these stressors on important aspects of the growth and development of a single tree is a necessary step if we want to increase the resilience of this natural capital at the level of an ecosystem. Unfortunately, to date, the studies have focused mainly upon above-ground organs, while it is clear that any advancement of knowledge depends also upon a deeper knowledge of the impact of these stressors on below-ground organs. This Research Topic intends to fill this gap by analyzing not only the impact of stressors on the important aspect of root growth and development but also how the sum of impacts at the individual level endangers the performance of the whole forest ecosystem. Therefore, we are interested in manuscripts dealing with the:
• Impact of environmental stressors on any aspect of root growth and development
• Impact of environmental stressors on tree stability
• Possibility of root architecture modeling to foresee the effect of stressors on root growth and development
• Improvement of understanding root performance in relation to form and functions
• Biotechnological approach in nurseries to manipulate root plasticity of seedlings with the aim to improve their growth potential after outplanting
• Analysis of root decay and its importance in controlling tree stability, soil erosion, and landslide frequency
• Impact of stressors on turnover of fine and coarse roots, including the effect on carbon sink modeling at the forest ecosystem level
• Effect of stressors on mycorrhiza interaction with root systems
• Importance of roots in urban forestry to mitigate global change
• Relationship that occurs between the root system and soil properties and its importance in deciding the success or failure of afforestation and restoration activities
• How root biology affects forest dynamics
In recent years, environmental stressors such as fire, drought, wind, and flooding, consequential of climate change, have affected forest ecosystems and the services they provide. As a result, a large body of literature has rapidly accumulated describing the negative impact of these stressors on the biogeochemical processes that occur in forest ecosystems. The analysis of the effects of these stressors on important aspects of the growth and development of a single tree is a necessary step if we want to increase the resilience of this natural capital at the level of an ecosystem. Unfortunately, to date, the studies have focused mainly upon above-ground organs, while it is clear that any advancement of knowledge depends also upon a deeper knowledge of the impact of these stressors on below-ground organs. This Research Topic intends to fill this gap by analyzing not only the impact of stressors on the important aspect of root growth and development but also how the sum of impacts at the individual level endangers the performance of the whole forest ecosystem. Therefore, we are interested in manuscripts dealing with the:
• Impact of environmental stressors on any aspect of root growth and development
• Impact of environmental stressors on tree stability
• Possibility of root architecture modeling to foresee the effect of stressors on root growth and development
• Improvement of understanding root performance in relation to form and functions
• Biotechnological approach in nurseries to manipulate root plasticity of seedlings with the aim to improve their growth potential after outplanting
• Analysis of root decay and its importance in controlling tree stability, soil erosion, and landslide frequency
• Impact of stressors on turnover of fine and coarse roots, including the effect on carbon sink modeling at the forest ecosystem level
• Effect of stressors on mycorrhiza interaction with root systems
• Importance of roots in urban forestry to mitigate global change
• Relationship that occurs between the root system and soil properties and its importance in deciding the success or failure of afforestation and restoration activities
• How root biology affects forest dynamics