Bamboo Expansion Affects the Vertical Distribution and Phenotypic Plasticity of Root Systems of Native Cunninghamia lanceolata and Expanding Phyllostachys edulisin Middle-Southern China

Bamboo Expansion Affects the Vertical Distribution and Phenotypic Plasticity of Root Systems of Native Cunninghamia lanceolata and Expanding Phyllostachys edulisin Middle-Southern China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Bamboo Expansion Affects the Vertical Distribution and Phenotypic Plasticity of Root Systems of Native Cunninghamia lanceolata and Expanding Phyllostachys edulis in Middle-Southern China Zhujun He, Shanshan He, Yuping Liu, Wensheng Ai, Ming Yang, Yong Meng, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3249313/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Bamboo expansion is widely recognized as a major driver of declining native biodiversity; however, the belowground interactions between expanding bamboo and native tree species remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the differences between the expanding species Phyllostachys edulis ( Pe ) and the native species Cunninghamia lanceolata ( Cl ) in terms of vertical root biomass distribution and the phenotypic plasticity of different root orders across various stages of bamboo expansion. Our results showed that as bamboo expansion intensified, Cl exhibited a notable reduction in root biomass density, particularly in the upper soil layers, coupled with increased root allocation in deeper layers. Concurrently, fine roots of Cl displayed significant increases in specific root length (SRL), root length density (RLD), and root specific surface area (RSA). In contrast, the rhizome-based root system of Pe remained relatively stable in biomass but exhibited significantly higher phenotypic plasticity indices for fine roots compared to Cl . Vertically, the two species showed clear root stratification, with Pe dominating the nutrient-rich upper soil layers, while Cl increasingly allocated fine roots to deeper layers. In mixed stands, Cl was consistently outcompeted by Pe in both spatial distribution and morphological plasticity, resulting in compromised nutrient acquisition. These findings provide mechanistic insight into how bamboo expansion alters belowground dynamics and contributes to the decline in native species, thereby reducing community biodiversity from a root system perspective. Forestry Bamboo expansion root system interaction vertical distribution phenotypic plasticity soil environment Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3249313","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":226935250,"identity":"37f36a73-69f2-4ed8-b1c7-477cc6e9ddec","order_by":0,"name":"Zhujun He","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hunan Academy of Forestry","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhujun","middleName":"","lastName":"He","suffix":""},{"id":226935251,"identity":"40f47546-5f39-48da-9977-97bcc1952e45","order_by":1,"name":"Shanshan He","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Forestry Bureau of Changsha 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interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBamboo Expansion Affects the Vertical Distribution and Phenotypic Plasticity of Root Systems of Native \u003c/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCunninghamia lanceolata \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eand Expanding \u003c/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhyllostachys edulis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ein Middle-Southern China\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Bamboo expansion, root system interaction, vertical distribution, phenotypic plasticity, soil environment","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3249313/v2","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3249313/v2","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eBamboo expansion is widely recognized as a major driver of declining native biodiversity; however, the belowground interactions between expanding bamboo and native tree species remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the differences between the expanding species \u003cem\u003ePhyllostachys edulis\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;(\u003cem\u003ePe\u003c/em\u003e) and the native species \u003cem\u003eCunninghamia lanceolata\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;(\u003cem\u003eCl\u003c/em\u003e) in terms of vertical root biomass distribution and the phenotypic plasticity of different root orders across various stages of bamboo expansion. Our results showed that as bamboo expansion intensified, \u003cem\u003eCl\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;exhibited a notable reduction in root biomass density, particularly in the upper soil layers, coupled with increased root allocation in deeper layers. Concurrently, fine roots of \u003cem\u003eCl\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;displayed significant increases in specific root length (SRL), root length density (RLD), and root specific surface area (RSA). In contrast, the rhizome-based root system of \u003cem\u003ePe\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;remained relatively stable in biomass but exhibited significantly higher phenotypic plasticity indices for fine roots compared to \u003cem\u003eCl\u003c/em\u003e. Vertically, the two species showed clear root stratification, with \u003cem\u003ePe\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;dominating the nutrient-rich upper soil layers, while \u003cem\u003eCl\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;increasingly allocated fine roots to deeper layers. In mixed stands, \u003cem\u003eCl\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;was consistently outcompeted by \u003cem\u003ePe\u003c/em\u003e\u0026nbsp;in both spatial distribution and morphological plasticity, resulting in compromised nutrient acquisition. These findings provide mechanistic insight into how bamboo expansion alters belowground dynamics and contributes to the decline in native species, thereby reducing community biodiversity from a root system perspective.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Bamboo Expansion Affects the Vertical Distribution and Phenotypic Plasticity of Root Systems of Native Cunninghamia lanceolata and Expanding Phyllostachys edulisin Middle-Southern China","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":2,"date":"2025-08-15 18:30:53","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3249313/v2","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}},{"code":1,"date":"2023-08-17 02:51:52","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3249313/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"5ec389d1-0240-4558-afe5-cef96c100ce6","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 15th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":53232972,"name":"Forestry"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2023-12-19T09:59:11+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-15 18:30:53","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v2","identity":"rs-3249313","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3249313","identity":"rs-3249313","version":["v2"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}