Tropical Root Trait (TropiRoot)

New Phytologist: Vol 248, No 4 New Phytologist is an international journal owned by the New Phytologist Foundation publishing original research in plant science and its applications.

🆕 Our #LatestIssue is online now!

📚 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14698137...

Highlights include:
🌱 #Lithium in #plants
🌱 Coordination of cortex modifications
🌱 Unlocking grass #leaf development

#PlantScience

We are gathering momentum for @tropiroot.bsky.social activities. It’s an exciting time to join us if you’re interested in root traits in the tropics! 🌴🌳🌵🌱🪾🌾

Participants #RachelSelman, #SarahBatterman, #CamilaPizano, #FenellaMawdsley #LindsayMcCulloch, #RonGeurts, #PedroMagno, #AnneOla, #KevinMganga, #AmitKumar, #DaniYaffar, #ChloeGehret, #ClaireFortunel, #Meghna

@jbfisher.bsky.social @josephtumber.bsky.social @larrymyork.phenotyper.com @smithmartin.bsky.social #NicholasMedina #MingYnag #MareliSanchez #LeeDietterich #ShalomAddoDanso #CarolineDallstream #FionaSoper
#OscarValverde-Barrantes, #KateLind, #CarolineCastellon, #ManaswiRaghurama

#Jenniferpowers @laylugli.bsky.social @loutsi.bsky.social @lauratoro.bsky.social @carolmiron.bsky.social @baizalla.bsky.social @kmander7.bsky.social #AmandaCordeiro @daniela-cusack.bsky.social @kaaze7.bsky.social @michellewongca.bsky.social @richphillipslab.bsky.social @cmarin.bsky.social

🌱 Great energy at our TropiRoot Fall 2025 meeting!

Had a wonderful talk and discussions on several ongoing synthesis projects, data initiatives and new ideas for collaborative work on below ground dynamics!

👇 Read more and join us:
🔗 tropiroottrait.github.io/TropiRootTrait

#TropiRoots #Roots

#NExTropics symposia at #ATBC2025 find out the latest from nutrient addition experiments from across the tropics

We have started a LinkedIn group "TropiRoot Trait Initiative".
Please free to join and share your research stories/articles in the group. #tropiroot #tropicalecosystems #ecology
www.linkedin.com/groups/13255...

Shout-out to Hans Reijnen for beautiful footage of the @gdfcf.bsky.social, and the EduMedia department @w-u-r.bsky.social who did an amazing job creating a virtual tropical soil environment! Feel free to use to inspire your students! #ecology #roots #tropicalforest #costarica #tdf

@jbfisher.bsky.social @josephtumber.bsky.social @cmarin.bsky.social @richphillipslab.bsky.social #Nicholas #MingYnag #Teresa #Nohemi @michellewongca.bsky.social #MareliSanchez #LeeFietterich #JeanLuc #ShalomAddoDanso #AnneOla #Brad #Adriana #MattCraig #MaraiNatalia #CarolineDallstream #tropiroots

Many thanks to our members who participated in the meeting. #Jenniferpowers @laylugli.bsky.social #DaniYaffar @loutsi.bsky.social @lauratoro.bsky.social @carolmiron.bsky.social @baizalla.bsky.social #AmandaCordeiro @kmander7.bsky.social @daniela-cusack.bsky.social @kaaze7.bsky.social
#tropiroots

TropiRoot Updates 📢📢📢 TropiRoot held a large group meeting on May 19th, featuring engaging presentations and insightful discussions on various aspects of below-ground traits. If you are interested to joining us or learning more, please visit tropiroottrait.github.io/TropiRootTra... #tropiroots

A new Data Paper in "Ecology"👇

Brandnew out in Ecology, led by @tropiroot.bsky.social member Amanda Longhi!
The TropirRoot root trait database 1.0!!!

Congratulations to Amanda Cordeiro for leading this effort & to all the @tropiroot.bsky.social members who contributed! Putting tropical roots on the map!

Hooray for our new collaborative tropical root data paper from the @tropiroot.bsky.social team!
esajournals-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/doi/pdf/10.1...

New database of tropical root data!!

TropiRoot 1.0: Database of tropical root characteristics across environments Tropical ecosystems contain the world's largest biodiversity of vascular plants. Yet, our understanding of tropical functional diversity and its contribution to global diversity patterns is constrain...

🎉 Our collaborative TropiRoot data paper “TropiRoot 1.0: Database of tropical root characteristics across environments” is out in Ecology! Explore 8,000+ standardized tropical root trait records from 104 studies across 25 countries. Data are freely available ! 🌿 doi.org/10.1002/ecy.... #tropiroots

We're organizing an invited talk series featuring authors of recent publications on roots and belowground dynamics, focusing on their role in shaping aboveground functions and ecosystem processes. Please feel free to comment or email us relevant paper suggestions at tropiroottrait@gmail.com. Thanks

🥳 Congrats to Dr Lee who passed his PhD defense today. Ming Yang is a founding Team Underground student & @tropiroot.bsky.social member who studies root ecology in Southeast Asian tropical forests trying to understand how diverse forests overcome phosphorus limitation.

Great day for undergrad root research with @parched-panama.bsky.social today at CSU! Undergrads Ally Lewis,.Maya McCain and Hailey Tharp did a great job, with my MS student Grace McLaughlin helping advise! GOOOOO tropical root research @tropiroot.bsky.social

Biodiversity–ecosystem function research must consider abundance and not just diversity Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 11 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s44358-025-00040-1Maintaining human well-being in an era of biodiversity loss requires understanding the role of biodiversity in ecosystem function. We argue that absolute abundance can drive ecosystem function and that this measure should be considered alongside traditional measures of biodiversity.

New online! Biodiversity–ecosystem function research must consider abundance and not just diversity

Thinking hard at the @tropiroot.bsky.social leadership meeting about next directions in tropical root research!

Delighted to unveil the poster and speakers list of the Mechanism of Plant Development meeting. 2 keynotes by @bradylabs.bsky.social & @nikogeldner.bsky.social to honour the legacy of P. Benfey & J. Chory. Congrats to @minyaaa.bsky.social for her beautiful Mimulus image.
➡️ tinyurl.com/24fsjq6a

Studying how roots behave. Root dynamics over time in a hyperdiverse tropical forest Oscar J. Valverde, Laynara F. Lugli, Lucia Fuchslueger, Florian Hofhansl, Nathielly Martins, Amanda L. Cordeiro, Karst Schapp, Kelly Anderson, Sabrina Garcia, Adriana Grandis, Carol A. Miron, Katri…

Please feel free to read the quick short summary of the above research article "Studying how roots behave. Root dynamics over time in a hyperdiverse tropical forest" #tropiroots #tropicalforest #fineroots #belowground
fesummaries.wordpress.com/2025/01/07/s...

Rainfall seasonality shapes belowground root trait dynamics in an Amazonian tropical rainforest: A test of the stress‐dominance hypothesis Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

We are happy to share the new research findings on below-ground root trait dynamics, led by TropiRoot members: Oscar Valverde‐Barrantes, @laylugli.bsky.social @loutsi.bsky.social @kmander7.bsky.social @kaaze7.bsky.social
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #fineroots #tropiroots

💻 🌿 Models Explain How Phloem Anatomy Restricts #Root System Architecture Development
by Xiao-Ran Zhou, Andrea Schnepf, Jan Vanderborght, Daniel Leitner, Harry Vereecken, Guillaume Lobet
https://buff.ly/3RqJNoV #CPlantBox #FSPM #PlantScience 🧪