Goal
The overarching idea for the workshop is to derive a conceptual framework evaluating the potential importance of the root collaboration gradient - as the new part of the root economics space (RES; Bergmann et al 2020; Weigelt et al 2021) - for plant community performance and ecosystem function. Our new addition to the RES allows us to place species along a collaboration gradient from species that ‘do it yourself’ for their resource acquisition strategy to species that ‘outsource’ resource acquisition to mycorrhizal fungi. Thus, our central question is: how do interactions among ‘do-it-yourself’ and ‘outsourcing’ plant species within a plant community affect: 1) performance of the community over time and 2) ecosystem functioning. In essence, we aim to move from understanding species-specific root trait variation to understanding the functional role of root trait variation in interactions with other species, as well as the implications for ecosystem function.
Organising Committee
Alexandra Weigelt, Leipzig University
Liesje Mommer, Wageningen University & Research