APPLICATIONS OF MINIRHIZOTRONS TO UNDERSTAND ROOT FUNCTION IN FORESTSAND OTHER NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS

Minirhizotrons have proved useful to understand the dynamics and funct ion of fine roots. However, they have been used comparatively infreque ntly in forests and other natural plant communities. Several factors h ave contributed to this situation, including anomalous root distributi ons along the minirhizotron surface and the difficulty of extracting d ata from minirhizotron images. Technical and methodological advances h ave ameliorated some of these difficulties, and minirhizotrons have co nsiderable potential to address some questions of long standing intere st. These questions include more fully understanding the role of roots in carbon and nutrient cycling, rates of root decomposition, response s to resource availability and the functional significance of interact ions between plant roots and soil organisms. Maximizing the potential for minirhizotrons to help us better understand the functional importa nce of fine roots in natural plant communities depends upon using them to answer only those questions appropriate to both their inherent str engths and limitations.