Leena Hamberg (Luke, Helsinki): Early root growth and architecture of fast- and slow-growing Norway spruce (Picea abies) families

1. Seminar on Forest Pathology, 29 March 2017
Natural Resources Institute Finland, Viikki, Helsinki
Early root growth and architecture of fast- and slow-growing
Norway spruce (Picea abies) families differ – potential for
functional adaptation
Leena Hamberg 1
, Sannakajsa M. Velmala 1
, Risto Sievänen 1
, Tuomo Kalliokoski 2, 3
, Taina
Pennanen 1
1
Natural Resources Institute Finland, Helsinki, Finland
2
Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
3
Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Email: leena.hamberg@luke.fi
We investigated the relationship between the growth rate of aboveground parts of trees and
fine root development. One-year-old seedlings belonging to fast- and slow growing Norway
spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) families were included in the study. A novel approach was
used to investigate the spatial extent of root properties from the base of spruce seedlings to
the most distal part of a root. We collected root architecture data of seedlings using the
WinRHIZO™ image analysis system, and statistical analyses were performed using mixed
models. Our results showed that a higher long-term growth rate of the aboveground parts of
Norway spruce trees relates to greater allocation of resources to explorative roots in early
growth phases.