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.