Grassland ecosystems account for approximately 40% of terrestrial biomes globally. These communities are characterized by a large allocation to belowground biomass, often exceeding its aboveground counterpart. However, this biomass investment cannot be entirely attributed to the acquisitive function of roots. Grassland plants also allocate to non-acquisitive, stem-derived, belowground organs, such as rhizomes. These organs are responsible for the key plant functions of space occupancy, resprouting after damage, and seasonal rest. However, biomass investment to rhizomes has rarely been studied. Here we gathered community-level aboveground and rhizome biomass data for 52 temperate grasslands in Czech Republic (Central Europe), differing in management intensity. We found that rhizome biomass scaled linearly with aboveground biomass, and more intensive management disproportionally (negatively) affected rhizome biomass. This finding may have important implications for the persistence of temperate grassland plants and their provision of ecosystem services (e.g., soil carbon sequestration, soil stabilization) in relation to changing environments.

中文翻译：

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管理制度对中欧温带草原根茎生物量的强烈影响

草地生态系统约占全球陆地生物群落的 40%。这些社区的特点是大量分配给地下生物量，通常超过其地上对应物。然而，这种生物量投资不能完全归因于根的获得功能。草地植物也分配给非获得性的、茎衍生的、地下器官，如根茎。这些器官负责植物的空间占有、损伤后重新萌发和季节性休息的关键功能。然而，很少研究对根茎的生物质投资。在这里，我们收集了捷克共和国（中欧）52 个温带草原的社区级地上和根茎生物量数据，管理强度不同。我们发现根茎生物量与地上生物量呈线性关系，更密集的管理不成比例地（负面）影响了根茎生物量。这一发现可能对温带草原植物的持久性及其与环境变化相关的生态系统服务（例如，土壤碳固存、土壤稳定）的提供具有重要意义。