Contrasting phenology of Eucalyptus grandis fine roots in upper and very deep soil layers in Brazil

Background and aims While the role of deep roots in major ecosystem services has been shown for tropical forests, there have been few direct measurements of fine root dynamics at depths of more than 2 m. The factors influencing root phenology remain poorly understood, creating a gap in the knowledge required for predicting the effects of climate change. We set out to gain an insight into the fine root phenology of fast-growing trees in deep tropical soils.