Your path towards ecological understanding

Snow-root ecophysiology

December 19, 2017 Philip Pinzone

(a) C. conorhiza snow-bed right before final thaw in July. (b) Corydalis conorhiza. (c) Fine, fragile snow-roots. (d) C. conorhiza emerging through a network of snow-roots. Onipchenko et al. 2009. — (a) *C. conorhiza* snow-bed right before final thaw in July. (b) *Corydalis conorhiza*. (c) Fine, fragile snow-roots. (d) *C. conorhiza* emerging through a network of snow-roots. Onipchenko et al. 2009.

Alpine plants live in some of the harshest conditions on the planet. This newer study shows that one plant species has two different types of roots that differ in morphology and function.

Willow interactions explain plant distributions in Alpine ecosystems.

November 28, 2017 Philip Pinzone

One of the main alpine willow species found in CO, Salix glauca. — One of the main alpine willow species found in CO, *Salix glauca*.

These series of experiment that took two years to carry out paint a more descriptive picture of what we see in alpine ecosystems. Compared to aboveground interactions, underground interactions have a stronger influence on species distributions in alpine habitats. Once again, we see how strong a force competition is.