Root Biology Lab at
The Morton Arboretum

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Recent Lab Publications

Yang Y, ML McCormack, FL Li, W Bao, N Wu, H Hu, Y Wu, Z Wang, D Wei, T Yang, X Li. Variation in root hair traits in 75 xerophytic species: Constraints of phylogeny, trait trade-offs and environment. Functional Ecology (2025).

Wang S, LH Comas, PB Reich, ML McCormack, RP Phillips, J Gu, T Sun. Variation of root resource acquisition and conservation strategies in a temperate forest is linked with plant growth forms. Tree Physiology, tpaf027 (2025).

Wang D, GT Freschet, ML McCormack, H Lambers, J Gu. Nutrient resorption of leaves and roots coordinates with root nutrient‐acquisition strategies in a temperate forest. New Phytologist, 246: 515-527.

Campioli M, LJ Marchand, C Zahnd, P Zuccarini, ML McCormack, D Landuyt, E Lorer, N Delpierre, J Gričar, Y Vitasse. Environmental Sensitivity and Impact of Climate Change on leaf‑, wood‑ and root Phenology for the Overstory and Understory of Temperate Deciduous Forests. Current Forestry Reports 11: (2025).

Patrick K, M Lo, CM Rigsby, CE Rosenfeld, ML McCormack. Fine-Root Responses of Two Maple and Two Magnolia Species to Waterlogging. Arboriculture and Urban Forestry 50: (2024).

Dybzinski R, E Segal, ML McCormack, CR Rollinson, R Mascarenhas, P Giambuzzi, J Rivera, L Fitzpatrick, C Wiggins, MG Midgley. Calculating Nitrogen Uptake Rates in Forests: Which Components Can Be Omitted, Simplified, or Taken from Trait Databases and Which Must Be Measured In Situ? Ecosystems, Ecosystems 27: 739-763 (2024).

Langguth JR, M Zadworny, K Andraczek, M Lo, N Tran, K Patrick, J Mucha, KE Mueller, and ML McCormack. Gymnosperms demonstrate patterns of fine-root trait coordination consistent with the global root economics space. Journal of Ecology 12: 1425-1439 (2024).

Hou J, ML McCormack, PB Reich, T Sun, RP Phillips, H Lambers, HYH Chen, Y Ding, LH Comas, OJ Valverde-Barrantes, EF Solly, GT Freschet. Linking fine root lifespan to root chemical and morphological traits—A global analysis. PNAS 121: e2320623121 (2024).

Xia M, ML McCormack, V Suseela, P Kennedy, N Tharayil. Formations of mycorrhizal symbiosis alter the phenolic heteropolymers in roots and leaves of four temperate woody species. New Phytologist 242: 1476-1485 (2024).

Medina N, J Vandermeer. Developing systems theory in soil agroecology: incorporating heterogeneity and dynamic instability. Frontiers in Environmental Science. Volume 11 (2023).

Medina N, L Schmitt, I Perfecto, J Vandermeer. Above- and below-ground links mediated by arboreal ants and host tree modify soil aggregation scaling, infiltration, and chemistry. bioRxiv.