**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** PLANTS ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE EARTH'S CRITICAL ZONE, LINKING THE ATMOSPHERE, HYDROSPHERE, LITHOSPHERE, AND BIOSPHERE. BELOWGROUND ORGANS MEDIATE PLANT RESPONSES TO DROUGHT, CLIMATE CHANGE, FIRE, GRAZING, AND OTHER DISTURBANCES AND ARE THE LEAST-STUDIED PORTION OF THE BIOSPHERE (KLIMEŠOVÁ ET AL. 2018). ROOTS AND BELOWGROUND STEMS (E.G., RHIZOMES AND TUBERS) ACQUIRE AND STORE NUTRIENTS AND SUPPORT BELOWGROUND BUDS (I.E., MERISTEMS) THAT ENABLE PLANTS TO REGENERATE FOLLOWING DORMANT SEASONS OR DISTURBANCE (KLIMEŠOVÁ AND KLIMEŠ 2007, OTT ET. AL 2019). THEREFORE, UNDERSTANDING RANGELAND AND FOREST HEALTH AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, SUCH AS CARBON STORAGE, NUTRIENT CYCLING, AND FORAGE PRODUCTION, OFTEN DEPENDS ON PRECISE MEASUREMENTS OF BELOWGROUND TRAITS OF HERBACEOUS PLANTS. METHODOLOGIES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO EVALUATE BELOWGROUND PLANT TRAITS AND THEIR RESPONSE TO DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION PRACTICES THAT WOULD IMPROVE SYSTEM RESILIENCE AND SERVICES (KLIMEŠOVÁ ET AL. 2019). AMERICAN SCIENTISTS TOGETHER WITH COLLEAGUES FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC (CZECH ACADEMY OF SCIENCE- INSTITUTE OF BOTANY(CAS-IOB)) HAVE LED INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO DEFINE BELOWGROUND TRAITS RELATED TO REGENERATION, DOCUMENT METHODOLOGIES TO EVALUATE BELOWGROUND PLANT TRAITS, AND EXAMINE HOW BELOWGROUND TRAITS CONTRIBUTE TO SYSTEM FORM AND FUNCTION. WE AIM TO DISCUSS AND TEACH CURRENT BELOWGROUND TRAIT DEFINITIONS, METHODOLOGIES OF THEIR MEASUREMENT, AND HOW THEY CONTRIBUTE TO SYSTEM FORM AND FUNCTION. BELOWGROUND PLANT TRAITS ARE KEY TO MAINTAINING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THEIR AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS AND THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS THEY RELY ON - A GOAL MATCHING THAT OF THE BIOENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM AREA.

Forest Service, Washington DC

Investigators