The root system of trees has two very important functions: mechanical and physiological.The first is to anchor the plant in the ground, which allows you to maintain an upright posture, the second is to provide the leaves and shoots with water and minerals.In addition, the roots store spare substances (mainly starch) and enable the symbiosis of the tree with specific species of fungi or bacteria (e.g. alder and bean trees produce lumpy thickenings on the roots in which nitrogen bacteria inhabit).
Added to this is the possibility of vegetative reproduction by root suckers. Many trees that grow in groups do not arise from seeds, but vegetatively from root suckers, e.g.willows, poplars, sumacs, wingnuts, holly-trees, black-leaved olive, robin.This method of vegetative reproduction leads to the formation of a maple, i.e. plants with the same characteristics as the mother plant.
Types of root systems
Trees form two basic types of root system: pile, which has one main root growing vertically downwards, from which thinner side roots grow, and bundle, which has many equal, relatively thin roots growing from the base of the plant.Depending on the strength of the main root growth and the location of the lateral roots, the pile system is divided into three types: typical pile, heart-shaped (called oblique) and horizontal (or flat).
Trees with a typical heart-shaped pile root system tend to be more stable as a result of greater root depth and the presence of a thick, strong main root or multiple thick, oblique roots.Most of the trees, however, are species with an extensive but shallow, bundled root system, such as spruce, palm maple, common lilac, warty birch and mossy birch.
They produce a large number of small roots that compete for water and nutrients.Silvery maple, Gingivaria, poplars, willows, Caucasian wingnut, Chinese metasequoia have very "aggressive" roots blowing up pavement tiles or even asph alt. The shallow but sensitive system is formed by pagoda and torsion dogwood and the Japanese pine tree. Apple trees, cherries, sour cherries, Amur cork and London plane tree have a richly branched root system.
Deep root systems
Interestingly, there are practically no fallen pine or oak trees, i.e. trees with a deep, typically piled root system (thanks to the pile root system, pines are famous for exceptional stability even in sandy areas)The deep and well-developed system consists of sycamore maple, black locust, bitter hickory, five-leaf and seven-leafed hickory, edible chestnut, yellow pod, single-necked and two-necked hawthorn, rowan and yew. Common ash is one of the deepest root systems, three-thorns, Canadian clove, mountain snow, white mulberry and elm are deeply rooted.
In poor, dry and well-drained soils, trees generally develop deeper and wider roots than in fertile and moist soils.Pine, oak and other deep-rooted species - when grown in shallow or wetland soils - form a horizontal system, like spruce normally does.Alder growing in fresh soils has an oblique system, while in wet soils - horizontal. The roots of young birch trees sink into an elbow, not too deep below the surface, while older birches have a characteristic heart-shaped root system.
Trees with a spreading crown, growing in an open space, have a much greater mass of roots than trees growing in compactness, and as a result, have a less developed crown. This phenomenon is observed in trees growing in the forest, such as pine, spruce, oak or beech.It should be emphasized that stronger damage to the crown affects the growth of the root system, and stronger root damage inhibits the growth of the above-ground part of the tree.
