vertical and horizontal distribution of roots in northern hardwood stands of varying age

Coring methods cannot reveal the distribution of roots with depth in rocky soil, and fine roots are typically sampled without regard to the location of trees. We used quantitative soil pits to describe rooting patterns with soil depth and distance to trees in northern hardwood stands. We sited three 0.5 m2 quantitative soil pits in each of three young (19-27 years) and three older (56-69 years) stands developed after clear-cutting. Live roots were divided into diameter classes delimited at 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 100 mm; dead roots were not distinguished by size. Mean total live-root biomass was 2900 ± 500 g·m-2 in older stands and 1500 ± 400 g·m-2 in young stands. The root mass in the 2-20 mm class was 2.7 times greater in the older stands (p = 0.03); fine-root (