Roots and Temperature

It is important to understand how roots respond to temperature because roots are important in the regulation of plant adaptation in high temperatures. High temperatures are often limiting to the growth and productivity of plant species. There has not been a lot of research done in terms of root growth/survival mechanisms at high temperatures and therefore how they function under these stressful conditions is not widely understood. They decided to choose the two species because they are both Agrostis species however, A. scabra can withstand high heats whereas A. stolonifera cannot. A. scabra is a C3 plant which has been growing in very high temperatures in Yellowstone National Park. Since it is able to grow in these high heats, scientists believe that there are mechanisms in the root survival of this species that are not understood.