Shifts in root exudate composition coordinate with root resource conservation along an elevation gradient

Abstract Root exudates contain a diverse array of compounds, playing pivotal roles in plant below‐ground resource acquisition and stress resistance. Yet, it remains unclear whether and how root exudate composition coordinates with root traits and contributes to plant below‐ground resource acquisition strategies under changing environments. Here, we collected root exudates from a coniferous species ( Abies georgei Orr) along an elevation gradient and employed a cheminformatics tool to distil metabolic traits of exudate composition to explore their coordination with root resource acquisition strategies. The results revealed a decrease in the chemical richness of root exudates with increasing elevation. Additionally, we observed a reduction in polarity and hydrogen‐bond acceptors, along with increased aromaticity, in the overall metabolic traits of root exudates along the elevation gradient. These changes in metabolic traits reflected a functional shift in root exudate composition from diverse primary metabolites facilitating nutrient mining at lower elevations to relatively more aromatic components that likely serve chemical defence at higher elevations. This pattern aligned with the transition in root strategy from resource conservation with high root tissue density to fast acquisition with high root nitrogen content as elevation increases. Furthermore, the root exudate‐root strategy coordination was driven by changes in air temperature and soil nitrogen availability along the elevation gradient. Synthesis . Our findings provide evidence for the coordination between root exudate composition and classical root traits for resource acquisition along an environmental gradient, advancing our understanding of plant below‐ground resource acquisition strategies under environmental changes.