I always assumed the roots kept growing, so I didn't know that wasn't already an established idea. That kind of strikes me as strange and interesting. I figured it was common sense?
This was extremely evident by the red maple on our curb destroying the sidewalk even through the winter months. Even my dwarf magnolia tree has a notable increase in its trunk size in its dormant phase.
This is still in temperate forests. It still isn't clear to me if this is true where frost lines are feet below the surface. How can the roots grow in frozen soil?
I can imagine root tips advance by thermally or chemically melting ice or frozen soil.