scholarly journals Hydrologic regulation of plant rooting depth: Breakthrough or observational conundrum?

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (12) ◽  
pp. E2669-E2670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Pierret ◽  
Guillaume Lacombe
Keyword(s):  
Rooting Depth ◽  
Hydrologic Regulation

scholarly journals Hydrologic regulation of plant rooting depth

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (40) ◽  
pp. 10572-10577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Fan ◽  
Gonzalo Miguez-Macho ◽  
Esteban G. Jobbágy ◽  
Robert B. Jackson ◽  
Carlos Otero-Casal
Keyword(s):  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Rooting Depth ◽  
Infiltration Depth ◽  
Deep Soil ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Local Soil ◽  
Bedrock Weathering ◽  
Hydrologic Regulation ◽  
Topographic Positions

Plant rooting depth affects ecosystem resilience to environmental stress such as drought. Deep roots connect deep soil/groundwater to the atmosphere, thus influencing the hydrologic cycle and climate. Deep roots enhance bedrock weathering, thus regulating the long-term carbon cycle. However, we know little about how deep roots go and why. Here, we present a global synthesis of 2,200 root observations of >1,000 species along biotic (life form, genus) and abiotic (precipitation, soil, drainage) gradients. Results reveal strong sensitivities of rooting depth to local soil water profiles determined by precipitation infiltration depth from the top (reflecting climate and soil), and groundwater table depth from below (reflecting topography-driven land drainage). In well-drained uplands, rooting depth follows infiltration depth; in waterlogged lowlands, roots stay shallow, avoiding oxygen stress below the water table; in between, high productivity and drought can send roots many meters down to the groundwater capillary fringe. This framework explains the contrasting rooting depths observed under the same climate for the same species but at distinct topographic positions. We assess the global significance of these hydrologic mechanisms by estimating root water-uptake depths using an inverse model, based on observed productivity and atmosphere, at 30″ (∼1-km) global grids to capture the topography critical to soil hydrology. The resulting patterns of plant rooting depth bear a strong topographic and hydrologic signature at landscape to global scales. They underscore a fundamental plant–water feedback pathway that may be critical to understanding plant-mediated global change.

Extension and Longitudinal Growth During the Development of Red Pine Root Systems

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. F. Fayle
Keyword(s):  
Root System ◽  
Root Systems ◽  
Red Pine ◽  
Longitudinal Growth ◽  
Rooting Depth ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Moisture Availability ◽  
Below Ground

Extension of the root system and stem during the first 30 years of growth of plantation-grown red pine (Pinusresinosa Ait.) on four sites was deduced by root and stem analyses. Maximum rooting depth was reached in the first decade and maximum horizontal extension of roots was virtually complete between years 15 and 20. The main horizontal roots of red pine seldom exceed 11 m in length. Elongation of vertical and horizontal roots was examined in relation to moisture availability and some physical soil conditions. The changing relations within the tree in lineal dimensions and annual elongation of the roots and stem are illustrated. The development of intertree competition above and below ground is considered.

scholarly journals Root-Plate Characteristics of Common Aspen in Hemiboreal Forests of Latvia: A Case Study

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Valters Samariks ◽  
Dace Brizga ◽  
Jeļena Rūba ◽  
Andris Seipulis ◽  
Āris Jansons
Keyword(s):  
Root System ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Belowground Biomass ◽  
Rooting Depth ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Coarse Roots ◽  
Root Plate

Climate change will cause winds to strengthen and storms to become more frequent in Northern Europe. Windstorms reduce the financial value of forests by bending, breaking, or uprooting trees, and wind-thrown trees cause additional economic losses. The resistance of trees to wind damage depends on tree species, tree- and stand-scale parameters, and root-soil plate characteristics such as root-plate size, weight, and rooting depth. The root-soil plate is a complex structure whose mechanical strength is dependent on root-plate width and depth, as the root system provides root attachment with soil and structural support. In Latvia, the common aspen (Populus tremula L.) root system has been studied to develop a belowground biomass model, because information about root system characteristics in relation to tree wind resistance is scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the root-plate dimensions of common aspen stands on fertile mineral soil (luvisol). Study material was collected in the central region of Latvia, where pure mature (41–60 years old) common aspen stands were randomly selected, and dominant trees within the stand were chosen. In total, ten sample trees from ten stands were uprooted. The diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree height (H) were measured for each sample tree, and their roots were excavated, divided into groups, washed, measured, and weighed. The highest naturally moist biomass values were observed for coarse roots, and fine root biomass was significantly lower compared to other root groups. All root group biomass values had a strong correlation with the tree DBH. The obtained results show that there is a close, negative relationship between the relative distance from the stem and the relative root-plate depth distribution.

How forests change transit times of transpiration, evaporation and streamflow – a modeling approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Heidbüchel ◽  
Jie Yang ◽  
Jan H. Fleckenstein
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area Index ◽  
Leaf Area ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Rooting Depth ◽  
Water Fluxes ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Transit Times ◽  
Physically Based ◽  
Forested Areas ◽  
The Individual

<p>In a recent paper we investigated how different catchment and climate properties influence transit time distributions. This was done by employing a physically-based spatially explicit 3D model in a virtual catchment running many different scenarios with different combinations of catchment and climate properties. We found that the velocity distribution of water fluxes through a catchment is more sensitive to certain properties while other factors appear less relevant. Now we expanded the approach by adding vegetation to the model and thus introducing new hydrologic processes (transpiration and evaporation) to the simulated water cycle. On the one hand we wanted to know how these new processes would influence transit times of the water fluxes to the stream, on the other hand we were interested in how exactly differences in the vegetation itself (e.g. rooting depth and leaf area index) would alter the various flux velocities (including transit times of transpiration and evaporation). It was very interesting to observe that streamflow in forested areas appeared to become older on average. We also found that transpiration was generally younger if the vegetation had shallower roots and/or a larger leaf area index. The biggest difference in the age of evaporation was detected for different amounts of subsequent precipitation (evaporation was generally younger in a wetter climate). In conclusion, we found that forests influence the age of the different water fluxes within a catchment. According to our results the overall hydrologic cycle is decelerated when adding vegetation to a model that otherwise only simulates evaporation.</p><p>Still, in order to make meaningful predictions on the age of hydrologic fluxes, it is not constructive to single out specific catchment and climate properties. The multitude of influences from different parameters makes it very challenging to find rules and underlying principles in the integrated catchment response. Therefore it is necessary to look at the individual parameters and their potential interactions and interdependencies in a bottom-up approach.</p>

SOIL CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH ABSENCE OR SPARSE DEVELOPMENT OF APPLE ROOTS

1978 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 961-969 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. H. WEBSTER
Keyword(s):  
Soil Condition ◽  
Soil Strength ◽  
Rooting Depth ◽  
Soil Porosity ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Increase With Increase ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Maximum Root ◽  
M 12 ◽  
Root Abundance

Within orchards or groups of similar samples, the abundance of apple roots [Formula: see text] diameter was related to total soil porosity (Sta). Below a boundary soil porosity, roots were sparse or absent, and above this porosity, maximum root abundance tended to increase with increase in soil porosity. Depending upon soil texture, this boundary porosity varied from 29 to 39%. A previously derived model, which estimates boundary soil porosity (Stc) as a function of texture, accounted for most of these differences. If the model was correct, all boundary Sta – Stc values should have been zero and in four of six groups of samples the derived values were zero, + 1 or − 1. The greater departures from the expected in the remaining two groups (− 2 and + 4) may have been due to a tolerance of M. 12 rootstock to poor aeration and incomplete exploitation of potential rooting depth, respectively. With the exception of M. 12, apple roots were sparse or absent in samples with less than 10% air porosity at a tension of 100 cm (S100 cm). Poor development of roots in these samples was predicted by the model. In many samples with S100 cm > 10% there were few or no roots. Soil strength of many samples was within the range known to interfere with root development. For the purpose of recognizing a soil condition that will prevent apple root growth, Sta – Stc appears to be superior to the other criteria examined, i.e. Sta, S100 cm or soil strength.

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