Functional-structural modelling of root water uptake based on measured MRI images of root systems

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Selzner ◽  
Magdalena Landl ◽  
Andreas Pohlmeier ◽  
Daniel Leitner ◽  
Jan Vanderborght ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Root Architecture ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Richards Equation

<p>In the course of climate change, the occurrence of extreme weather events is expected to increase. Drought tolerance of crops and careful irrigation management are becoming key factors for global food security and the sustainable resource use of water in agriculture. Root water uptake plays a vital role in drought tolerance. It is influenced by root architecture, plant and soil water status and their respective hydraulic properties. Models of said factors aid in organizing the current state of knowledge and enable a deeper understanding of their respective influence on crop performance. Water uptake by roots leads to a decrease in soil moisture and may cause the formation of soil water potential gradients between the bulk soil and the soil-root interface. Although the Richards equation in theory takes these gradients into account, a very fine discretization of the soil domain is necessary to capture these gradients in simulations. However, especially during drought stress, the drop in hydraulic conductivity in the rhizosphere could have a major impact on the overall water uptake of the root system. In order to investigate computationally feasible alternative approaches for simulations with source terms that take these hydraulic conductivity drops into account, we conducted experiments with lupine plants. The root architecture of the growing plants was measured several times using an MRI. Subsequently, these MRI images were used in a holobench for manual tracing of the roots. We were able to mimic the root growth between the measurement dates using linear interpolation. In addition to root architecture, soil water contents and transpiration rates were monitored. We then used this data to systematically compare the computational effort of different approaches to consider the hydraulic conductivity drop near roots in terms of accuracy and computational cost. Eventually we aim at using these results to improve existing root water uptake models for the presence of hydraulic conductivity drops in the rhizosphere in an efficient and accurate way.</p>

Towards the consideration of soil-root resistances in root water uptake models with macroscopic representations of hydraulic root architecture

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Vanderborght ◽  
Valentin Couvreur ◽  
Felicien Meunier ◽  
Andrea Schnepf ◽  
Harry Vereecken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Root System ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Root Distribution ◽  
Root Architecture ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Hydraulic Architecture ◽  
Root Segments ◽  
Soil Volume

<p>Plant water uptake from soil is an important component of terrestrial water cycle with strong links to the carbon cycle and the land surface energy budget. To simulate the relation between soil water content, root distribution, and root water uptake, models should represent the hydraulics of the soil-root system and describe the flow from the soil towards root segments and within the 3D root system architecture according to hydraulic principles. We have recently demonstrated how macroscopic relations that describe the lumped water uptake by all root segments in a certain soil volume, e.g. in a thin horizontal soil layer in which soil water potentials are uniform, can be derived from the hydraulic properties of the 3D root architecture. The flow equations within the root system can be scaled up exactly and the total root water uptake from a soil volume depends on only two macroscopic characteristics of the root system: the root system conductance, K<sub>rs</sub>, and the uptake distribution from the soil when soil water potentials in the soil are uniform, <strong>SUF</strong>. When a simple root hydraulic architecture was assumed, these two characteristics were sufficient to describe root water uptake from profiles with a non-uniform water distribution. This simplification gave accurate results when root characteristics were calculated directly from the root hydraulic architecture. In a next step, we investigate how the resistance to flow in the soil surrounding the root can be considered in a macroscopic root water uptake model. We specifically investigate whether the macroscopic representation of the flow in the root architecture, which predicts an effective xylem water potential at a certain soil depth, can be coupled with a model that describes the transfer from the soil to the root using a simplified representation of the root distribution in a certain soil layer, i.e. assuming a uniform root distribution.</p>

Leaf Gas Exchange and Water Relations of Lupins and Wheat. II. Root and Shoot Water Relations of Lupin During Drought-Induced Stomatal Closure

1989 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 415 ◽  
Author(s):  
CR Jensen ◽  
IE Henson ◽  
NC Turner
Keyword(s):  
Water Potential ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Transport ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Water Relations ◽  
Leaf Gas Exchange ◽  
Stomatal Closure ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Leaf Conductance

Plants of Lupinus cosentinii Guss. cv. Eregulla were grown in a sandy soil in large containers in a glasshouse and exposed to drought by withholding water. Under these conditions stomatal closure had previously been shown to be initiated before a significant reduction in leaf water potential was detected. In the experiments reported here, no significant changes were found in water potential or turgor pressure of roots or leaves when a small reduction in soil water potential was induced which led to a 60% reduction in leaf conductance. The decrease in leaf conductance and root water uptake closely paralleled the fraction of roots in wet soil. By applying observed data of soil water and root characteristics, and root water uptake for whole pots in a single-root model, the average water potential at the root surface was calculated. Potential differences for water transport in the soil-plant system, and the resistances to water flow were estimated using the 'Ohm's Law' analogy for water transport. Soil resistance was negligible or minor, whereas the root resistance accounted for 61-72% and the shoot resistance accounted for about 30% of the total resistance. The validity of the measurements and calculations is discussed and the possible role of root- to-shoot communication raised.

scholarly journals Diurnal variation in xylem water isotopic signature biases depth of root-water uptake estimates

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes De Deurwaerder ◽  
Marco D. Visser ◽  
Matteo Detto ◽  
Pascal Boeckx ◽  
Félicien Meunier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diurnal Variation ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Sap Flow ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Isotopic Signature ◽  
Stem Length ◽  
Individual Plant ◽  
List Type

SummaryStable water isotopes are a powerful and widely used tool to derive the depth of root water uptake (RWU) in lignified plants. Uniform xylem water isotopic signature (i-H2O-xyl) along the length of a lignified plant is a central assumption, which has never been properly evaluated.Here we studied the effects of diurnal variation in RWU, sap flow velocity and various other soil and plant parameters on i-H2O-xyl signature within a plant using a mechanistic plant hydraulic model.Our model predicts significant variation in i-H2O-xyl along the full length of an individual plant arising from diurnal RWU fluctuations and vertical soil water heterogeneity. Moreover, significant differences in i-H2O-xyl emerge between individuals with different sap flow velocities. We corroborated our model predictions with field observations from French Guiana and northwestern China. Modelled i-H2O-xyl varied considerably along stem length ranging up to 18.3‰ in δ2H and 2.2‰ in δ18O, largely exceeding the range of measurement error.Our results show clear violation of the fundamental assumption of uniform i-H2O-xyl and occurrence of significant biases when using stable isotopes to assess RWU. As a solution, we propose to include monitoring of sap flow and soil water potential for more robust RWU depth estimates.

scholarly journals Diurnal variation in the isotope composition of plant xylem water biases the depth of root-water uptake estimates

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes P. T. De Deurwaerder ◽  
Marco D. Visser ◽  
Matteo Detto ◽  
Pascal Boeckx ◽  
Félicien Meunier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diurnal Variation ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Stem Length ◽  
Sap Flux ◽  
Sap Flux Density ◽  
Water Isotopologues

Abstract. 1. Stable isotopologues of water are a widely used tool to derive the depth of root water uptake (RWU) in lignified plants. Uniform isotope composition of plant xylem water (i-H2O-xyl) along the stem length is a central assumption, which has never been properly evaluated. 2. We studied the effects of diurnal variation in RWU, sap flux density and various other soil and plant parameters on i-H2O-xyl within a plant using a mechanistic plant hydraulic model and empirical field observations from French Guiana and northwestern China. 3. Our model predicts significant i-H2O-xyl variation arising from diurnal RWU fluctuations and vertical soil water heterogeneity. Moreover, significant differences in i-H2O-xyl emerge between individuals with different sap flux densities. In line with model predictions, field data show excessive i-H2O-xyl variation during the day or along stem length ranging up to 25.2 ‰ in δ2H and 6.8 ‰ in δ18O, largely exceeding the measurement error range. 4. Our work show that the fundamental assumption of uniform i-H2O-xyl is violated both theoretically and empirically and therefore a real danger exists of significant biases when using stable water isotopologues to assess RWU. We propose to include monitoring of sap flow and soil water potential for more robust RWU depth estimates.

scholarly journals From hydraulic root architecture models to macroscopic representations of root hydraulics in soil water flow and land surface models

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Vanderborght ◽  
Valentin Couvreur ◽  
Felicien Meunier ◽  
Andrea Schnepf ◽  
Harry Vereecken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Root Architecture ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Land Surface Models ◽  
Surface Models ◽  
Root Model ◽  
Soil Water Flow

Abstract. Root water uptake is an important process in the terrestrial water cycle. How this process depends on soil water content, root distributions, and root properties is a soil-root hydraulic problem. We compare different approaches to implement root hydraulics in macroscopic soil water flow and land surface models. By upscaling a three dimensional hydraulic root architecture model, we derived an exact macroscopic root hydraulic model. The macroscopic model uses three characteristics: the root system conductance, Krs, the standard uptake fraction, SUF, that represents the uptake from a soil profile with a uniform hydraulic head, and a compensatory matrix that describes the redistribution of water uptake in a non-uniform hydraulic head profile. Two characteristics, Krs and SUF, are sufficient to describe the total uptake as a function of the collar and soil water potential; and water uptake redistribution does not depend on the total uptake or collar water potential. We compared the exact model with two hydraulic root models that make a-priori simplifications of the hydraulic root architecture: the parallel and big root model. The parallel root model uses only two characteristics, Krs and SUF, that can be calculated directly following a bottom up approach from the 3D hydraulic root architecture. The big root model uses more parameters than the parallel root model but these parameters cannot be obtained straightforwardly with a bottom up approach. The big root model was parameterized using a top down approach, i.e. directly from root segment hydraulic properties assuming a-priori a single big root architecture. This simplification of the hydraulic root architecture led to less accurate descriptions of root water uptake than by the parallel root model. To compute root water uptake in macroscopic soil water flow and land surface models, we recommend the use of the parallel root model with Krs and SUF computed in a bottom up approach from a known 3D root hydraulic architecture.

scholarly journals From hydraulic root architecture models to macroscopic representations of root hydraulics in soil water flow and land surface models

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 4835-4860
Author(s):  
Jan Vanderborght ◽  
Valentin Couvreur ◽  
Felicien Meunier ◽  
Andrea Schnepf ◽  
Harry Vereecken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Root Architecture ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Land Surface Models ◽  
Surface Models ◽  
Root Model ◽  
Soil Water Flow

Abstract. Root water uptake is an important process in the terrestrial water cycle. How this process depends on soil water content, root distributions, and root properties is a soil–root hydraulic problem. We compare different approaches to implement root hydraulics in macroscopic soil water flow and land surface models. By upscaling a three-dimensional hydraulic root architecture model, we derived an exact macroscopic root hydraulic model. The macroscopic model uses the following three characteristics: the root system conductance, Krs, the standard uptake fraction, SUF, which represents the uptake from a soil profile with a uniform hydraulic head, and a compensatory matrix that describes the redistribution of water uptake in a non-uniform hydraulic head profile. The two characteristics, Krs and SUF, are sufficient to describe the total uptake as a function of the collar and soil water potential, and water uptake redistribution does not depend on the total uptake or collar water potential. We compared the exact model with two hydraulic root models that make a priori simplifications of the hydraulic root architecture, i.e., the parallel and big root model. The parallel root model uses only two characteristics, Krs and SUF, which can be calculated directly following a bottom-up approach from the 3D hydraulic root architecture. The big root model uses more parameters than the parallel root model, but these parameters cannot be obtained straightforwardly with a bottom-up approach. The big root model was parameterized using a top-down approach, i.e., directly from root segment hydraulic properties, assuming a priori a single big root architecture. This simplification of the hydraulic root architecture led to less accurate descriptions of root water uptake than by the parallel root model. To compute root water uptake in macroscopic soil water flow and land surface models, we recommend the use of the parallel root model with Krs and SUF computed in a bottom-up approach from a known 3D root hydraulic architecture.

scholarly journals Implementing small scale processes at the soil-plant interface – the role of root architectures for calculating root water uptake profiles

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Schneider ◽  
S. Attinger ◽  
J.-O. Delfs ◽  
A. Hildebrandt
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Root Systems ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Bulk Soil ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Sink Term

Abstract. In this paper, we present a stand alone root water uptake model called aRoot, which calculates the sink term for any bulk soil water flow model taking into account water flow within and around a root network. The boundary conditions for the model are the atmospheric water demand and the bulk soil water content. The variable determining the plant regulation for water uptake is the soil water potential at the soil-root interface. In the current version, we present an implementation of aRoot coupled to a 3-D Richards model. The coupled model is applied to investigate the role of root architecture on the spatial distribution of root water uptake. For this, we modeled root water uptake for an ensemble (50 realizations) of root systems generated for the same species (one month old Sorghum). The investigation was divided into two Scenarios for aRoot, one with comparatively high (A) and one with low (B) root radial resistance. We compared the results of both aRoot Scenarios with root water uptake calculated using the traditional Feddes model. The vertical rooting density profiles of the generated root systems were similar. In contrast the vertical water uptake profiles differed considerably between individuals, and more so for Scenario B than A. Also, limitation of water uptake occurred at different bulk soil moisture for different modeled individuals, in particular for Scenario A. Moreover, the aRoot model simulations show a redistribution of water uptake from more densely to less densely rooted layers with time. This behavior is in agreement with observation, but was not reproduced by the Feddes model.

scholarly journals Implementing small scale processes at the soil-plant interface – the role of root architectures for calculating root water uptake profiles

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 4233-4264 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Schneider ◽  
S. Attinger ◽  
J.-O. Delfs ◽  
A. Hildebrandt
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Root Systems ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Bulk Soil ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Sink Term

Abstract. In this paper, we present a stand alone root water uptake model called aRoot, which calculates the sink term for any bulk soil water flow model taking into account water flow within and around a root network. The boundary conditions for the model are the atmospheric water demand and the bulk soil water content. The variable determining the plant regulation for water uptake is the soil water potential at the soil-root interface. In the current version, we present an implementation of aRoot coupled to a 3-D Richards model. The coupled model is applied to investigate the role of root architecture on the spatial distribution of root water uptake. For this, we modeled root water uptake for an ensemble (50 realizations) of root systems generated for the same species (one month old Sorghum). The investigation was divided into two Scenarios for aRoot, one with comparatively high (A) and one with low (B) root radial resistance. We compared the results of both aRoot Scenarios with root water uptake calculated using the traditional Feddes model. The vertical rooting density profiles of the generated root systems were similar. In contrast the vertical water uptake profiles differed considerably between individuals, and more so for Scenario B than A. Also, limitation of water uptake occurred at different bulk soil moisture for different modeled individuals, in particular for Scenario A. Moreover, the aRoot model simulations show a redistribution of water uptake from more densely to less densely rooted layers with time. This behavior is in agreement with observation, but was not reproduced by the Feddes model.

scholarly journals Formulation of root water uptake in a multi-layer soil-plant model: does van den Honert's equation hold?

1998 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-P. Lhomme
Keyword(s):  
Water Potential ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Transpiration Rate ◽  
Plant Resistance ◽  
Soil Water Potential ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Layer Model ◽  
Ohm’S Law ◽  
Ohm's Law

Abstract. The withdrawal of water from soil by vegetation, which in steady state conditions is equivalent to the transpiration rate, can be written in terms of water potential in the form of an Ohm's law analogy, known as van den Honert's equation: The difference between an effective soil water potential and the bulk canopy water potential is divided by an effective soil-plant resistance. This equation is commonly used, but little is known about the precise definition of its parameters. The issue of this paper is to bridge the gap between the bulk approach and a multi-layer description of soil-plant water transfer by interpreting the bulk parameters in terms of the characteristics of the multi-layer approach. Water flow through an elementary path within the soil or the root is assumed to follow an Ohm's law analogy, and the soil and root characterisics are allowed to vary with depth. Starting from the basic equations of the multi-layer approach, it is proved that the total rate of transpiration can also be expressed in the form of an Ohm's law analogy. This means that van den Honert's equation holds at canopy scale, insofar as the assumptions made on the physics of root water uptake hold. In the bulk formulation derived, the effective soil-plant resistance appears as a combination of the elementary resistances making up the multi-layer model; and the effective soil water potential is a weighted mean of the water potentials in each soil layer, the weighting system involving the complete set of elementary resistances. Simpler representations of soil-plant interaction leading to Ohm's law type formulations are also examined: a simplified multi-layer model, in which xylem (root axial) resistance is neglected, and a bulk approach, in which soil-root interaction is represented by only one layer. Numerical simulations performed in different standard conditions show that these simpler representations do not provide accurate estimates of the transpiration rate, when compared to the values obtained by the complete algorithm.

scholarly journals Analysis of Soil Water Response to Grass Transpiration

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (No. 3) ◽  
pp. 85-98
Author(s):  
Dohnal Michal ◽  
Dušek Jaromír ◽  
Vogel Tomáš ◽  
Herza Jiří
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Uptake ◽  
Preferential Flow ◽  
Water Movement ◽  
Control Volume ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Lower Boundary ◽  
Root Water Uptake ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Soil Water Dynamics

This paper focuses on numerical modelling of soil water movement in response to the root water uptake that is driven by transpiration. The flow of water in a lysimeter, installed at a grass covered hillslope site in a small headwater catchment, is analysed by means of numerical simulation. The lysimeter system provides a well defined control volume with boundary fluxes measured and soil water pressure continuously monitored. The evapotranspiration intensity is estimated by the Penman-Monteith method and compared with the measured lysimeter soil water loss and the simulated root water uptake. Variably saturated flow of water in the lysimeter is simulated using one-dimensional dual-permeability model based on the numerical solution of the Richards’ equation. The availability of water for the root water uptake is determined by the evaluation of the plant water stress function, integrated in the soil water flow model. Different lower boundary conditions are tested to compare the soil water dynamics inside and outside the lysimeter. Special attention is paid to the possible influence of the preferential flow effects on the lysimeter soil water balance. The adopted modelling approach provides a useful and flexible framework for numerical analysis of soil water dynamics in response to the plant transpiration.

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