Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.1111/ejss.70266 |
Licence  |
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| Title (Primary) | Root-soil contact as a driver of rhizosphere structure and plant performance traits in contrasting soil structures |
| Author | Phalempin, M.; Lippold, E.
; Vetterlein, D.; Schlüter, S. |
| Source Titel | European Journal of Soil Science |
| Year | 2026 |
| Department | BOSYS |
| Volume | 77 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Page From | e70266 |
| Language | englisch |
| Topic | T5 Future Landscapes |
| Supplements | Supplement 1 |
| Keywords | maize; plant transpiration; root growth; root-soil interaction; shoot growth; soil compaction; soil structure; X-ray CT |
| Abstract |
Root-soil contact is a key factor in determining resource
acquisition in soils; however its influence on the rhizosphere
structure and the emerging plant traits are poorly understood. The
present study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the
coupled dynamics between plant roots and soil structure, with an
emphasis on root-soil contact as a main explanatory variable. We
investigated a fine-textured loam with a deformable soil matrix and a
coarse-textured sand with rigid grains, with various degrees of
compaction, structure heterogeneity, and fraction of fine particles.
Over 21 days, we grew maize plants under well-watered conditions and
monitored plant performance traits. After the growth period, we
extracted undisturbed soil samples and scanned them with high resolution
(10 μm) X-ray CT to characterize root-soil contact and root morphology.
Our results show that in compressible soils, roots deform the
surrounding soil matrix and induce rhizosphere compaction, whereas in
non-compressible soils, the roots undergo deformation as they grow into
zones with pores narrower than themselves. Increased root-soil contact
did not result in increased plant transpiration or shoot biomass. Our
study underscores the complex role of root-soil contact in shaping
resource acquisition, and highlights the need to better understand the
thresholds at which root-soil contact becomes limiting and how this
depends on soil texture. It also emphasizes the influence of soil
structure on root development and shows promising avenues for future
work aimed at linking pore-scale heterogeneity and gas diffusion to root
growth. |
| Persistent UFZ Identifier | https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=31857 |
| Phalempin, M., Lippold, E., Vetterlein, D., Schlüter, S. (2026): Root-soil contact as a driver of rhizosphere structure and plant performance traits in contrasting soil structures Eur. J. Soil Sci. 77 (1), e70266 10.1111/ejss.70266 |
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