Boden

Soil-Plant Interaction


Soil-Plant Interaction describes biological, physical and chemical processes that occur at the interface between soil and roots, the underground part of plants.

The size of the interface is dynamic, depending on rates of growth and decay. The spatial distribution of roots in a soil profile is influenced by soil structure and heterogeneity in resource availability. However, by their activity roots they alter their environment; i.e. soil structure, soil chemistry, distribution of water, nutrients, and trace elements. Roots are an important source of organic matter and hence attract and nourish microorganisms in their immediate vicinity. Numerous positive and negative feedback loops make the soil-root interface highly dynamic in respect to chemical, physical and biological properties.


From the plant perspective as a sessile organism, this all serves to optimize the acquisition of scarce resources or to avoid toxic ones with a minimal energy investment to allow for growth and reproduction. From the ecosystem perspective these processes do not only impact net primary production and decomposition, habitat quantity and quality for microorganisms, but also transport of water and chemicals in soil. Within the working group soil-plant interaction we develop methods for investigating in situ for the rhizosphere and bulk soil the dynamics of

  • physical characteristics (soil strength and structure),
  • hydrological characteristics (availability and distribution of water), and
  • chemical characteristics (concentration and distribution of nutrients and toxic elements).

On lab and field scale we try to quantify how changes in these characteristics feedback on plant growth and transport of water and chemicals. We work on several questions in the context of (i) efficient use of scarce resources (water, nutrients, K), (ii) cycling of nutrients for sustainable production (Si), (iii) availability of contaminants (As), (iv) alteration of soil structure by roots, (v) plant-microbe interplay.

Scientists

Vetterlein
Prof. Dr. Doris Vetterlein
Working group head
Dr. Susanne Schreiter
Scientist
Eva Lippold
PHD Student

Nafiseh Navabpour

IT-Specialist

Anne-Sophie Wachter

PHD Student
Abebaw Misganaw Ambaw
PHD Student

Technicians

Eric Braatz
Franz Weisel
Dennis Lehmann

Master students:


Alumni
Dr. Maik Lukas
Dr. Annika Klotzbücher
Dr. Nico Koebernick

SPP2089

Rhizophere Spatiotemporal Organisation (SPP 2089)

This Priority Programme aims at the identification of spatiotemporal patterns in the rhizosphere and at the explanation of the underlying mechanisms.
Coorditantion and speaker: Prof. Dr. Doris Vetterlein

P21 - Dynamics & Structure

Relevance of root growth and related soil structure formation for spatiotemporal patterns of chemical and biological properties and emergent system functions
Project leader: Prof. Dr. Doris Vetterlein, Prof. Dr. Robert Mikutta, Dr. Steffen Schlüter
Funding: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft - DFG

UFZ

GLIMPSE - Research Consortium

P3: Root-Soil Interactions
Root architecture, Soil structure dynamics, Soil moisture
Project leader: Dr. Steffen Schlüter (PI), Prof. Dr. Doris Vetterelin, Dr. Mika Tarkka 
Funded by: Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung - UFZ

ORDIAMUR

ORDIAmur

Induction and etiology of postharvest disease in apple (ARD)
Project leader: Prof. Dr. Doris Vetterlein
Funded by: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung - BMBF

Root2Res

Root2Res

Root2Res will provide a package of solutions to improve the resilience of crop rotation systems by considering relevant root traits in light of climate change impacts.
Funded by: EU

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