ArticleAnnals of botany2022
Theoretical evidence that root penetration ability interacts with soil compaction regimes to affect nitrate capture.
Article in Annals of botany, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Broad environmental adaptation is associated with root anatomical phenotypes in maize landraces: an in silico study.Annals of botany · 2026Article
- Global determinants of yield variability under sustainable farming approaches across climate, soil, and topography. A meta-analysis.Agronomy for sustainable development · 2026Article
- Did crop domestication change the fitness landscape of root response to soil mechanical impedance? An in silico analysis.Annals of botany · 2025Article
- RootXplorer: A computer vision-based 3D phenotyping platform for high-throughput quantification and spatio-temporal analysis of root system penetrability.Plant phenomics (Washington, D.C.) · 2025Article
- In silico analysis of the evolution of root phenotypes during maize domestication in Neolithic soils of Tehuacán.The New phytologist · 2025Article
- Prophage induction drives soybean rhizobacterial community differentiation and nutrient cycling benefiting root development.ISME communications · 2025Article
- Location: root architecture structures rhizosphere microbial associations.Journal of experimental botany · 2024Article
- Root phenotypes for improved nitrogen capture.Plant and soil · 2024Review
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5 authors.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsAlthough root penetration of strong soils has been intensively studied at the scale of individual root axes, interactions between soil physical properties and soil foraging by whole plants are less clear. Here we investigate how variation in the penetration ability of distinct root classes and bulk density profiles common to real-world soils interact to affect soil foraging strategies.
methodsWe utilize the functional-structural plant model 'OpenSimRoot' to simulate the growth of maize (Zea mays) root systems with variable penetration ability of axial and lateral roots in soils with (1) uniform bulk density, (2) plow pans and (3) increasing bulk density with depth. We also modify the availability and leaching of nitrate to uncover reciprocal interactions between these factors and the capture of mobile resources. KEY
resultsSoils with plow pans and bulk density gradients affected overall size, distribution and carbon costs of the root system. Soils with high bulk density at depth impeded rooting depth and reduced leaching of nitrate, thereby improving the coincidence of nitrogen and root length. While increasing penetration ability of either axial or lateral root classes produced root systems of comparable net length, improved penetration of axial roots increased allocation of root length in deeper soil, thereby amplifying N acquisition and shoot biomass. Although enhanced penetration ability of both root classes was associated with greater root system carbon costs, the benefit to plant fitness from improved soil exploration and resource capture offset these.
conclusionsWhile lateral roots comprise the bulk of root length, axial roots function as a scaffold determining the distribution of these laterals. In soils with high soil strength and leaching, root systems with enhanced penetration ability of axial roots have greater distribution of root length at depth, thereby improving capture of mobile resources.
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