Article
Agronomy
Edward J. Primka, Thomas S. Adams, Alexandra S. Buck, David M. Eissenstat
Summary: Contrary to our hypotheses, the study found no significant hillslope effects on fine root tip production or mortality. However, root tip turnover was higher at drier regions of the hillslope, and fine root standing crop length was higher in wetter topographic regions.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Ashish B. Rajurkar, Scott M. McCoy, Jeremy Ruhter, Jessica Mulcrone, Luke Freyfogle, Andrew D. B. Leakey
Summary: In this study, a method for large-scale root system phenotyping in the field was proposed. By using thousands of minirhizotrons and an image collection system, high-quality and efficient root installation and image collection were achieved. The application of this method will help fill the important knowledge gap regarding genetic and environmental effects on root system size and distribution in the field.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ya-nan Zhang, Zhan-yi Wang, Peng-bo Liu, Cheng-jie Wang
Summary: This study investigated the effects of cattle and sheep grazing on root growth in a temperate desert steppe community using the minirhizotron method. The results showed that mixed cattle and sheep grazing significantly reduced root lifespan and quantity, and changed the patterns of plant carbon contribution in the community, leading to an increase in soil organic carbon content.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Qiulian Lin, Luzhen Chen, Jialin Zhang, Liangchen Wang, Xinyue Yu, Qiang Guo
Summary: This study aimed to examine the dynamics and functions of fine roots during root zone expansion and belowground carbon accumulation. The results showed that fine root biomass contributed over 60% to belowground roots, with a majority of 69.25% being dead fine roots. Fine root turnover rates ranged from 0.10 to 0.22 per year, with the fastest rate found in the Bruguiera forest. Root zone expansion rates ranged from 0.55 to 1.28 mm yr (-1), and were positively correlated with live fine root biomass in the upper 50 cm layer of sediment.
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Gokcen Yilmaz, Asli Akcamete, Onur Demirors
Summary: BIM adoption has been rapidly increasing worldwide as it is crucial for digitalization in the construction industry. The transformation of traditional building life cycle stages into BIM-integrated project deliveries is necessary for BIM adoption. Assessing the BIM capabilities of these stages helps organizations identify gaps and improve their BIM usage.
COMPUTERS IN INDUSTRY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Lei Geng, Li Li, Wenyi Sheng, Quan Sun, Jiahao Yang, Qicheng Huang, Ping Lv
Summary: This study aims to develop a compound minirhizotron device to acquire images of tomato root system and monitor water content near the root zone. The device could realize image acquisition of root system at multiple positions and monitoring of water content near root zone. Results indicated that tomato roots at the depth of 6-10 cm from the substrate surface were more densely distributed, and root density decreased with increasing substrate depths. The closer to the vertical downward straight line from the tomato cultivation site, the greater the root diameter within the monitoring range. In the monitoring results of water content near root zone, the closer to the ground, the higher monitored substrate water content. The compound minirhizotron device could aquire both root system images and water content near root zone stablely and for a long-term, which could improve the efficiency of planting and irrigation technology.
COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS IN AGRICULTURE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Edward J. Primka, Thomas S. Adams, Alexandra Buck, Brandon Forsythe, Jeremy Harper, Marissa Kopp, Jason Kaye, David M. Eissenstat
Summary: The contribution of root activity to soil CO2 efflux remains uncertain. This study found that fine-root dynamics have limited impact on the variability of soil CO2 efflux, while fine-root mortality effects on soil CO2 efflux are strongly tied to soil temperature and fluctuations in fine-root presence or standing mass independent of temperature and moisture have little effect on soil CO2 efflux rates.
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Chao Li, Jiagui Xie, Yanan Cheng, Zhaoxin Zhang, Jian Chen, Haochuan Wang, Hanyu Tao
Summary: This paper constructs an accurate, real-time, and highly trustworthy root zone file through the validation of data accuracy and integrity using multi-source root zone files. It proposes a weighted voting statistical verification method to improve data accuracy and achieves dynamic monitoring of root zone file version changes for real-time root zone data. The use of DNSSEC verification mechanism ensures data integrity. The high-trust root zone file constructed in this paper provides data support for research on the root-side resolution anomaly detection and localization application, with wide-ranging practical value.
Article
Plant Sciences
Daniel Leskovar, Yahia A. Othman
Summary: The two-year field study showed significant and consistent improvements in root and shoot traits, and yield for transplants as compared to direct seeded plants.
Article
Plant Sciences
Yuan Li, Yunlian Huang, Mengxue Wang, Yafeng Zhao
Summary: The condition of plant root systems is crucial for plant growth and development. The Minirhizotron method is a valuable tool for monitoring the dynamic growth and development of plant root systems. In this study, we propose a deep learning method for root segmentation using U-Net as the basis, with the encoder layer replaced by the ResNet Block and the addition of the PSA module for improved accuracy. Experimental results demonstrate that the improved network outperforms other methods.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Richard Nair, Martin Strube, Martin Hertel, Olaf Kolle, Victor Rolo, Mirco Migliavacca
Summary: Automating dynamic fine root data collection is a challenge that has multiple applications for ecosystem understanding. We developed a system using off-the-shelf parts and a neural network to analyze the collected images, resulting in robust daily time series of root dynamics. Our studies showed that temporal root changes were a stronger driver of soil CO2 efflux than absolute biomass. However, the above-ground and below-ground dynamics were not synchronized, and root properties were sensitive to soil moisture and occasionally to time of day.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Ellen M. Wahlstrom, Hanne L. Kristensen, Ingrid K. Thomsen, Rodrigo Labouriau, Mansonia Pulido-Moncada, Janne Aalborg Nielsen, Lars J. Munkholm
Summary: The study found that soil compaction caused critical subsoil compaction, reducing root growth and barley yields. Fodder radish can provide more biopores for root growth. More research on the spatio-temporal dynamics of biopore creation and subsequent use is essential for the recovery of compacted subsoils.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Susana Roque-Malo, Jennifer L. Druhan, Praveen Kumar
Summary: Vegetation optimizes its geochemical environment through root exudation, and a new model called REWTCrunch has been developed to simulate the effects of root exudation on soil biogeochemistry, filling an important gap in current simulation studies.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Long Qian, Taoxing Huang, Wenzhi Zeng, Xiaohong Chen, Xiugui Wang
Summary: Roots play a crucial role in plant adaptation to waterlogging stress. Waterlogging stress significantly stimulated the morphological growth of cotton roots, particularly thinner roots. The centre of root morphology shifted from the upper soil layers to the deep layers.
IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Affendy Hassan, Dorte Bodin Dresboll, Kristian Thorup-Kristensen
Summary: The use of species with coloured roots and indirect tracer uptake measurements contributes to the success of studying root growth dynamics in intercropping systems. The root intensity of red beet is not significantly affected by strip intercropping when crops are established simultaneously, but a reduction in roots at the border row is observed when established between existing lucerne strips. Both lucerne and kale are capable of exploiting the deep soil layers beneath the red beet border row.
PLANT SOIL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Paulina Alejandra Deseano Diaz, Dagmar van Dusschoten, Angelika Kuebert, Nicolas Brueggemann, Mathieu Javaux, Steffen Merz, Jan Vanderborght, Harry Vereecken, Maren Dubbert, Youri Rothfuss
Summary: This study aimed to assess the influence of above-and below-ground environmental conditions on the performance of Centaurea jacea L., a drought-resistant grassland forb species. The results showed that root water uptake mainly occurred in the 0-15 cm soil layer, even when water was more easily available in deeper layers. In wet soil, transpiration rate was driven by vapor pressure deficit and light intensity.
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Gaochao Cai, Fabian Wankmuller, Mutez A. Ahmed, Andrea Carminati
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Gaochao Cai, Andrea Carminati, Sean M. Gleason, Mathieu Javaux, Mutez Ali Ahmed
Summary: The efficiency-safety tradeoff in plant water transport and stomatal regulation has been studied. Recent research revealed that plants with higher maximum stomatal conductance (g(max)) are more sensitive to stomatal closure during soil drying, resulting in less negative leaf water potential at 50% g(max) (psi(gs50)). This tradeoff can be explained by the effects of soil-plant hydraulics on water movement and plant hydraulic properties, such as conductance and embolism resistance.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Letter
Environmental Sciences
Markus Flury, Venkat Lakshmi, Ning Lu, Jan Vanderborght
VADOSE ZONE JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Christian Poppe Teran, Bibi S. Naz, Alexander Graf, Yuquan Qu, Harrie-Jan Hendricks Franssen, Roland Baatz, Phillipe Ciais, Harry Vereecken
Summary: European grasslands achieve higher water-use efficiency in summer by increasing gross primary production and regulating transpiration. This study analyzed remote sensing data from 1995 to 2018 and found that water-use efficiency decreased by 4.2% in Central Europe, posing a threat to ecosystem functioning. However, European grasslands increased their water-use efficiency by 24.2% through regulated transpiration and increased carbon assimilation. The study also emphasizes the role of hydro-climate in modulating water-use efficiency response to droughts and the importance of adaptive canopy conductance for ecosystem functioning.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Water Resources
Alexandre Belleflamme, Klaus Goergen, Niklas Wagner, Stefan Kollet, Sebastian Bathiany, Juliane El Zohbi, Diana Rechid, Jan Vanderborght, Harry Vereecken
Summary: In the context of repeated droughts in central Europe, climate-resilient management of water resources has gained importance. To achieve this, a new simulation setup using ParFlow/CLM model at high resolution was proposed. The setup allows for monitoring and forecasting of subsurface water states and fluxes, showcasing good results for various components of the terrestrial water cycle. The workflow can be easily transferred to other regions with globally available data.
FRONTIERS IN WATER
(2023)
Article
Water Resources
Fang Li, Wolfgang Kurtz, Ching Pui Hung, Harry Vereecken, Harrie-Jan Hendricks Franssen
Summary: Groundwater, an important source of water for humans, has a significant influence on human production and life. This study aims to improve hydrological modeling by assimilating groundwater data into the Terrestrial System Modeling Platform (TSMP) for a real-world case in the Rur catchment in Germany. The assimilation of daily groundwater table depth measurements through the Localized Ensemble Kalman Filter (LEnKF) into TSMP resulted in reduced bias and root mean square error (RMSE) compared to the open loop runs. The best results were achieved with a localization radius of 10 km, leading to an 81% reduction in RMSE at the measurement locations.
FRONTIERS IN WATER
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jan Vanderborght, Daniel Leitner, Andrea Schnepf, Valentin Couvreur, Harry Vereecken, Mathieu Javaux
Summary: Plant water uptake and soil water status are essential for soil water balance and plant growth, which depend on atmospheric water demand and the accessibility of soil water to plant roots. The simulation model presented in this study describes water flow in the soil-plant system by considering both root and soil hydraulic properties. By upscaling three-dimensional flow in the soil towards root segments, the model accounts for linear flow between horizontal soil layers and radial flow to root segments. This upscaled model avoids simplifying assumptions about root hydraulic properties and accurately simulates xylem water potentials and soil-root interface potentials, showing significant variations and deviations from bulk soil water potentials under dry soil conditions. Considering hydraulic gradients in the soil around root segments leads to a slower reduction of transpiration during drought periods and better plant water status with higher nighttime plant water potentials.
VADOSE ZONE JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lena Laerm, Felix Maximilian Bauer, Normen Hermes, Jan van der Kruk, Harry Vereecken, Jan Vanderborght, Thuy Huu Nguyen, Gina Lopez, Sabine Julia Seidel, Frank Ewert, Andrea Schnepf, Anja Klotzsche
Summary: The production of crops is crucial for ensuring the human food supply, but climate change presents new challenges. This study collects root and soil data to explore crop responses to the changing environment. Two minirhizotron facilities were used to obtain a comprehensive collection of root and soil data, which can be utilized to investigate processes within the soil-plant continuum and analyze root images.
Article
Agronomy
Mona Giraud, Samuel Le Gall, Moritz Harings, Mathieu Javaux, Daniel Leitner, Felicien Meunier, Youri Rothfuss, Dagmar van Dusschoten, Jan Vanderborght, Harry Vereecken, Guillaume Lobet, Andrea Schnepf
Summary: A plant's development is closely related to the water and carbon flows in its environment. Climate change can alter these flows and affect plant phenotypes. The study presents a comprehensive model that simulates the feedback loops between a plant's development and water and carbon flows. The results showed that drought reduces water-use efficiency and limits the availability of sucrose for growth.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alexander Graf, Georg Wohlfahrt, Sergio Aranda-Barranco, Nicola Arriga, Christian Bruemmer, Eric Ceschia, Philippe Ciais, Ankur R. Desai, Sara Di Lonardo, Mana Gharun, Thomas Gruenwald, Lukas Hoertnagl, Kuno Kasak, Anne Klosterhalfen, Alexander Knohl, Natalia Kowalska, Michael Leuchner, Anders Lindroth, Matthias Mauder, Mirco Migliavacca, Alexandra C. Morel, Andreas Pfennig, Hendrik Poorter, Christian Poppe Teran, Oliver Reitz, Corinna Rebmann, Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa, Marius Schmidt, Ladislav Sigut, Enrico Tomelleri, Ke Yu, Andrej Varlagin, Harry Vereecken
Summary: Research finds that climate change mitigation efforts through increasing carbon uptake can lead to a decrease in land surface albedo, causing a warming effect, especially in afforestation and snow-free environments. However, a balanced approach that optimizes both carbon uptake and albedo can achieve long-term cooling without causing warming in any time period.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Tobias Selzner, Jannis Horn, Magdalena Landl, Andreas Pohlmeier, Dirk Helmrich, Katrin Huber, Jan Vanderborght, Harry Vereecken, Sven Behnke, Andrea Schnepf
Summary: This study evaluates a 2-step workflow for automated root system architecture (RSA) reconstruction using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The first step involves segmentation of MRI images into root and soil using a 3D U-Net, while the second step utilizes an automated tracing algorithm to reconstruct the root systems. The results show that the U-Net segmentation offers significant benefits in terms of reconstruction speed and root length.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lena Larm, Felix Maximilian Bauer, Jan van der Kruk, Jan Vanderborght, Shehan Morandage, Harry Vereecken, Andrea Schnepf, Anja Klotzsche
Summary: Non-invasive imaging techniques were used to study root and soil water distribution within the soil-plant continuum. The presence of roots was found to increase the variability of soil permittivity, possibly due to the redistribution of soil water. This study provides valuable insights for optimizing agricultural practices such as irrigation and fertilization.
VADOSE ZONE JOURNAL
(2023)
