Speaker
Description
The chemical compounds that plant roots release into the soil, referred to as rhizodeposits, affect soil hydraulic properties like the surface tension and viscosity of soil water, and the contact angle between menisci and the pore surface. What remains less clear is how these effects manifest when considering soil water infiltration and retention, and the consequent impact on the availability of water for uptake by roots.
Here we will consider a model for soil water transport that incorporates the influences of rhizodeposits on soil hydraulics and root water uptake. Numerical simulations will demonstrate how rhizodeposits of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) affecte water uptake of three differently aged root systems under precipitation regimes that varied in total precipitation and delivery pattern. A trade-off is identified in how this could improve water availability to the root system by reducing evaporation but also worsen it by increasing deep percolation.
Joint work with Andrew Mair (Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), Leioa, Spain) and Lionel Dupuy (NEIKER and ikerbasque, Bilbao, Spain
