Rhizosphere hydrophobicity: A positive trait in the competition for water.
The ability to acquire water from the soil is a major driver in interspecific plant competition and it depends on several root functional traits. One of these traits is the excretion of gel-like compounds (mucilage) that modify physical soil properties. Mucilage secreted by roots becomes hydrophobic...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2017-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5533451?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818691692819120128 |
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| author | Thorsten Zeppenfeld Niko Balkenhol Kristóf Kóvacs Andrea Carminati |
| author_facet | Thorsten Zeppenfeld Niko Balkenhol Kristóf Kóvacs Andrea Carminati |
| author_sort | Thorsten Zeppenfeld |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The ability to acquire water from the soil is a major driver in interspecific plant competition and it depends on several root functional traits. One of these traits is the excretion of gel-like compounds (mucilage) that modify physical soil properties. Mucilage secreted by roots becomes hydrophobic upon drying, impedes the rewetting of the soil close to the root, the so called rhizosphere, and reduces water availability to plants. The function of rhizosphere hydrophobicity is not easily understandable when looking at a single plant, but it may constitute a competitive advantage at the ecosystem level. We hypothesize that by making the top soil hydrophobic, deep-rooted plants avoid competititon with shallow-rooted plants. To test this hypothesis we used an individual-based model to simulate water uptake and growth of two virtual plant species, one deep-rooted plant capable of making the soil hydrophobic and a shallow-rooted plant. We ran scenarios with different precipitation regimes ranging from dry to wet (350, 700, and 1400 mm total annual precipitation) and from high to low precipitation frequencies (1, 7, and 14 days). Plant species abundance and biomass were chosen as indicators for competitiveness of plant species. At constant precipitation frequency mucilage hydrophobicity lead to a benefit in biomass and abundance of the tap-rooted population. Under wet conditions this effect diminished and tap-rooted plants were less productive. Without this trait both species coexisted. The effect of root exudation trait remained constant under different precipitation frequencies. This study shows that mucilage secretion is a competitive trait for the acquisition of water. This advantage is achieved by the modification of the soil hydraulic properties and specifically by inducing water repellency in soil regions which are shared with other species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T12:45:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9b2148469b02423ba0242b79e5292eea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T12:45:56Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-9b2148469b02423ba0242b79e5292eea2022-12-21T21:47:44ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01127e018218810.1371/journal.pone.0182188Rhizosphere hydrophobicity: A positive trait in the competition for water.Thorsten ZeppenfeldNiko BalkenholKristóf KóvacsAndrea CarminatiThe ability to acquire water from the soil is a major driver in interspecific plant competition and it depends on several root functional traits. One of these traits is the excretion of gel-like compounds (mucilage) that modify physical soil properties. Mucilage secreted by roots becomes hydrophobic upon drying, impedes the rewetting of the soil close to the root, the so called rhizosphere, and reduces water availability to plants. The function of rhizosphere hydrophobicity is not easily understandable when looking at a single plant, but it may constitute a competitive advantage at the ecosystem level. We hypothesize that by making the top soil hydrophobic, deep-rooted plants avoid competititon with shallow-rooted plants. To test this hypothesis we used an individual-based model to simulate water uptake and growth of two virtual plant species, one deep-rooted plant capable of making the soil hydrophobic and a shallow-rooted plant. We ran scenarios with different precipitation regimes ranging from dry to wet (350, 700, and 1400 mm total annual precipitation) and from high to low precipitation frequencies (1, 7, and 14 days). Plant species abundance and biomass were chosen as indicators for competitiveness of plant species. At constant precipitation frequency mucilage hydrophobicity lead to a benefit in biomass and abundance of the tap-rooted population. Under wet conditions this effect diminished and tap-rooted plants were less productive. Without this trait both species coexisted. The effect of root exudation trait remained constant under different precipitation frequencies. This study shows that mucilage secretion is a competitive trait for the acquisition of water. This advantage is achieved by the modification of the soil hydraulic properties and specifically by inducing water repellency in soil regions which are shared with other species.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5533451?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Thorsten Zeppenfeld Niko Balkenhol Kristóf Kóvacs Andrea Carminati Rhizosphere hydrophobicity: A positive trait in the competition for water. PLoS ONE |
| title | Rhizosphere hydrophobicity: A positive trait in the competition for water. |
| title_full | Rhizosphere hydrophobicity: A positive trait in the competition for water. |
| title_fullStr | Rhizosphere hydrophobicity: A positive trait in the competition for water. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rhizosphere hydrophobicity: A positive trait in the competition for water. |
| title_short | Rhizosphere hydrophobicity: A positive trait in the competition for water. |
| title_sort | rhizosphere hydrophobicity a positive trait in the competition for water |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5533451?pdf=render |
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