Articles

Plant roots: a lever to modulate the impact of water deficits on crops and to improve water management in agrosystems

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Abstract

Plants, through their root systems, are soil engineers capable of altering the biological, chemical and physical properties of the soil they colonize. However, while soil properties are generally well considered for their impact on plants (water/nutrient uptake, growth and yield), the plant action on soil properties through its root system, and the feedback loop, are much less investigated. A large part of these plant-soil interactions takes place in the rhizosphere: the small zone of soil surrounding the roots impacted by their activity, which is a hotspot of biological activity sustained by the supply of carbon by roots (exudates, mucilage) comprising specific polymeric compounds. We here argue that the root/rhizosphere effect on the soil could be a lever for acting on crop tolerance to water deficit, showing a few examples of our recent works. More globally, considering cropping systems and rotations, root systems could be a tool for managing soil hydraulic properties in the view of optimizing the water balance at the field level (runoff/infiltration partition, soil water storage, drainage and groundwater recharge).

Authors


Claude DOUSSAN

claude.doussan@inrae.fr

Affiliation : UMR EMMAH, INRAE/Avignon Université, Avignon, France

Country : France


Samuel LE GALL

Affiliation : Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52428 Jülich, NRW.

Country : Germany


Stéphane RUY

Affiliation : UMR EMMAH, INRAE/Avignon Université, Avignon, France

Country : France


Annette BÉRARD

Affiliation : UMR EMMAH, INRAE/Avignon Université, Avignon, France

Country : France

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