Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Preface to the second edition
- Preface to the first edition
- 1 Composition of soil
- 2 Interaction of soil and water
- 3 Measurement of water content and potential
- 4 Principles of water movement in soil
- 5 Distribution of water in soil
- 6 Ground water in soils and aquifers
- 7 The use of isotopes and other tracers in soil water and groundwater studies
- 8 Soil structure
- 9 Deformation of soil
- 10 Management of soil water
- 11 Soil erosion and conservation
- 12 Chemical transport in soil
- 13 The physical environment of roots
- 14 Plants and soil water
- Appendixes
- References
- Index
13 - The physical environment of roots
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Preface to the second edition
- Preface to the first edition
- 1 Composition of soil
- 2 Interaction of soil and water
- 3 Measurement of water content and potential
- 4 Principles of water movement in soil
- 5 Distribution of water in soil
- 6 Ground water in soils and aquifers
- 7 The use of isotopes and other tracers in soil water and groundwater studies
- 8 Soil structure
- 9 Deformation of soil
- 10 Management of soil water
- 11 Soil erosion and conservation
- 12 Chemical transport in soil
- 13 The physical environment of roots
- 14 Plants and soil water
- Appendixes
- References
- Index
Summary
Introduction
The living plants and animals that inhabit soil depend upon a supply of water and nutrients, an exchange of gases between the soil and the atmosphere, and the maintenance of suitable soil temperatures. Also, if roots are to extend and expand and if organisms are to move through soil, their activities will be affected by the structure and strength of the soil. With the exception of water and nutrient supply, which will be covered in Chapter 14, these physical aspects of the environment of roots and soil organisms form the subject of the present chapter.
Roots provide water, nutrients, and anchorage to plants. Although they may occupy only about 1 per cent or less of the soil volume, their penetration into the soil can be thorough. Rooting density decreases with depth in a manner that depends on the type and age of the plant and the soil conditions, including water distribution, structure, and strength.
The ability of plants to exploit the water and nutrients contained in a soil horizon depends largely on the concentration of roots there. For example, deep rooting makes plants less vulnerable to periods of drought. Roots can grow from 1 to 50 mm per day depending on the type of plant and the soil environment of structure, strength, temperature, aeration, and water content. Longitudinal growth occurs in a region extending about 1 cm back from the root tip.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Soil Physics , pp. 358 - 376Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1996
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