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Root growth dynamics inside and outside of soil biopores as affected by crop sequence determined with the profile wall method

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Abstract

Taprooting crop species are capable of creating soil biopores (>2 mm in diameter) in the subsoil due to their large root size and deep-rooting habit. The aim of this study was to quantify root growth dynamics of wheat in the subsoil during its complete growth season as affected by crop sequence. Temporal observation on root length (km m−2) of wheat inside and outside of biopores at four growth stages (tillering, booting, anthesis, and milk) was conducted by using the profile wall method under the two crop sequence treatments involving two precrops, viz., chicory and tall fescue. Frequency of biopore presence measured on vertical profile walls depended on the choice of precrops in which chicory precrop resulted in higher frequency (2.3 %) compared with tall fescue (1.5 %). Root length of wheat measured inside biopores was significantly higher when grown after chicory (0.024 km m−2) in comparison to tall fescue (0.006 km m−2). On average, root length outside biopores after growing chicory was 45.9 % higher than tall fescue until the stage of anthesis. We conclude that at the site under study biopores as pathways for rapid root growth into deeper soil layers allow roots to re-enter and explore the subsoil. Thus, cereals cultivated in rotation with taprooted crops can draw benefit from enhanced uptake of water and nutrients from deeper soil layers during early growth stages. Model simulations with various abiotic and biotic factors will be helpful to reveal the direct evidence of biopore-root-shoot relationship in the future.

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Acknowledgments

The experiment was financially supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) under the research unit DFG-FOR 1320. Special thanks shall go to Dr. Miriam Athmann for inspiring coordination of the project. The authors are indebted to technicians working at the Institute of Organic Agriculture (IOL) and Campus Klein-Altendorf, especially Henning Riebeling, Johannes Siebigteroth, and Stephan Doll.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Organic Agriculture, University of Bonn, Katzenburgweg 3, 53115, Bonn, Germany

    Eusun Han, Timo Kautz, Ute Perkons, Ning Huang & Ulrich Köpke

  2. Department of Soil Science, University of Kassel, Nordbahnhofstr. 1a, 37213, Witzenhausen, Germany

    Daniel Uteau & Stephan Peth

  3. Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Christian-Albrechts-University zu Kiel, Hermann-Rodewald-Str. 2, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Rainer Horn

  4. Campus Klein-Altendorf, Klein-Altendorf 2, 53359, Rheinbach, Germany

    Eusun Han, Timo Kautz, Ute Perkons, Ning Huang & Ulrich Köpke

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  1. Eusun Han
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  3. Ute Perkons
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Correspondence to Eusun Han.

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Han, E., Kautz, T., Perkons, U. et al. Root growth dynamics inside and outside of soil biopores as affected by crop sequence determined with the profile wall method. Biol Fertil Soils 51, 847–856 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-015-1032-1

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