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Matching root water uptake patterns to fine root and soil water distributions

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Abstract

Aims

Exploring the relationships between water uptake, fine root, and soil water is essential for many fields, such as plant physiology, ecological hydrology, and water conservancy.

Methods

In four Populus tomentosa stands with different ages (young and mature) and stand structures (low and high stand density), we matched root water uptake patterns obtained from stable isotope techniques with fine root and soil water distributions, respectively. The effects of soil water content and meteorological factors on these matching degrees were further explored.

Results

Increased competition intensity within a stand would suppress the matching degree between fine root distribution and water uptake pattern (MFR), but have little effect on the matching degree between soil water distribution and water uptake pattern (MSR). Additionally, water uptake pattern was closer to soil water distribution (average MSR were 0.89) than to fine root distribution in mature stands (average MFR were 0.68), while water uptake pattern matched both fine root and soil water distribution closely in young stands (average MFR and MSR were 0.89 and 0.83). There is a relatively high positive or negative correlation between MFR and MSR in all four stands. Compared with the direct effect of soil water content, the influence of meteorological factors on matching degrees was weak.

Conclusion

The results indicate that the expression of water uptake function of the young stand depends on a combination of root structure and available water resources, while the water uptake function of mature stands is driven more by available water resources rather than root structure.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

M FR :

Matching degree between fine root distribution and water uptake patterns

M SR :

Matching degree between soil water distribution and water uptake patterns

SWC:

Gravimetric soil water content

FRLD:

Fine root length density

RWU:

Root water uptake

SWCprofile :

Average soil water content of the whole profile

SWCshallow :

Average soil water content of the shallow soil layers

SWCmiddle :

Average soil water content of the middle soil layers

SWCdeep :

Average soil water content of the deep soil layers

CVSWC :

Coefficient of variation of soil water content across the profile

P :

Monthly precipitation

T :

Monthly average air temperature

ET0 :

Monthly reference evapotranspiration

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Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant number 2021YFD2201203), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 32171763), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 31872702).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Silviculture and Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, 35 East Qinghua Road, Beijing, 100083, China

    Wei Zhu, Ou Zhou, Yiming Sun, Liming Jia & Benye Xi

  2. Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Biodiversity, Jingdezhen University, Jingdezhen, 333400, China

    Wei Zhu

  3. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Dehai Zhao

  4. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau & Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China

    Nan Di

  5. Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China

    Doudou Li

  6. State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation of State Forestry Administration, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China

    Changjun Ding

Authors
  1. Wei Zhu
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  2. Dehai Zhao
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  3. Nan Di
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  4. Doudou Li
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  5. Ou Zhou
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  6. Yiming Sun
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  7. Liming Jia
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  8. Changjun Ding
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  9. Benye Xi
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Wei Zhu, Dehai Zhao, Ou Zhou, Liming Jia and Benye Xi. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Wei Zhu and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Liming Jia or Changjun Ding.

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Zhu, W., Zhao, D., Di, N. et al. Matching root water uptake patterns to fine root and soil water distributions. Plant Soil 495, 499–516 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06349-0

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