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Understanding the Hydraulics of Porous Pipes: Tradeoffs Between Water Uptake and Root Length Utilization

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Abstract

The water uptake region in roots is several hundred times longer than the root diameter. The distributed nature of the uptake zone requires that the hydraulic design of roots be understood by analogy to flow through a “porous pipe.” Here we present results of an analytical and experimental investigation that allowed an in-depth analysis of root hydraulic properties. Measurements on nodal maize roots confirm the nonlinear distribution of water uptake predicted by the porous pipe model. The major design parameter governing the distribution of water uptake along a porous pipe is the ratio between its axial and radial hydraulic resistance. However, total flow is proportional to the pipe's overall resistance. These results suggest the existence of a tradeoff between the effective utilization of root length and the total capacity for water uptake.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. We thank Zoe Cardon for helpful comments during the manuscript preparation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA

    Maciej A. Zwieniecki, Matthew V. Thompson & N. Michele Holbrook

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  1. Maciej A. Zwieniecki
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  2. Matthew V. Thompson
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  3. N. Michele Holbrook
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Correspondence to Maciej A. Zwieniecki.

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Zwieniecki, M.A., Thompson, M.V. & Holbrook, N.M. Understanding the Hydraulics of Porous Pipes: Tradeoffs Between Water Uptake and Root Length Utilization . J Plant Growth Regul 21, 315–323 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-003-0008-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-003-0008-9

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