ID:
publications-1580
Type:
PEER REVIEWED ARTICLE
Year:
2017
Authors:
Ying Fan , Gonzalo Miguez-Macho , Esteban G. Jobbágy , Robert B. Jackson , Carlos Otero-Casal
Title:
Hydrologic regulation of plant rooting depth
Venue/Journal:
DOI:
10.1073/pnas.1712381114
Research type:
Simulation & Modeling
Water System:
River Basins
Technical Focus:
Abstract:
Significance Knowledge of plant rooting depth is critical to understanding plant-mediated global change. Earth system models are highly sensitive to this particular parameter with large consequences for modeled plant productivity, water–energy–carbon exchange between the land and the atmosphere, and silicate weathering regulating multimillion-year-timescale carbon cycle. However, we know little about how deep roots go and why. Accidental discoveries of >70-m-deep roots in wells and >20-m-deep roots in caves offer glimpses of the enormous plasticity of root response to its environment, but the drivers and the global significance of such deep roots are not clear. Through observations and modeling, we demonstrate that soil hydrology is a globally prevalent force driving landscape to global patterns of plant rooting depth.
Link with Projects:
603608
Link with Tools:
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