Rhizosheath drought responsiveness is variety‐specific and a key component of belowground plant adaptation

2024/02/28 by Franziska A. Steiner, Franziska Steiner, Andreas J. Wild +15 · 1 voice · 3 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems #Crop Yield and Soil Fertility #Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics

paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/nph.19638

openalex publication_date 2024/02/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

Biophysicochemical rhizosheath properties play a vital role in plant drought adaptation. However, their integration into the framework of plant drought response is hampered by incomplete mechanistic understanding of their drought responsiveness and unknown linkage to intraspecific plant-soil drought reactions. Thirty-eight Zea mays varieties were grown under well-watered and drought conditions to assess the drought responsiveness of rhizosheath properties, such as soil aggregation, rhizosheath mass, net-rhizodeposition, and soil organic carbon distribution. Additionally, explanatory traits, including functional plant trait adaptations and changes in soil enzyme activities, were measured. Drought restricted soil structure formation in the rhizosheath and shifted plant-carbon from litter-derived organic matter in macroaggregates to microbially processed compounds in microaggregates. Variety-specific functional trait modifications determined variations in rhizosheath drought responsiveness. Drought responses of the plant-soil system ranged among varieties from maintaining plant-microbial interactions in the rhizosheath through accumulation of rhizodeposits, to preserving rhizosheath soil structure while increasing soil exploration through enhanced root elongation. Drought-induced alterations at the root-soil interface may hold crucial implications for ecosystem resilience in a changing climate. Our findings highlight that rhizosheath soil properties are an intrinsic component of plant drought response, emphasizing the need for a holistic concept of plant-soil systems in future research on plant drought adaptation.

Citations

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Cited by

• From rhizosphere to detritusphere – Soil structure formation driven by plant roots and the interactions with soil biota
• Node of origin matters: comparative analysis of soil water limitation effects on nodal root anatomy in maize ( Zea mays )
• Land use and plant genotype modulate rhizosheath traits, root-associated microbiota, and soil carbon sequestration potential

Discussions

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