Plant Water Uptake in Drying Soils

Lobet, Guillaume [PhytoSystems, Université de Liège, Belgium] Couvreur, Valentin [Depart. of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, USA] Meunier, Félicien [UCL] Javaux, Mathieu [UCL] Draye, Xavier [UCL]

Over the last decade, investigations on root water uptake have evolved toward a deeper integration of the soil and roots compartment properties, with the goal of improving our understanding of water acquisition from drying soils. This evolution parallels the increasing attention of agronomists to suboptimal crop production environments. Recent results have led to the description of root system architectures that might contribute to deep-water extraction or to water-saving strategies. In addition, the manipulation of root hydraulic properties would provide further opportunities to improve water uptake. However, modeling studies highlight the role of soil hydraulics in the control of water uptake in drying soil and call for integrative soil-plant system approaches.