Modeling the Comparative Impact of Root Hairs on Phosphorus Uptake Under Different Field Conditions

Ruiz, Siul Aljadi, Koebernick, Nicolai, Duncan, S., Mckay Fletcher, Daniel, Boghi, Andrea, Scotson, Callum Paul, Marin, Maria, Bengough, Anthony G., George, T.S., Hallett, Paul D. and Roose, Tiina (2019) Modeling the Comparative Impact of Root Hairs on Phosphorus Uptake Under Different Field Conditions. 5th international Rhizosphere conference, , Saskatchewan, Canada. 07 - 11 Jul 2019.

Abstract

Root hairs play a significant role in Phosphorous (P) extraction at the pore scale. However, their importance at the field scale remains poorly understood. This study uses a continuum model to explore the relative impact that root hairs have on the large-scale uptake of P, comparing root hair influence under different agricultural treatments. Poor vs rich soil P stocks are compared for uniform vs decaying P distributions down the soil profile along with early vs late precipitation scenarios. All of the simulation cases are run assessing the relative impact of root hairs vs scenarios without root hairs. Simulation results suggest root hairs accounted for 50% of total PRhizosphere 5 | Page 67 of 247uptake by plants. Furthermore, results also show that late initiation time of precipitation played a crucial role in P uptake, potentially limiting the uptake rate by over 60% depending on the growth period. Despite the large differences in the uptake rate, changes in the soil P concentration in the domain due to root solute uptake remains marginal when considering a single growth season. However, over the duration of six years, simulation results showed that noticeable differences arise for realistic precipitation events. Results suggest that due to the low mobility of P, differences in the profiles are marginal. However, our simulations show that root P uptake efficiency could be enhanced by coordinating irrigation/precipitation with P application during earlier growth stages of crops.

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Contributors

Author: Daniel Mckay Fletcher

Author: Andrea Boghi

Author: Tiina Roose

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