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Deep Roots Matter
- 2. Rootlivesmatter • Mostofthetimeweignore ourroots • Wecan’tseethem • Wedon’t knowthem • But theyareimportant
- 3. Mycorrhizalfungi • Roots also support fungi • The fungi help bring water and nutrients in to the root • They can connect plants - sharing water and nutrients • A cubic meter of soil may have 600 miles of hyphae • 20-50 times smaller than a human hair • Roots and hyphae can add up
- 4. Interconnection • Connections may be critical in arid environments • Mature trees can help support seedlings • Here is a connection map for two species of fungi from an older oak tree to other plants • As far as 60 feet away from host
- 5. Hyphaeasrootaids • The threadsof hyphaeactas micro-roots • Theycancollectandmovewaterand nutrients • Smallenoughto penetratetinycracksin manyrocktypes- evengranite • Criticalinaridzones • Hereanoaktreerootwithhyphae Mike Allen UC Riverside
- 6. Howdeep? • Live mesquite roots have been found close to 200 feet deep • Torrey pine roots reach 75+ feet • Shepherd’s Tree 223 feet Namibia desert • Acacia erioloba 197 feet • Statue of Liberty is 151 feet tall
- 7. Rootstudies • I studied roots of mesquite seedlings in the low desert • They are adapted to germinate after a flood event and to stay ahead of the drying front • Dominant tap roots go deep fast • I also learned that digging in the desert soil can lead to Valley Fever - a lung disease from fungi Field
- 8. Taproot • Notethevigorousgrowth • Fewminorroots • Maximumrootgrowthwasat 108°F forVelvetMesquite Seedling Two years
- 9. Deepstudies • Hand auger 15 feet max (student power) • Drilling rig, samples 20+ feet • Rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi • Nematodes and other critters • Groundwater M. Darby MS Thesis work near Mecca, CA Professor Ross Virginia UC Riverside
- 10. Labstudies • Rootsareeasiertostudyinthelab • Asoilfilledclearplasticfilmtube • Restinginaguttersection • Thetube is shaded • Rotatedtomeasuregrowth
- 11. Rootraces
- 13. Allocation Rootsnotshoots • Roots matter • Shoots are less critical • Root:shoot ratio mesquite 5:1 - 10:1 • Most forest trees in temperate areas are more likely 1:3 or even 1:5 • Nursery plants are often 1:20 • Guided development of new containers SOIL SURFACE CM
- 14. Root-Shoot • Few good studies of roots • Difficult and Costly • Many fail to go beyond 2 or 3 feet • The global average here was for all good studies the researchers could find • Mesquite estimates by author, after Geesing and Felker
- 15. Labsimulations • Nitrogen fixation in the damp soil above the water table • 15-20+ feet • Simulated deep roots in tall sections of pvc pipe in the greenhouse at UC Riverside • Research by Professor Virginia and colleagues Ross Virginia mesquite root studies
- 16. Lessonslearned • Deep containersneededtogrowtap root dominateddesert plants • Historicallylathboxorbamboosplit • PVC pipesplit • Bob MoonatJoshuaTreedevelopedTall Pots (32” x 6”) • StueweandSonsmakeseveralexcellent containers MS Thesis near Mecca - Marcy Darby
- 17. Deepcontainers • Plastic sleeve tube • Planting demo - Arizona 1987 • Narrow plastic pipe for deep irrigation • Later explored in greater detail • Look on line “Deep pipe” irrigation
- 18. TallPots • Effectivebutcostly • Easiertohandlethan sleeves • Challengingtotransport,plant Joshua Tree Native Plant Nursery
- 19. Tallpot AnzaBorregoDesert • Excellent survival • Rapid growth
- 20. Tall Pots Later we cut many down to 16” and called them half-highs
- 21. Deepots • Inexpensive • Can be used for deep pipe irrigation after planting • Tippy so build rack or pack boxes carefully stuewe.com (541) 757-7798
- 22. Roots •Pay attentionto thewholeplant •Soiltexture,compositionandmoisture all affectrootgrowth •Make therightsoilmix foryour species •Don’toverwater •Deep irrigation •Consideraddingsite collectedrhizobia andmycorrhizalfungiwhenplanting(or innursery) Eight years P. glandulosa
- 23. Rootstudies • Labandgreenhouse • Digging • Installingaccess tubes with holes • Videologging fromtransparenttubes • Radioactivetagging • Butmanystudiesareneededtobetter understand carbonallocation • Hydraulic liftofroots Root studies in Thailand Maeght
- 24. Needed • Better tools for root studies • More funding for root research • More studies of soil ecosystems
- 25. ReadingRoots • Böhm W. 1979. Methods of Studying Root Systems. Springer, Berlin • Maeght, J. L., B. Rewald and A. Pierret. 2013. How to study deep roots—and why it matters. Frontiers in Plant Science. 4(299):1-14. • Bainbridge, D. A. 2007. A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration. Island Press. • Allen, M. F. 2007. Mycorrhizal fungi: highways for water and nutrients in arid soils. Vadose Zone Journal. 6(2):291-297. • Virginia R. A., M. B. Jenkins, W. M. Jarrell. 1986. Depth of root symbiont occurrence in soil. Biology and Fertility of Soils. 2:127–130. • Eilers K. G., S. Debenport, S. Anderson and N. Fierer. 2012. Digging deeper to find unique microbial communities: the strong effect of depth on the structure of bacterial and archaeal communities in soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 50:58-65. • More information at: www.bepress.com/david_a_bainbridge/