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The rooted zone of a soil, more precisely the rhizosphere, is a very dynamic system. Some of the key processes are water uptake and root respiration. We have developed a novel method for measuring the real-time distribution of water and oxygen concentration in the rhizosphere as a biogeochemical interface in soil. This enables understanding where and when roots are active in respect to root respiration and water uptake and how the soil responds to it.
We used glass containers (15 x 15 x 1 cm), which were filled with a quartz sand mixture. Sensor foils for fluorescence dye imaging of O-2 were installed on the inner side of the containers. A lupine plant was grown in each container for 2 weeks under controlled conditions. Then we took time series of fluorescence images for time-lapsed visualization of oxygen depletion caused by root respiration. Changing water content was mapped in parallel by non-invasive neutron radiography, which yields water content distributions in high spatial resolution. Also it can detect the root system of the lupine plants. By this combined imaging of the samples, a range of water contents and different oxygen concentration levels, both induced by root activities, could be assessed.
We monitored the dynamics of these vital parameters induced by roots during a period of several hours. We observed that for high water saturation, the oxygen concentration decreased in parts of the container. The accompanying neutron radiographies gave us the information that these locations are spatially correlated to roots. Therefore, it can be concluded that the observed oxygen deficits close to the roots result from root respiration and show up while re-aeration from atmosphere by gas phase transport is restricted by the high water saturation.
Our coupled imaging setup was able to monitor the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of oxygen and water content in a night and day cycle. This reflects complex plant activities such as photosynthesis, transpiration, and metabolic activities impacting the root-soil interface. Our experimental setup provides the possibility to non-invasively visualize these parameters with high resolution. The particular oxygen imaging method as well as the combination with simultaneously mapping the water content by neutron radiography is a novelty.
The rhizosphere has a controlling role in the flow of water and nutrients from soil to plant roots; however, its hydraulic properties are not well understood. As roots grow, they change the pore size distribution of the surrounding soil. Roots release polymeric substances such as mucilage into their rhizosphere. Microorganisms living in the rhizosphere feed on these organic materials and release other polymeric substances into the rhizosphere. The presence of these organic materials might affect the water retention properties and the hydraulic conductivity of the rhizosphere soil during drying and rewetting. We used neutron radiography to monitor the dynamics of water distribution in the rhizosphere of lupin (Lupinus albus L.) plants during a period of drying and rewetting. The rhizosphere was shown to have a higher water content than the bulk soil during the drying period but a lower one during the subsequent rewetting. We evaluated the wettability of the bulk soil and the rhizosphere soil by measuring the contact angle of water in the soil. We found significantly higher contact angles for the rhizosphere soil than the bulk soil after drying, which indicates slight water repellency in the rhizosphere. This explains the lower soil water content in the rhizosphere than the bulk soil after rewetting. Our results suggest that the water holding capacity of the rhizosphere is dynamic and might shift toward higher or lower values than those of the surrounding bulk soil, not affected by roots, depending on the history of drying and rewetting cycles.