The Importance of Root Dynamics in Cropping Systems Research

SUMMARY This paper examines the nature and importance of the dynamics of crop root growth, particularly root turnover, and the application to different cropping systems. Methods now available to investigate root dynamics are summarized, and information being obtained is presented. Effects of physical, chemical, and biological factors on root dynamics are discussed. Growth of new roots and death of older roots can change the initial distribution in soil, allowing roots to exploit zones that have a more favorable nutrient or water supply. In herbaceous crops, the lifespan of roots appears to range between 16 and 36 per cent of the annual growth cycle. However, there is a paucity of data with which results can be compared. Localized enrichment of the water and nutrient supply enhances root turnover, and plants growing in soil well supplied with nutrients tend to have shorter-lived roots than those from nutrient limiting conditions. Both drought and excess water can induce premature root death, as can the resupply of water after drought. Turnover of roots contributes to carbon deposition in soil through their death and decay, as well as from the release of exudates from those roots during their lifetime. Improved understanding of root turnover is important for the development of more sustainable cropping systems. In particular, it could be used to improve the exploitation of N released from green manure as well as capturing N that has been leached below the rooting zone of staple crops. It is stressed that root turnover has more importance for plants with longer life cycles than in short season annual crops.