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Variation in moisture contents between bulk soil and the rhizosheath of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. cv. Wembley)
Author(s) -
YOUNG I. M.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1995.tb01823.x
Subject(s) - water content , soil water , agronomy , moisture , bulk density , chemistry , soil science , environmental science , biology , geology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry
summary There is conflicting evidence as to whether rhizosheath soil can be wetter or drier than bulk soil. The gravimetric moisture contents of bulk soil and the rhizosheath of wheat were determined for plants grown in a glasshouse over a range of dry bulk densities (1.0, 1.1 and 1.3 Mg m −3 ). Plants were also grown in soil at 1.1 Mg m −3 at 15 °C in a controlled environment. No significant differences in soil moistures over the initial dry bulk density range examined were found. Overall, rhizosheath soil was significantly ( P < 0.05) wetter than bulk soil. In the second experiment, under controlled environment conditions, significant differences ( P < 0.05) were found only at the lowest depth range examined. The mechanism behind preferential wetting of the rhizosheath is examined with reference to other work on transfer of water to soil from roots, physical changes in the rhizosheath, and root exudates. The most likely explanation of these results is that the presence of mucigel within the rhizosheath increases the water‐holding capacity of that soil.