Effects of mycorrhiza on co-localisation of roots and plant available resources in heterogeneous soil environments

The availability of water and plant nutrients such as phosphorus in soil differ within centimetres.

Co-localisation of roots and resources in soil is therefore crucial for crop growth and promotes local soil biological activity and soil structure formation, thereby improving soil conditions for crop growth.

In this project, we will i) unveil hitherto neglected effects of mycorrhiza on co-localisation of roots and water and phosphorus in soil and ii) link such co-localisation to the development of hotspots of soil biological activity and soil structure formation as well as crop productivity.

We will combine experiments under controlled conditions using wild-type and mycorrhiza-defective Lotus japonicus genotypes with lysimeter studies using barley cultivars with different potentials to form symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi.

We will deploy cutting-edge imaging techniques (time-lapse imaging, planar CO2 optodes, X-ray tomography) to quantify co-localisation of roots and resources in soil, soil biological activity and structure formation, and plant growth.

Our interdisciplinary approach at the interface of plant physiology and genetics, soil ecology and biophysics will provide novel insights into the capacity of mycorrhiza to support crop production.

The findings obtained in the proposed project will thus assist the development of cropping practises that ensure crop yields, while reducing the dependency on external inputs and environmental impacts of agriculture.