Interactions between soil organisms (such as plants) and their environment shape terrestrial fluxes, biochemical cycles, and agro-ecosystem productivity. Life in soil can actively modify its physical environment to optimize growth and reproductive conditions. However, we lack detailed knowledge of the underlying mechanisms that shape these adaptive modifications and the feedback between their drivers. Furthermore, we do not understand how these interactions affect access to soil resources and processes, such as plant growth and bioturbation. The main challenge stems from the inherent complexity of biophysical and biochemical processes in soils and plants across multiple scales.
Experimental techniques such as non-invasive imaging and three-dimensional root system modeling tools have deepened our understanding of water and solute transport processes in the soil-plant system. Quantitative approaches that integrate across disciplines and scales serve as stepping stones to advance our understanding of fundamental biophysical processes at the interface between soils and plants.
This session targets research investigating soil-plant-related resource transfer processes and contributions linking biological processes and soil physics across different scales (from the rhizosphere to the global scale) and welcomes scientists from multiple disciplines encompassing soil and plant sciences across natural, as well as agricultural systems. We are specifically inviting contributions on the following topics:
- Bridging the gap between biologically and physically oriented research in soil and plant sciences.
- Measuring and modeling of soil-plant hydraulics, water and solute fluxes through the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum across scales.
- Identification of plant strategies to better access and use resources from the soil, including under abiotic stress(es).
- Novel experimental and modeling techniques assessing belowground processes such as root growth, root water, and nutrient uptake, root exudation, microbial interactions, and soil structure formation.
- Mechanistic understanding of plant water use and gas exchange regulation under drought and their implementation in Earth system models.
The aim of this session is to highlight the potential of interdisciplinary approaches to address current and future challenges in soil and plant science and to foster scientific exchange across disciplines.