Experimental study of the uptake of water by soybean roots

Klute, A.; Reicosky, D.C.; Millington, R.J.; Peters, D.B.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/89955 Copy

Description

Title

Experimental study of the uptake of water by soybean roots

Author(s)

• Klute, A.
• Reicosky, D.C.
• Millington, R.J.
• Peters, D.B.

Contributor(s)

• United States Agricultural Research Service
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Issue Date

1970

Keyword(s)

• Water resource development
• Water resource development--Illinois
• Agriculture
• Evapotranspiration
• Evaporation
• Transpiration
• Soil water movement
• Unsaturated flow
• Water uptake
• Source function
• Root density
• Soil moisture
• Soil-plant-water relationships

Geographic Coverage

Illinois (state)

Abstract

The water extraction from soil by plant roots was treated by assuming that such extraction could be represented as a continuously distributed sink (negative source) function. Preliminary results with soybeans grown in soil columns showed that a small part of the root system could extract most of the water used in transpiration. Root density as measured by root length per unit volume of soil was not directly correlated with water uptake. Both the hydraulic conductivity of the soil and root density played a major role in determining the rate of extraction of water at a given depth in the soil. Water uptake per unit root length ranged up to about 0.5 cm3/cm of root/day. This kind of data gives more insight into the conditions at the root-soil interface. The experimental work in this project was developed from a numerical analysis which was supported by an earlier OWRR project (Project No. 65-O3G), and is an example of a basic approach to the study of the interaction of the plant with its environment in which the available degree of understanding of the water flow process in soil is brought to bear upon the plant-soil interaction. The importance of evapotranspiration is well known in the hydrologic cycle. The experimental work described in this report makes a further contribution toward our understanding of this process.

Publisher

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Water Resources Center

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/89955

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

• U.S. Geological Survey
• U.S. Department of the Interior

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 1970 held by the authors

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