Perspectives from the Fritz-Scheffer Awardee 2017. How mucilage affects soil hydraulic dynamics#

Abstract

Mucilage is a hydrogel exuded at root tips, which can hold large amounts of water but turns hydrophobic once dried. It is very challenging to understand the interplay of these opposite mechanisms and to incorporated them into hydraulic soil models. My summary of experimental and modelling approaches and observations at various scales is meant to help improving soil–plant water dynamic models and may also be helpful when water dynamics need to be considered in biogeochemical rhizosphere models.