BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.41.92// CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH UID:37653338-3437-4664-b534-653664323632 X-WR-CALNAME:BayCMS-Export X-WR-CALDESC:This is a calendar exported from BayCMS X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/Berlin BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/Berlin TZUNTIL:20161030T010000Z BEGIN:STANDARD TZNAME:CET DTSTART:20141026T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 RDATE:20151025T030000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZNAME:CEST DTSTART:20140330T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 RDATE:20150329T020000 RDATE:20160327T020000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de-bayceer-t127555id DTSTAMP:20260408T224436Z DESCRIPTION:The increasing demand of food production and the consequent pre ssure on soil and water resources are the motivation to identify mechanism s improving the ability of plants to take up water and nutrients from soil s\, in particular when these resources are scarce. Plants can adapt to wat er shortage by growing deeper roots that are capable to extract water stor ed in the subsoil. An alternative adaptation strategy of roots consists in the modification of the soil in their vicinity\, the rhizosphere.\nPlant roots exude up to 10% of the carbon assimilated through photosynthesis int o the soil\, a process referred to as rhizodeposition. The carbon exuded i nto the soil helps roots to take up nutrients and promotes positive feedba cks between plants and microorganisms. I will discuss how the mucilaginous fraction of the rhizodeposits\, referred to as mucilage\, alters the soil physical properties playing a crucial role on soil-plant water relations. \nMucilage is a gel that can absorb large volumes of water\, altering the physical properties of the rhizosphere and maintaining the rhizosphere wet and conductive when the soil dries. Acting as a hydraulic bridge between roots and the soil\, mucilage facilitates root water uptake and maintains transpiration and photosynthesis in dry soils. Mucilage contains also a sm all fraction of lipids\, which decrease the surface tension of mucilage an d cause mucilage hydrophobicity upon drying. Mucilage hydrophobicity resul ts in a temporarily water repellence of the rhizosphere and in a slow rewe tting of the rhizosphere compared to the adjacent bulk soil.\nThe high wat er absorbing capacity of mucilage and its temporarily hydrophobicity after drying make of the rhizosphere a region with a dual behavior: mucilage in creases the soil hydraulic conductivity during drying\, but it limits wate r flow during rewetting. I suggest that such a dual behavior helps the pla nts to reversibly up- and down-regulate the water flow across the root-soi l interface and it is a plant strategy to adapt to the heterogeneous and v arying soil conditions. In conclusion\, I propose that mucilage exudation is a plant trait that confers drought tolerance.\nAdditionally\, I expect that the complex\, hysteretic and unique physical properties of the rhizos phere have also an impact on the availability and diffusion of nutrients a nd on the spatial distribution and activity of soil microorganisms.\n \n-- \nInvited by Prof. Matzner\, Soil Ecology DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Berlin:20150305T140000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/Berlin:20150305T235959 LOCATION:H6\, GEO SUMMARY:Prof. Andrea Carminati\, Division of Soil Hydrology\, Georg-August University of Gӧttingen\, Germany (Homepage): The physics of the rhizosphe re and its implications for soil and plant sciences TRANSP:TRANSPARENT END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR