How do different root structures affect soil?

Nodules formed on the roots of a Fava Bean plant. These structures are necessary to protect the anaerobic activity of nitrogen fixing bacteria, which form a mutualistic symbiosis with the plant. Credit: Jake Mowrer

Root architecture, formation play key roles in modifying soil

Plant roots modify soil in different ways – depending on the root’s architecture. This Soil Science Society of America’s (SSSA) February 1st Soils Matter Blog explores plant roots and how plants modify soil in substantive ways.

Blogger Jake Mowrer explains, “Plants modify soil. That is a fact. They spend a lot of energy doing it, and they do it to their own advantage. Organisms (which, of course, include plants) are even one of the five soil formation factors, along with climate, relief/topography, parent material, and time.”

The term “root architecture” can include physical arrangement of roots, number, thickness, length, depth, angles of branching, and distribution of root orders. The primary root is called the seminal root, and roots that branch off the seminal root are called the first order laterals. Roots that branch off from first order laterals are called second order laterals.

The portion of the soil most explored, the depth, and the lateral reach of a plant’s root system all affect how different plants physically modify soil in different ways. To learn more, read the entire blog: https://soilsmatter.wordpress.com/2021/02/01/how-do-different-root-structures-affect-soil/