Edith Le Cadre

Acquisition of phosphorus and other poorly mobile nutrients by roots. Where do plant nutrition models fail

BackgroundIn the context of increasing global food demand, ecological intensification of agroecosystems is required to increase nutrient use efficiency in plants while decreasing fertilizer inputs. Better exploration and exploitation of soil resources is a major issue for phosphorus, given that rock phosphate ores are finite resources, which are going to be exhausted in decades from now on.ScopeWe review the processes governing the acquisition by plants of poorly mobile nutrients in soils, with a particular focus on processes at the root–soil interface. Rhizosphere processes are poorly accounted for in most plant nutrition models. This lack largely explains why present-day models fail at predicting the actual uptake of poorly mobile nutrients such as phosphorus under low input conditions. A first section is dedicated to biophysical processes and the spatial/temporal development of the rhizosphere. A second section concentrates on biochemical/biogeochemical processes, while a third section addresses biological/ecological processes operating in the rhizosphere.ConclusionsNew routes for improving soil nutrient efficiency are addressed, with a particular focus on breeding and ecological engineering options. Better mimicking natural ecosystems and exploiting plant diversity appears as an appealing way forward, on this long and winding road towards ecological intensification of agroecosystems.

A mechanistic model for understanding root-induced chemical changes controlling phosphorus availability

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plant nutrition models do not properly account for the effects of root-induced chemical changes in the rhizosphere, e.g. pH changes, on the availability of nutrients such as phosphorus (P). As a result, they underestimate the actual P uptake, i.e. P bioavailability to the plant, in low-P soils. The present study aims at simulating root-induced chemical mechanisms controlling P nutrition in a P-limited soil. METHODS In this work a mechanistic description for the adsorption of cations and anions by soil constituents (1pK-Triple Plane Model, ion-exchange and Nica-Donnan) was used to simulate changes induced by durum wheat (Triticum durum turgidum) in the P availability of the soil, as measured by water and CaCl2 extraction. Calcium (Ca) availability was also measured and simulated. KEY RESULTS The simulations were found to be in close agreement with experimental data. In the rhizosphere, the goodness-of-fit required to account for the measured uptake of Ca by plants, in addition to the measured uptake of P and root-induced alkalization, were satisfactory. Calcium uptake significantly increased P availability, as assessed through water extraction, by decreasing the promoting effect of Ca adsorption on P adsorption. The study thus enabled P and Ca availability to be related to their bioavailability for durum wheat under experimental conditions. It was also shown that P was primarily adsorbed onto Fe oxides and clay minerals (kaolinite and illite) depending on soil pH. The major source of P for durum wheat nutrition was P desorbed from goethite and kaolinite. CONCLUSIONS In addition to confirming the validity of our approach to model P availability, the present investigation suggested that in the studied soil, a novel root-induced chemical process was controlling P nutrition under P-deficient conditions, namely the uptake of Ca.

Root-induced processes controlling phosphate availability in soils with contrasted P-fertilized treatments

AimsIn this study we identified the nature of the root-induced chemical processes controlling changes in phosphate (P) availability in a soil with two P loadings resulting from long-term fertilization treatments.MethodsWe used a set of mechanistic adsorption models (surface complexation and ion exchange) within the framework of the component additive approach to simulate the effect of durum wheat roots on P availability. We had to consider the influence of adsorption of other ions to ensure the goodness-of-fit of the simulations.ResultsWe found that Ca2+ uptake, in addition to P uptake and root-induced alkalization, controlled P availability in the rhizosphere regardless of the fertilization level. The relative influence of these three processes depends primarily on the extractant used to estimate P availability. Calcium uptake was the most significant process in water extracts, whereas P uptake was the dominant root-induced chemical process in CaCl2 extracts. Under low Ca concentrations, Ca2+ uptake decreased the promoting influence of Ca2+ adsorption on P adsorption.ConclusionsIn addition to confirming the validity of our approach to model P availability, the present investigation indicated that root-induced processes markedly affect P availability irrespective of the fertilization level.