Projektdatenbank (ab 2004)

Projektnummer

N000531

Zusammenfassung

Plants are big water movers: ca. 50% of the terrestrial precipitation flows back to the atmosphere across the soil-pant-atmosphere continuum via transpiration. This large flow of water has to cross the thin layer of soil that separates the roots from the soil, the rhizosphere. Roots modify the physical and biogeochemical properties of the rhizosphere in several ways. One of the most important effects is the exudation of mucilage, a hydrogel that is believed to help plants to tolerate drought spells by improving the ability of roots to capture water and nutrients from dry soils. Such pr...