Root decomposition affects soil hydraulic properties in four contrasting herbaceous species

D. Boldrin; A. K. Leung; M. Marin; J. A. Knappett; A. G. Bengough; K. W. Loades

doi:10.1007/s11104-026-08331-y

Root decomposition affects soil hydraulic properties in four contrasting herbaceous species

D. Boldrin (Lead / Corresponding author)
, A. K. Leung
, M. Marin
, J. A. Knappett
, A. G. Bengough
, K. W. Loades

DArcy Thompson Unit

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

24 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background and aims: To optimise soil conditions for agriculture and engineering, we must better understand how root growth and decomposition affect soil hydraulic properties. This paper investigates soil hydraulic properties down soil columns containing grass, forb, and legume species before and after root decomposition. Methods: Contrasting species (2 grasses, 1 forb, 1 legume) were grown within repacked soil columns. These soil columns were divided horizontally into 60 mm cores and hydraulic conductivity (K_s) was measured both before and after 7-month incubation of cores at either 5 °C or in a heated glasshouse (18–25 °C). Water sorptivity, hydrophobicity and hardness were measured in root-channel walls after decomposition in cores divided longitudinally. Soil water-release characteristics were measured in small cores sampled down the soil profile. Results: Vegetated soil averaged up to 5.6-fold greater K_s than fallow soils, varying greatly between species. K_s decreased rapidly down the columns in fallow soil, whilst D. carota and L. corniculatus soils had more uniform K_s with depth. The soil of root-channel walls showed distinct sorptivity and hydrophobicity compared to control bulk-soil. Conclusion: Appropriate species choice can increase K_s. Roots and their decomposition greatly affect these soil physical properties down the profile, influencing water dynamics in plant communities and soil-mediated ecosystem services.

Original language	English
Journal	Plant and Soil
Early online date	16 Feb 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-026-08331-y
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 16 Feb 2026

Keywords

Bio-pores
Decomposition
Plant-soil interactions
Root channels
Soil structure

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Soil Science
Plant Science

Access to Document

10.1007/s11104-026-08331-yLicence: CC BY

Final published version
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder
Final published version, 2.11 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{1d317d5ef5df4314b6e1e328203453a1,

title = "Root decomposition affects soil hydraulic properties in four contrasting herbaceous species",

abstract = "Background and aims: To optimise soil conditions for agriculture and engineering, we must better understand how root growth and decomposition affect soil hydraulic properties. This paper investigates soil hydraulic properties down soil columns containing grass, forb, and legume species before and after root decomposition. Methods: Contrasting species (2 grasses, 1 forb, 1 legume) were grown within repacked soil columns. These soil columns were divided horizontally into 60 mm cores and hydraulic conductivity (Ks) was measured both before and after 7-month incubation of cores at either 5 °C or in a heated glasshouse (18{\textendash}25 °C). Water sorptivity, hydrophobicity and hardness were measured in root-channel walls after decomposition in cores divided longitudinally. Soil water-release characteristics were measured in small cores sampled down the soil profile. Results: Vegetated soil averaged up to 5.6-fold greater Ks than fallow soils, varying greatly between species. Ks decreased rapidly down the columns in fallow soil, whilst D. carota and L. corniculatus soils had more uniform Ks with depth. The soil of root-channel walls showed distinct sorptivity and hydrophobicity compared to control bulk-soil. Conclusion: Appropriate species choice can increase Ks. Roots and their decomposition greatly affect these soil physical properties down the profile, influencing water dynamics in plant communities and soil-mediated ecosystem services.",

keywords = "Bio-pores, Decomposition, Plant-soil interactions, Root channels, Soil structure",

author = "D. Boldrin and Leung, \{A. K.\} and M. Marin and Knappett, \{J. A.\} and Bengough, \{A. G.\} and Loades, \{K. W.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2026.",

year = "2026",

month = feb,

day = "16",

doi = "10.1007/s11104-026-08331-y",

language = "English",

journal = "Plant and Soil",

issn = "0032-079X",

publisher = "Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Root decomposition affects soil hydraulic properties in four contrasting herbaceous species

AU - Boldrin, D.

AU - Leung, A. K.

AU - Marin, M.

AU - Knappett, J. A.

AU - Bengough, A. G.

AU - Loades, K. W.

PY - 2026/2/16

Y1 - 2026/2/16

N2 - Background and aims: To optimise soil conditions for agriculture and engineering, we must better understand how root growth and decomposition affect soil hydraulic properties. This paper investigates soil hydraulic properties down soil columns containing grass, forb, and legume species before and after root decomposition. Methods: Contrasting species (2 grasses, 1 forb, 1 legume) were grown within repacked soil columns. These soil columns were divided horizontally into 60 mm cores and hydraulic conductivity (Ks) was measured both before and after 7-month incubation of cores at either 5 °C or in a heated glasshouse (18–25 °C). Water sorptivity, hydrophobicity and hardness were measured in root-channel walls after decomposition in cores divided longitudinally. Soil water-release characteristics were measured in small cores sampled down the soil profile. Results: Vegetated soil averaged up to 5.6-fold greater Ks than fallow soils, varying greatly between species. Ks decreased rapidly down the columns in fallow soil, whilst D. carota and L. corniculatus soils had more uniform Ks with depth. The soil of root-channel walls showed distinct sorptivity and hydrophobicity compared to control bulk-soil. Conclusion: Appropriate species choice can increase Ks. Roots and their decomposition greatly affect these soil physical properties down the profile, influencing water dynamics in plant communities and soil-mediated ecosystem services.

AB - Background and aims: To optimise soil conditions for agriculture and engineering, we must better understand how root growth and decomposition affect soil hydraulic properties. This paper investigates soil hydraulic properties down soil columns containing grass, forb, and legume species before and after root decomposition. Methods: Contrasting species (2 grasses, 1 forb, 1 legume) were grown within repacked soil columns. These soil columns were divided horizontally into 60 mm cores and hydraulic conductivity (Ks) was measured both before and after 7-month incubation of cores at either 5 °C or in a heated glasshouse (18–25 °C). Water sorptivity, hydrophobicity and hardness were measured in root-channel walls after decomposition in cores divided longitudinally. Soil water-release characteristics were measured in small cores sampled down the soil profile. Results: Vegetated soil averaged up to 5.6-fold greater Ks than fallow soils, varying greatly between species. Ks decreased rapidly down the columns in fallow soil, whilst D. carota and L. corniculatus soils had more uniform Ks with depth. The soil of root-channel walls showed distinct sorptivity and hydrophobicity compared to control bulk-soil. Conclusion: Appropriate species choice can increase Ks. Roots and their decomposition greatly affect these soil physical properties down the profile, influencing water dynamics in plant communities and soil-mediated ecosystem services.

KW - Bio-pores

KW - Decomposition

KW - Plant-soil interactions

KW - Root channels

KW - Soil structure

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105030196420

U2 - 10.1007/s11104-026-08331-y

DO - 10.1007/s11104-026-08331-y

M3 - Article

C2 - 41970285

AN - SCOPUS:105030196420

SN - 0032-079X

JO - Plant and Soil

JF - Plant and Soil

ER -

Root decomposition affects soil hydraulic properties in four contrasting herbaceous species

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this