Water holding and translocation via mycorrhizal networks
| Name: | Water holding and translocation via mycorrhizal networks |
|---|---|
| Researchers: |
Püschel David (researcher) Sudová Radka (member in research team) Rydlová Jana (member in research team) |
| Provider: | |
| Number: | 23-05461S |
| Realization from: | 2023 |
| Realization to: | 2025 |
| Summary: | Albeit arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are an inherent component of soils, we only start to disentangle complex relationships involved in interaction with plants, or soil environment in general. The connections between AMF and soil water remain surprisingly neglected. This needs to be rectified, considering climatic change and shifts in rainfall patterns we face nowadays. In the proposed project we seek for answering two questions: 1) Does the presence of AMF hyphal networks affect water holding capacity of the soils? Our recent findings indicate positive effect in this regard. AMF hyphae penetrating through soil pores arguably affect capillarity, which is important for holding of water in some pores, or for water translocation. We plan to explore the role of AMF in water holding capacity of soils of different texture as well as possible differences between AMF taxa. 2) Do AMF contribute to water translocation towards the plants? If yes, we want to distinguish active transport inside the hyphae from the passive one, related rather to modified physical properties of the soils. |