Abstract
Plant phenotypic plasticity in response to nutrient and water availability is an important adaptation for abiotic stress tolerance. Roots intercept water and nutrients while foraging through soil searching for further resources. Substantial amounts of nitrate can leach into groundwater; yet, little is known about how deep rooting affects this process. Here, we phenotyped root system traits and deep 15N nitrate capture across 1.5 m profiles of solid-media using tall mesocosms in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a cellulosic bioenergy feedstock. Root and shoot biomass, photosynthesis and respiration, and nutrient uptake traits were quantified in response to a water and nitrate stress factorial experiment in the greenhouse for switchgrass upland (VS16) and lowland (AP13) ecotypes. The two switchgrass ecotypes shared common plastic abiotic responses to nitrogen (N) and water availability and yet showed genotypic differences for root and shoot traits. A significant interaction between nitrogen and water stress for axial and lateral root traits represents a complex and shared root development strategy for stress mitigation. Deep root growth and 15N capture were found to be closely linked to aboveground growth. Together, these results represent the wide genetic pool of switchgrass and that deep rooting promotes nitrate capture, plant productivity, and sustainability.
Highlight Two main ecotypes of switchgrass have both shared and different root responses to varying water and nitrogen conditions, with deep rooting shown to be closely linked to aboveground growth.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
We updated the abstract to remove references to the solid-media growth substrate as soil, which we had done elsewhere previously.
