Model of Root Aeration versus Nutrient Absorption

1 MODEL OF ROOT AERATION VERSUS NUTRIENT ABSORPTION 

The distribution of primary roots beneath a hill of plants is approximately hemispherical with the individual roots randomly distributed with respect to the vertical and horizontal directions. Thus if there are N primary roots per hill, the length of primary roots per unit soil volume, Lyp, at any distance r from the centre of the hill is 

Primary roots (with laterals) in anoxic soil 

Equation (6.4) gives reasonable fits to measured profiles of Ly with depth in the field. 

The porosity of the cortex, permeability of the root wall and the coverage of the root with laterals vary along the root length, with a much smaller porosity. 

---