Abstract

Soil compaction and escalating global drought increase soil strength and stiffness. It remains unclear which plant root biomechanical mechanisms/traits enable growth in these harsh conditions. Here, we combine synchrotron X-ray computed tomography with spatially resolved X-ray diffraction to characterize the biomechanics of a replica root-soil system. We map the strain field around the root tip analog, finding strong agreement with finite element simulations, thereby demonstrating a promising new in vivo measurement protocol.

Details

Title
Coupled X-ray imaging/diffraction reveals soil mechanics during analogous root growth
Author
Houx, James Le 1 ; Fletcher, Daniel McKay 2 ; Leonardi, Alberto 3 ; Williams, Katherine A. 4 ; Walker, Nancy 5 ; Alvarez-Borges, Fernando 6 ; Dizaj, Ebrahim Afsar 6 ; Murthy, Madhu 6 ; Smith, Ronan 7 ; Perera, Liam 3 ; Aslani, Navid 3 ; James, Andrew 3 ; Ahmed, Sharif 3 ; Roose, Tiina 6 ; Ruiz, Siul 6 

 Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, ISIS Neutron & Muon Source, Didcot, UK (GRID:grid.76978.37) (ISNI:0000 0001 2296 6998); Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, The Faraday Institution, Didcot, UK (GRID:grid.502947.d) (ISNI:0000 0005 0277 5085) 
 University Road, University of Southampton, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Southampton, UK (GRID:grid.5491.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 9297); Environment and Society, Scottish Rural University College, Rural Economy, Edinburgh, UK (GRID:grid.426884.4) (ISNI:0000 0001 0170 6644) 
 Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Diamond Light Source, Didcot, UK (GRID:grid.76978.37) (ISNI:0000 0001 2296 6998) 
 University Road, University of Southampton, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Southampton, UK (GRID:grid.5491.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 9297); Faculty of Science and Health, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK (GRID:grid.4701.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 0728 6636) 
 University Road, University of Southampton, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Southampton, UK (GRID:grid.5491.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 9297); School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, USA (GRID:grid.47100.32) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8710) 
 University Road, University of Southampton, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Southampton, UK (GRID:grid.5491.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 9297) 
 University Road, University of Southampton, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Southampton, UK (GRID:grid.5491.9) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 9297); Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia (GRID:grid.1010.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7304) 
Pages
17
Publication year
2025
Publication date
Dec 2025
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
3004863X
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3226853658
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2025. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.