Root Systems in Plant–Soil–Water Interactions

Root systems are central to plant function and survival. They facilitate the uptake and internal transport of water and nutrients, store resources and energy, provide physical stability, and mediate competition belowground. These functions are highly susceptible to various abiotic stressors, including drought, climate variability, salinity, nutrient imbalances, oxygen limitation, soil contamination, frost, structural degradation, and erosion.

As the primary interface between plants and the soil, roots play a critical role in regulating plant–soil–water interactions. Root traits and dynamics influence how plants respond to environmental stress. For example, an extensive or plastic root system allows plants to compensate for localized soil constraints by accessing water and nutrients from more favorable zones. Roots can also adapt dynamically, extending deeper in search of moisture or nutrients during periods of drought or deficiency.

At the same time, root systems actively shape the soil environment, influencing hydraulic conductivity, nutrient distribution, and soil structure. These bidirectional interactions create complex feedback loops between root development and soil properties. Due to the inherent difficulty in observing such processes directly, biophysical modeling has become an essential tool for exploring plant–soil–water dynamics. Models of root hydraulics, solute transport, root–soil mechanical interactions, and ecohydrological feedbacks offer valuable insights. However, root traits are often oversimplified in these models, limited by the complexity of subsurface processes and gaps in empirical data. There is a pressing need for research that provides novel, generalizable insights into how root systems mediate plant–soil–water interactions. Such work will be critical for improving models of plant responses to abiotic stress and climate change, and for advancing sustainable agricultural and ecological practices.

This Research Topic focuses on the central role of root systems in shaping plant–soil–water interactions and feedbacks, spanning spatial scales from individual soil pores to landscapes, and organizational levels from single plants to ecosystems. We welcome submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
1. Root system architecture and adaptive strategies in plant–soil–water interactions, including root driven (or root turnover driven) modifications of soil properties in response to abiotic stress or as evolved adaptations.
2. Biophysical modeling of root systems, that captures temporal dynamics and spatial heterogeneity in both root growth and abiotic stressors.
3. Experimentation and modeling approaches investigating the mechanics of plant–soil–water interactions, such as ecohydrology, root hydraulics, root–soil biomechanics, and nutrient or contaminant uptake.
4. Scaling of plant–soil–water processes, including approaches for upscaling or downscaling across different spatial and ecological levels.
5. Root-driven ecological dynamics, exploring the spatial and temporal dimensions of succession and system sensitivity to abiotic soil stressors.

We encourage the submission of all article types, including original research, reviews, perspectives, and technical or methodological notes.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: plant–environment feedbacks, abiotic stress physiology, biophysical interactions, ecosystem resilience, predictive modeling

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.