Research Project

Against the backdrop of climate change and global population growth the need for more sustainable agricultural practices becomes imminent. An important compartment in the soil regarding the resilience of such systems is the rhizosphere, where physical, chemical and biological processes take place, interacting with each other and thus creating a self-organized system, able to sustain the plant’s needs.

This project is part of the priority programme “Rhizosphere spatio-temporal organisation” (PP 2089) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), which aims at describing patterns and structures in the rhizosphere and explaining the underlying mechanisms.

Non-invasive imaging of soil column experiments using X-ray computed tomography and quantitative image analysis give an insight into rhizosphere structures and how they are affected by different soil textures, soil moistures and the presence of root hairs. Micro-sensing techniques allow to describe the distribution and transport of oxygen in the rhizosphere, which has a great impact on microbial activity and bio-chemical reactions. In collaboration with the working group at the University of Bayreuth the effect of mucilage and soil moisture on micro-mechanical processes of root penetration will be studied. Another cooperation is planned with the Technical University of Munich regarding rhizodeposition and its effect on structure formation in the rhizosphere by applying novel staining techniques to visualize micro-scale soil organic matter distribution.

More information here

Prof. Dr. Stephan Peth

Dr. Daniel Uteau Puschmann

01.10.2018 - 28.02.2021

the project will be continued at the University of Hannover from 01.03.2021 - 31.12.2023

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

• Universität Bayreuth
• TU München
• Universität Bonn
• Forschungszentrum Jülich

MSc Ulla Rosskopf