The soil pore structure encountered by roots affects plant-derived carbon inputs and fate.

Plant roots are the main supplier of carbon (C) to the soil, the largest terrestrial C reservoir. Soil pore structure drives root growth, yet how it affects belowground C inputs remains a critical knowledge gap. By combining X-ray computed tomography with C plant labelling, we identified root-soil contact as a previously unrecognised influence on belowground plant C allocations and on the fate of plant-derived C in the soil.

Cover crop influence on pore size distribution and biopore dynamics: Enumerating root and soil faunal effects.

Pore structure is a key determinant of soil functioning, and both root growth and activity of soil fauna are modified by and interact with pore structure in multiple ways. Cover cropping is a rapidly growing popular strategy for improving agricultural sustainability, including improvements in pore structure. However, since cover crop species encompass a variety of contrasting root architectures, they can have disparate effects on formation of soil pores and their characteristics, thus on the pore structure formation.

Exploring microbial determinants of apple replant disease (ARD): a microhabitat approach under split-root design.

Apple replant disease (ARD) occurs worldwide in apple orchards and nurseries and leads to a severe growth and productivity decline. Despite research on the topic, its causality remains unclear. In a split-root experiment, we grew ARD-susceptible 'M26' apple rootstocks in different substrate combinations (+ARD: ARD soil; -ARD: gamma-irradiated ARD soil; and Control: soil with no apple history).

Roots compact the surrounding soil depending on the structures they encounter.

Contradictory evidence exists regarding whether and to which extend roots change soil structure in their vicinity. Here we attempt to reconcile disparate views allowing for the two-way interaction between soil structure and root traits, i.e.

Root growth, function and rhizosphere microbiome analyses show local rather than systemic effects in apple plant response to replant disease soil.

Apple replant disease (ARD) is the phenomenon of soil decline occurring after repeated planting of apple trees at the same site. This study aimed to elucidate whether ARD is systemic, i.e.