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A concealed root system is present in one out of five plants. Indeed, a study conducted by New York University shows that a significant portion of our terrestrial ecosystems share a pattern that was previously entirely disregarded: a second, much deeper, and hidden root system located more than a meter underground. This is in contrast to the widespread belief that roots are found in the top layer of soil. How?
That’s just the way it is.The subterranean structure found in most plants may have significant ramifications for the management of natural resources and the study of climate change. About 20% of the North American ecosystems that have been studied exhibit a bimodal root distribution, meaning that they have two hidden systems in the deeper soil layers and a first group of shallow roots that we assumed were the only ones.
Therefore, if roots grow deeper, they may be able to access nutrients that we might otherwise overlook, withstand drought better, and—most importantly—store carbon in areas that are inaccessible to microbial activity, which would otherwise release it as CO. Would you like to learn more?
Science only looked at the surface
The first 30 to 50 centimeters of soil have been the subject of decades’ worth of inquiry. However, a structure that had been buried has been discovered thanks to the work with the NEON ecological observatory and its excavations up to two meters deep: a second deep root system that can explore nutrient-rich places like nitrogen.
Here, plants benefit in yet another way (particularly in nutrient-poor soils or arid regions). The most amazing part is that this happens more often than we initially believed!
Much more than water: the role of carbon
The most startling aspect of this finding is not only that roots can look for nutrients or water in places we previously believed they couldn’t. Carbon is what matters most. The carbon is shut off from the bacteria that typically break it down and release it back into the atmosphere as CO if these deep roots are able to retain more than a meter of carbon underground. Thus, it might be kept there for years or even millennia. And that is invaluable during a climate catastrophe.
Roots, the invisible system that holds everything together
This compels us to reconsider our understanding of ecosystems. On the surface, they are more than just trees and leaves. Subterranean life is far more complicated than we previously believed. In addition to being tiny tubes that absorb water, roots actively contribute to climate regulation. We hardly give them credit for maintaining the planet’s equilibrium; they are a sort of quiet network!
Deep-rooted crops appear to be more resilient to drought. That provides us with a very useful hint for creating more resilient plants, which is essential in regions where the soil is already depleted or threatened by desertification.
This discovery has the potential to alter a number of practices, including forestry initiatives, carbon capture techniques, and agricultural soil improvement. It’s time to delve beyond the one-meter depth, where no one has searched before, if we want genuine answers!
In fact, nobody has considered the possibility of double-rooted plants despite the extensive studies on Earth’s soil! Despite the fact that we still don’t know much, this discovery gives us optimism, particularly in light of the worrying signals of climate change on our planet.
What if we can save our planet without creating anything? What if life here is already sustained by the plants taking care of the grunt work themselves? Let’s take a literal look underground!
