Roots, water and nutrient acquisition: let's get physical

Improved root water and nutrient acquisition can increase fertiliser use efficiency and is important for securing food production. Root nutrient acquisition includes proliferation, transporter function, exudation, symbioses, and the delivery of dissolved nutrients from the bulk soil to the root surface via mass flow and diffusion. The widespread adoption of simplified experimental systems has restricted consideration of the influence of soil symbiotic organisms and physical properties on root acquisition. The soil physical properties can directly influence root growth and explain some of the disparities obtained from different experimental systems. Turning this to an advantage, comparing results obtained with the same model plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) in different systems, we can tease apart the specific effects of soil physical properties.