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Responses to Drought and Flooding

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 5, 2026

Author Spotlight: Unraveling Plant Responses to Abiotic Stresses Using the PlantScreen Robotic Platform

Author Spotlight: Unraveling Plant Responses to Abiotic Stresses Using the PlantScreen Robotic Platform

Published on: June 7, 2024

How tree roots respond to drought.

Ivano Brunner¹, Claude Herzog², Melissa A Dawes¹

¹Forest Soils and Biogeochemistry, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL Birmensdorf, Switzerland.

Frontiers in Plant Science

|August 19, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Tree roots employ diverse strategies, including biomass adjustments and physiological acclimations, to withstand drought. This review highlights their crucial role in forest ecosystem function and carbon balance under climate change.

Keywords:

abscisic acid avoidance carbon sequestration hydraulic signals molecular responses mycorrhizas tolerance tree root traits

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A Telemetric, Gravimetric Platform for Real-Time Physiological Phenotyping of Plant–Environment Interactions

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Published on: August 5, 2020

Area of Science:

Ecology
Plant Physiology
Climate Change Biology

Background:

Climate change causes increased temperatures, altered precipitation, and more frequent, intense droughts.
Droughts profoundly impact forest ecosystem carbon balance across various scales.
Research on aboveground tree responses to drought is extensive, but belowground root responses are underrepresented.

Purpose of the Study:

To review current knowledge on tree root responses to drought.
To understand the strategies trees use to avoid and tolerate drought stress belowground.
To emphasize the importance of root function in forest ecosystems under climate change.

Main Methods:

Literature review of studies on tree root responses to drought.
Analysis of morphological, anatomical, and physiological adaptations.
Examination of molecular mechanisms and the role of mycorrhizas.

Main Results:

Tree roots utilize strategies like biomass adjustments, anatomical changes, and physiological acclimation to cope with drought.
Molecular mechanisms involve stress signaling and gene induction, activating tolerance pathways.
Mycorrhizal fungi appear to play a significant protective role for tree roots.

Conclusions:

Tree roots possess robust mechanisms to withstand drought and maintain function.
Roots are critical for forest ecosystem functioning, particularly in the context of climate change.
Further research is needed to fully understand these belowground responses in an emerging field.