Exciting research environment in a great team and a lovely working space

Frontiers | Shallow rooted understory plants use hydraulically redistributed water by mature oak trees during drought Hydraulic redistribution (HR) by deep-rooting trees can provide water from deeper soil layers to shallow-rooted understory plants, yet species-specific and t...

Mature #oak acts as hidden irrigation system for the understory: #hydraulicredistribution of deep soil water can cover about one third of oak seedlings’ daily #transpiration. This benefit extends not only to oak regeneration but also to co-occurring shallow-rooted species. doi.org/10.3389/ffgc...

Final reminder: Abstracts for our @egubg.bsky.social session @egu.eu on #rootexudates are due Jan 15th!

Calling all #rootexudate researchers — reminder!

Our @egubg.bsky.social #EGU26 session includes a keynote by Eva Oburger (BOKU Vienna) on #rootexudation, #rhizosphere biogeochemistry & #root–microbe interactions.

Abstract deadline: 15 Jan!

Calling all #rootexudate enthusiasts!
Join our @egubg.bsky.social session (with Taryn Bauerle, @melaniebrunn.bsky.social, Maire Holz & Sami Ullah) at the @egu.eu 2026 General Assembly on exudate composition, function & persistence.
Submit by 15 Jan meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/sessio...

🐝 PhD Opportunity @tum.de
Explore how soil health & structure shape habitats for ground-nesting pollinators in the Horizon Europe project ProPollSoil.
Join our interdisciplinary team in Soil Biophysics & Environmental Systems 🌿

🔗 Details: www.lss.ls.tum.de/sbe/offered-...

The courtyard of the workshop venue, with a sign pointing us to the right room for the workshop "The C we do not see: Root exudation methods, physiology, nutrient dynamics, and modelling"

The organising committee with from left to right Maire, Eva, Franciska, Rich, Ina, and Johanna

A white board with multiple yellow, orange and green post with various definitions of root exudation and rhizodeposition

A group photo of all participants in front of a large graffiti mural

On the train back after a very inspiring workshop on root exudation in Berlin, funded by @newphyt.bsky.social

What is it, is it important, where should we be in 10 years time, and how do we get there? Stay tuned for the answers!

Drought legacy in mature spruce alleviates physiological stress during recurrent drought The slow recovery of leaf area in mature spruce following a long-term drought alleviated physiological stress during recurrent drought.

New paper on #drought_legacy lead by @kyo-hikino.bsky.social showing that slow recovery of leaf area in mature #spruce following a long-term #drought alleviated physiological #stress during recurrent drought: doi.org/10.1111/plb....

Tree mycorrhizal associations regulate relationships between plant & microbial communities & soil organic C stocks at local scales in a temperate forest Mengxu Zhang, Emma J. Sayer, Ji Ye, Zuoqiang Yuan, Fei Lin, Zhanqing Hao, Shuai Fang, Zikun Mao, Pengcheng Jiang, Meihui Zhu, Xugao Wang. This is a plain language summary of a Functional Ecology ar…

🌳Published🌳

#Tree #mycorrhizal associations regulate relationships between #plant & microbial communities & #soil organic C stocks at local scales in a temperate #forest
🌎🧪

📢New Paper - Smart roots! Plants modify roots to maintain strategically use water. When soils are drying, plants can decrease water use from topsoil whilst boosting uptake at greater depths. 🌱💧
@newphyt.bsky.social @uonresearch.bsky.social
Full story 👇
www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/smart-r...

Redistribution of soil water by mature trees towards dry surface soils and uptake by seedlings in a temperate forest Mature beech trees redistributed soil water, equal to ca. 10% of stand transpiration, from deeper moist soils to dry surface soils, where it was taken up by seedlings of different tree species.

Mature beech trees redistribute soil water, equal to ca. 10% of stand #transpiration, from deeper moist #soils to dry surface soils, where seedlings of different #tree species take it up. New #hydraulicredistribution paper with TUM & BoKu Ecophys groups: doi.org/10.1111/plb....

#Exudates decrease strongly during #plantdevelopment and #metabolome shifts from diverse, sugar-dominated to secondary exudates. Fast-growth genotypes exude root establishing, slow-growth more defensive compounds. See our paper with @drmicrowill.bsky.social and the Bauerle lab.