Seeing roots from space

A new study led by Dr Nicola Kühn during her DPhil associated with the lab titled “Seeing roots from space: aboveground fingerprints of root depth in vegetation sensitivity to climate in dry biomes” has been published in Environmental Research Letters. This paper finds a negative relationship between field-collected root depth data and remotely-sensed vegetation sensitivity to climate variability (developed in prior lab research, Seddon and Macias-Fauria et al 2016 Nature 531 229–32) and a positive relationship between root depth and remotely-sensed ground water depth. This research therefore suggests that the ability to access deeper water resources during times of lower water availability through deeper roots, is a key trait for dryland vegetation in the face of future climate change. This work also demonstrates the ability to see belowground traits reflected by aboveground remotely-sensed plant-climate interactions.