Guthrie et al. (2025) Deep Root Loss and Regeneration in the Anthropocene Drive Continental‐Scale Changes in Deep Soil Structure

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Earth s Future
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-09-01
• Authors: Annalise Guthrie, Daniel R. Hirmas, Pamela Sullivan, Li Li, Hoori Ajami, Kamini Singha, Alejandro N. Flores, Hang Wen, A.K. Rudick, Sharon Billings
• DOI: 10.1029/2025ef006326

Research Groups

Not specified

Short Summary

This study investigates how land-use changes and vegetation recovery influence root abundance and soil structure in deep subsurface horizons (>30 cm) across four soil orders. The authors find that root dynamics drive structural transformations, with less-developed soils being more susceptible to these changes.

Objective

• To determine how cropland-related land use and subsequent vegetation recovery alter rooting dynamics and soil structural attributes in deeper soil horizons (B horizon).

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Subsurface soil profiles (>30 cm depth) across four different soil orders.
• Temporal Scale: Not specified (covers periods of land use and vegetation recovery).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not specified.
• Data sources: A large-scale data set representing multiple land uses and four soil orders.

Main Results

• Root loss and regeneration in the B horizon are linked to changes in multiple soil structural attributes.
• The degree of soil development modulates structural susceptibility: Inceptisols exhibited the greatest change in structural development and distinctness, whereas Ultisols exhibited the least.
• These structural modifications influence critical subsurface processes, including water flowpaths, carbon retention, and nutrient transport.

Contributions

• Identifies deep-rooting abundance as a significant agent of subsurface structural change in the Anthropocene.
• Highlights a critical gap in current Earth system models, underscoring the need to incorporate dynamic soil structural attributes that respond to land-use changes.

Funding

Not specified

Citation

@article{Guthrie2025Deep,
  author = {Guthrie, Annalise and Hirmas, Daniel R. and Sullivan, Pamela and Li, Li and Ajami, Hoori and Singha, Kamini and Flores, Alejandro N. and Wen, Hang and Rudick, A.K. and Billings, Sharon},
  title = {Deep Root Loss and Regeneration in the Anthropocene Drive Continental‐Scale Changes in Deep Soil Structure},
  journal = {Earth s Future},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1029/2025ef006326},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025ef006326}
}