Two-dimensional model for water uptake by root systems

Classical models to describe water uptake by roots use mechanistic or empirical functions to represent the sink term in the water transfer equation, which does not allow for analyzing the effect of the root system geometry on extraction patterns. A model to simulate water uptake was developed in order to eliminate this limitation. This model considers the roots to be one boundary of the domain and uses a radiation condition which allows for representing the water flow resistance at the soil-root interface. This resistance is neglected by the models reported in the literature because they use a Dirichlet boundary condition for the roots (specified pressure). The radiation condition is established, which contains parameters that represent the properties of the plants and hydraulic soil as well as the resistance to water flow at the soil-root interface. A finite element solution is obtained for the two-dimensional form of the water transfer equation subject to the radiation condition at the roots. This model is applied to the analysis of a water uptake case, with typical values for the plants' properties and considering the variability of the resistance of the soil-root interface. Since the resistance at the soil-root interface is shown to define the magnitude of the water uptake by roots, this variable cannot be neglected when analyzing the water uptake phenomenon.