Images of the hidden world of plants: Collection reveals how their root systems fuel soil health
Erin Blakemore, The Washington Post
Jan. 30, 2021
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What s in a plant? Humans admire them, eat them and rely on them for oxygen release, carbon sequestration, animal habitat and more. But a plant is more than meets the eye. Beneath the soil, its root system can extend inches or even feet, spidering into the earth and fueling soil health.
An archival collection of over 1,000 images of root systems reveals the hidden world of plants. It s the work of Austrian botanist Lore Kutschera and other researchers at the Plant Sociological Institute in Austria. Over the course of 40 years, they collaborated on an enormous root atlas that maps the underground trajectories of common European plants, from Acanthosicyos horridus, a melon, to zygophyllum, flowering plants. The images are online thanks to Wageningen University & Research, a Dutch university known for its agricult