Optimal root profiles in water-limited ecosystems ☆

The vertical distribution of roots in the soil is of central importance to the mass and energy exchange between the land and the atmosphere. It has been demonstrated that the vertical root profiles which maximize transpiration in numerical experiments reflect well the characteristics of root profiles observed in nature for water-limited ecosystems. Previous research has demonstrated how the optimal vertical root profile depends on both the mean annual precipitation (MAP) and the soil texture. Recently, in the climate literature, it has been suggested Chou et al. (2012) [5] that increased greenhouse forcing in the tropics can lead to a simultaneous decrease in the frequency and increase in the intensity of precipitation. In this paper we demonstrate how such a change in the statistical structure of rainfall, even with no change to MAP, requires deeper root distributions to maintain optimal water use. These results raise interesting questions for future studies of nutrient dynamics, the cost of additional below ground carbon allocation, and inter plant functional type competition.