Xerophytes
The roots of xerophytes have adapted to provide anchorage, structural support, and provide nutritions like mesophytic plants but because of the different environment, the way they have adapted is quite different.
Most xerophytes like cacti have shallow root systems that are fully developed and penetrate outwards in the upper layers of the soil which is the opposite to the mesophytic roots which penetrate into the deeper layers of the soil. This is because of the environments that xerophytes live in. Because of these harsh conditions, the water hardly ever has time to sink into the deeper layers of the soil and stay moist as it evaporates very quickly. This shallow yet extensive root system of cacti like the saguaro cactus, allows the cactus to take advantage of any sudden rainfalls, absorbing water from a big surface area before it can evaporate. These cacti, however, can also have a very long tap root in addition to the lots of surface roots which can also store water. (DimmittMark, 2015) (PentecostCaroline, 2015) (onlinebotanical, cactus adaptations, 2015) (aneyefortexas, 2015)
|
However, some xerophytes can have extensive root systems that penetrate into the deep layers of the soil like mesophytic plants to search for water or moist soil in the dry periods with less frequent rainfalls when the top layers of the earth is dry. A prime example is an Acacia tree that has roots penetrating to over 8m below the surface. (snmichaels, 2015) (HenryEllen, 2015) (ConservancyChichester, 2015)
The difference the development of root systems varies from plant to plant as they have different water requirements with different ecological niche living in different environments that has different water availability.
The difference the development of root systems varies from plant to plant as they have different water requirements with different ecological niche living in different environments that has different water availability.