Scientists, within a wide field, ranging from applied forestry and agriculture to physiology, ecology and the environmental sciences, are today more than ever involved in root and mycorrhizal research. New problem-oriented research fields have arisen such as the effects of fertilizers and pesticides, forest management and regeneration etc. At a time when root research is expanding into different areas, it is much more difficult for the root scientist to penetrate all the new information appearing in literature.
The contributors of this volume are leading scientists from different fields of root research. The ISRR-symposium in Uppsala clearly demonstrated that there are new techniques in progress, in particular with regards to video recording of plant root systems and digital image processing. The main objectives of the symposium were (i) to provide a forum for communication between scientists from different disciplines working with root research problems, (ii) to contribute to an expansion of root studies into new areas, (iii) to use current estimates of root turnover for charting the upper and lower limit of below-ground production, and (iv) to spread knowledge of new findings and techniques of the importance of root research.
This book is aimed at serving as a vehicle for improving the coherence of root research, for harmonizing methods and establishing overall objectives and gaps in the knowledge of rhizosphere dynamics.