As an important component of the Earth's key zones, soil plays an important role in a series of processes and material cycles controlled by the Earth's key zones, such as water cycle, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, terrestrial ecosystem operation, and human survival and development.. Soil is a fragmented multiphase geological material, whose structure determines its properties, which determine its mechanical reactions, as well as the migration and redistribution of water and gas in the soil. Vegetation, as another important component of the Earth's key zones, also plays a crucial role in global water cycle, carbon cycle, and climate change. Vegetation-Soil interaction has received attention in the fields of agriculture and environment in the early stages, but with the response to climate change and the achievement of sustainable development, it has become a global consensus, Vegetation: In recent years, soil interaction has also received attention in the fields of engineering and ecology, and related theories have been supplemented and developed

The team spent two years reviewing and summarizing the relevant research on the influence of vegetation roots on soil structure and hydraulic characteristics. They comprehensively analyzed the influence and internal mechanism of vegetation roots on soil structure and hydraulic characteristics from multiple aspects, and pointed out the current research shortcomings, future research directions, and possible research methods.

l& Nbsp

l& NbspRoot exudates change the soil structure by changing the particle size and stability, as well as the viscosity of pore fluids.; Root exudates, due to their strong water absorption ability, enhance the water holding capacity of the root soil. However, under dry conditions, root exudates may transition from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, leading to a decrease in the water holding capacity of the rhizosphere soil; Due to the increase in viscosity of pore fluid, root exudates lead to a decrease in soil saturation permeability coefficient. However, under dry conditions, root exudates keep the rhizosphere moist, alleviating the sharp decrease in permeability coefficient with suction

l& Nbsp(such as root biomass density, root diameter, and root length density)have a good correlation with soil saturation permeability coefficient

l& Nbsp

l& NbspRoot decay leads to an increase in soil porosity, usually resulting in an increase in macropores in the soil, forming preferential flow;; But at the same time, it increases soil organic matter, which may change particle size and soil hydrophilicity; Root decay also exhibits a high temporal correlation and is influenced by multiple factors; The current problem is that there is no understanding of the changes in root rot rate. Real time intelligent monitoring technology and machine learning can be used to use plants as live sensors, indirectly obtaining changes in root rot rate and soil properties by monitoring changes in ground features

l& NbspThe above four processes all have a high degree of time dependence, are influenced by various plant and soil related factors, and interact with each other. Therefore, quantitatively studying the influence of vegetation roots on soil structure and hydraulic properties remains a challenge.

The above review has recently been titled"Effects of vegetation roots on the structure and hydraulic properties of soils: A  perspective review", Published in industryTOPjournalsScience  Of; The  Total; Environment, IF=9.8. The first author of the paper is doctoral student Xiao Tao, with Associate Professor Li Ping and Professor Wang Jiading as co corresponding authors. The co authors include Assistant Professor Fei Wenbin from the University of Melbourne. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42007251,42027806)