For the love of roots and rhizosphere

VIVANCO, JM.; G. RUBIO

ECOLOGY

ECOLOGICAL SOC AMER

Año: 2008 vol. 89 p. 590 - 591

0012-9658

A relatively new arrival to the ecosystem equation is the humble plant root, long thought to be an organ whose sole mission was to provide support and nourishment and whose interaction with the environment was thought to be passive at best. The area immediately surrounding the plant root is known as the rhizosphere, and rhizosphere processes are turning out to be an important player on the ecosystem stage. Roots and the compounds they secrete (root exudates) manipulate and mediate interactions within the rhizosphere, affecting other plants, bacteria, fungi, soil chemistry, and other soil dwellers, and the outcome of these interactions have a trickle-down effect on plant physiology, community response and the ecosystem.  The rhizosphere: an ecological perspective is a welcome arrival to the field of rhizosphere science, the main aim of which is to provide an overview of recent advances in rhizosphere ecology. Helpful insights on the biology and biochemistry of this underground zone are also provided.  The editors compiled several chapters written by different groups. Each chapter was written as a single unit, which resulted in some redundancy in the background information among the chapters. The book was very well -written and an easy read; however, the reader should not expect a complete treatise on rhizosphere science, since only some aspects of the topic are addressed in this book.