Mario Biondini, professor in the School of Natural Resource Sciences, has developed a three-dimensional model that helps determine how much water plant root systems will absorb. He has been invited to give a presentation and lead a discussion on this research at the Council of Scientific Society Presidents national meeting on Dec. 7, in Washington, D.C. The title of his talk is “Why are Plant Roots Designed the Way They Are?”

Biondini’s research offers additional insights on more accurately predicting how much water plants absorb through their root systems. His research improves upon what is known as the West, Brown, and Enquist (WBE) model for scaling laws in biological networks. The model predicts how closed systems will uptake water. Although it is useful to evaluate closed systems, the model does not offer an optimum way to predict water uptake in open systems such as plant root systems.

In his research, Biondini used data from 1,759 plants in 77 herbaceous plant species to test his model. Such modeling includes taking into account the resistance to water flow inside the root system (longitudinal flow), as well as the water coming into the root system (transversal flow). An accurate model such as the one developed by Biondini provides an important tool for consideration in sustainable agricultural practices. The model 3DMIPS is used to investigate links between biological diversity, nutrient cycling, nutrient retention, water quality, productivity, stability and sustainability of natural and managed ecosystems.

Biondini used NDSU’s Center for High Performance Computing (CHPC) in the development of his model. “CHPC resources have been invaluable since implementations of the model required large memory and disc storage as well as high execution speeds for both its three-dimensional nature and the fine spatial grain needed to model water and nutrient flows at the root surface level,” Biondini said.

Biondini also had information from his project featured in a national impact article that was published on the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service Web site. Stacy Kish wrote the article titled “Scientists Model the Scaling Laws of Water Uptake by Plant Roots.”

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service National Research Initiative provided funding for Biondini’s research. The Council of Scientific Society Presidents is an organization of presidents, presidents-elect, and recent past presidents of about 60 scientific federations and societies whose combined membership numbers more than 1.4 million scientists and science educators. The council provides an opportunity for scientists and science and math educators to convene in a multidisciplinary forum for engaging in lively dialogue with invited speakers from government, academe and industry.