Dr. Bauerle’s lab investigates how plants allocate carbon belowground and how root systems respond to environmental change across systems ranging from model crops like maize to mature forest trees. Research emphasizes the dynamics of fine roots, root exudates, and rhizosphere interactions under variable soil moisture conditions. Using tools such as X-ray computed tomography, minirhizotron imaging, stable isotope tracing, and multi-omics analyses, the lab explores how carbon partitioning influences plant productivity, water status, and resilience to drought, flooding, and other stressors. By integrating studies in agricultural species and perennial woody systems, the lab seeks to connect belowground physiology with whole-plant performance.
Hafner BD, Pietz O, King WL, Scharfetter JB, Bauerle TL. 2025. Early developmental shifts in root exudation profiles of five Zea mays L. genotypes. Plant Science (doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2025.112439).
Chari NR, Tumber-Dávila SJ, Phillips RP, Bauerle TL, Brunn M, Hafner BD, Klein T, Obersteiner S, Reay MK, Ullah S, Taylor BN. 2024. Estimating the global root exudate carbon flux. Biogeochemistry Letters. 167(7) 895-908. (doi.org/10.1007/s10533-024-01161-z).
King WL, Caylon Y, Cao L, O'Rourke-Ibach S, Fleishman SM, C, Richards S Centinari M, Hafner BD, Goebel M, Bauerle T, Kim Y-M, Nicora CD, R, Anderton C, Eissenstat DM, Bell T. 2023. Functionally discrete fine roots differ in microbial assembly, microbial functional potential, and produced metabolites. Plant, Cell and Environment. (doi.org/10.1111/pce.14705).
Wilhelm RC, Muñoz-Ucros J, Weikl F, Pritsch K, Goebel M, Buckley DH, Bauerle TL. 2023. The effects of mixed-species root zones on the resistance of soil bacteria and fungi to long-term experimental and natural reductions in soil moisture. Science of The Total Environment 873: (doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162266).
Huber AE, Melcher PJ and Bauerle TL. 2023. Hydraulic integrity of plant organs during drought stress and recovery in herbaceous and woody plant species. Journal of Experimental Botany. (doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erac451).
Hikino K, Danzberger J, Riedel VP, Hesse BD, Hafner BD, Gebhardt T, Rehschuh R, Ruehr NK, Brunn M, Bauerle TL, Landhäusser SM, Lehmann MM, Rötzer T, Pretzsch H, Buegger F, Weikl F, Pritsch K, Grams TEE. 2022. Dynamics of initial carbon allocation after drought release in mature Norway spruce—Increased belowground allocation of current photoassimilates covers only half of the carbon used for fine-root growth. Global Change Biology, 28, 6889– 6905. (doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16388).
Zwetsloot M and Bauerle TL. 2021. Repetitive seasonal drought causes substantial species‐specific shifts in fine‐root longevity and spatio‐temporal production patterns in mature temperate forest trees. New Phytologist (doi.org/10.1111/nph.17432).
