Summary
This review examines how critical zone science—the integrated study of Earth systems from canopy top to unweathered bedrock—enhances understanding of plant ecophysiology. The authors highlight recent evidence that deep subsurface resources play underappreciated roles in plant water and nutrient relations, and identify deep nonsoil resource utilisation and plant–landscape coevolution as emerging research frontiers in plant ecophysiology.
Regional applicability
The critical zone framework is universally applicable to terrestrial systems, including United Kingdom temperate and upland landscapes. However, this is a conceptual review without site-specific data, so direct applicability depends on subsequent empirical studies conducted in UK conditions.
Key measures
Not applicable; this is a conceptual and literature review paper with no primary empirical measurements reported.
Outcomes reported
The paper synthesises critical zone science as an integrative framework for understanding plant ecophysiology, particularly emphasising the importance of deeper subsurface resources for plant water and nutrient acquisition across landscape evolution contexts.
Topic tags
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