Abstract There is a lack of quantitative understandings on root-mediated changes of soil physical properties. Here we investigated the influences of maize roots on soil heat capacity (C), thermal conductivity (λ) and dielectric constant (e) of the root zone. Root-zone soil cores were collected at different depths and horizontal positions from the eighth leaf to milk stage of maize, and C, λ and e of the samples were measured with the thermo-TDR technique. Improved C, λ and e models that included the influences of roots were developed and validated. The patterns and magnitudes of root effects on C, λ and e generally followed the configurations of root distribution. On average, the presence of roots caused increases in soil C, λ and e by 8.8%, 7.1% and 13.6%, respectively. For the root-zone soils, root influences on thermal properties and dielectric constant were significant and could be described quantitatively by using the proposed models.

中文翻译：

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不应忽视根系引起的土壤热和介电特性的变化

摘要 目前对根系介导的土壤物理性质变化缺乏定量认识。在这里，我们研究了玉米根对根区土壤热容 (C)、导热系数 (λ) 和介电常数 (e) 的影响。在玉米第八叶至乳汁期不同深度和水平位置采集根区土壤核心，采用热-​​TDR技术测量样品的C、λ和e。包括根影响的改进的 C、λ 和 e 模型得到了开发和验证。根对 C、λ 和 e 的影响模式和大小通常遵循根分布的配置。平均而言，根的存在导致土壤 C、λ 和 e 分别增加了 8.8%、7.1% 和 13.6%。对于根区土壤，