Dynamics in plant roots and shoots minimise stress, save energy and maintain water and nutrient uptake.

Plants are inherently dynamic. Dynamics minimise stress while flexibly acquiring resouces. Three examples are presented for plants tolerating saline soil: transport of NaCl, water and macronutrients is non-uniform along a branched root, visualised by mapping expressions with tissues and age; water and NaCl redistribute between shoot and soil at nighttime; and ATP for salt exclusion is much lower in thinner branch than main roots, quantified using a biophysical model and geometry from anatomy. Non-invasive phenotyping and precision agriculture technologies can be used together to harness dynamics, but analytical methods are needed. A plant advancing in time through a soil and atmosphere space is proposed as a framework for dynamic data and their relationship to crop improvement. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.