Imaging tree root systems in situ

Lucian Wielopolski; George Hendrey; Jeffrey J. Daniels; Michael McGuigan

doi:10.1117/12.383538

27 April 2000 Imaging tree root systems in situ

Lucian Wielopolski, George Hendrey, Jeffrey J. Daniels, Michael McGuigan

Proceedings Volume 4084, Eighth International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.383538
Event: 8th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar, 2000, Gold Coast, Australia

Abstract

Predictions of global energy use in this century suggest a continued increase in carbon emissions and rising concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. This represents a serious environmental problem and contributes significantly to greenhouse gases that affect global warming. Terrestrial ecosystems are a huge natural biological scrubber for CO₂ currently sequestering, directly from the atmosphere, about 25% (approximately 2 GtC) of the 7.4 Gt of anthropogenic carbon emitted annually into the atmosphere. The major carbon pathways into soil are through plant litter and roots. Presently, there are no means by which root morphology, distribution, and mass can be measured without serious sampling artifacts that alter these properties. The current methods are destructive and labor intensive. Preliminary results using a high frequency, 1.5 Ghz, impulse Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) for nondestructive imaging of tree root systems in situ are presented. The 3D reconstructed image is used to assess root morphology and dimensions. The constraints, limitations, and potential solutions for using GPR for tree root systems imaging and analysis are discussed.

Citation Download Citation

Lucian Wielopolski, George Hendrey, Jeffrey J. Daniels, and Michael McGuigan "Imaging tree root systems in situ", Proc. SPIE 4084, Eighth International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar, (27 April 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.383538

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