A novel platform to quantify crack formation due to root water uptake
Soil structure play an important role for a productive and sustainable agriculture. It controls many processes in the soil and has a great impact on soil functions and related ecosystem services. Plants play an important role in soil structure dynamics. The soil structure changes due to plant water...
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| Formato: | Second cycle, A2E |
| Lenguaje: | sueco Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2019
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| Acceso en línea: | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/14338/ |
| Sumario: | Soil structure play an important role for a productive and sustainable agriculture. It controls many processes in the soil and has a great impact on soil functions and related ecosystem services. Plants play an important role in soil structure dynamics. The soil structure changes due to plant water uptake, but the overall influence is still far from being fully understood. Both spatial and temporal quantifications of these dynamics are missing, partly because lack of appropriate methods.
The aims of the study were (i) to develop an experimental set-up that allows the study of crack formation around roots due to root water uptake at high spatial (10 µm) and temporal (2 min) resolution using automated RGB time-lapse imaging (ii) to conduct and evaluate the methodological approach. The experiment was carried out in a module-based imaging platform, which consists of a framework, cuvettes including inserted roots and soil, a drying system and an imaging system. This study tested the set-up (i.e. proof of concept) under different scenarios including two different soil types (clay and loam) and two levels of root water potentials (-350 kPa and -1500 kPa). The employed experimental method provided images every second minute over a time period of seven days. The experiment resulted in images with a quality to make visual assessments and quantifications of the emerging cracks.
The results showed that plant water uptake affects crack formation differently depending on soil type and root water potential. Soils with higher clay content and/or a lower root water potential induce more and relatively longer and wider cracks. This is expected as clay contains expansive properties of the soil and a lower root water potential dries the soil to a greater extent. Overall, the results demonstrate that the employed method is both useful and valid to study crack formation due to plant water uptake. It has the capacity to provide images with a quality to make visual assessments of crack formation and quantification of the spatial configuration of emerging cracks. |
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