Berlin 2005 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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UP: Umweltphysik
UP 15: Boden- und Agrarphysik
UP 15.2: Fachvortrag
Mittwoch, 9. März 2005, 14:00–14:15, TU TA201
Imaging of plant root water uptake and root growth via non-invasive neutron radiography — •Sascha Oswald1,2, Manoj Menon2, Eberhard Lehmann 3, and Stefan Hartmann3 — 1UFZ Leipzig-Halle — 2ITÖ, ETH Zürich, Schweiz — 3ASQ, Paul-Scherrer-Inst., Schweiz
Plant roots constitute the interface between soil water and plants, and via them the plant gets its water and nutrients, but also it is exposed there to harmful substances in the soil. The water content changes of living plant roots in a soil environment were studied non-invasively and non-destructively with neutron radiography, which is an physical imaging method based on the neutron scattering properties of water.
Plant roots were grown a fine sand medium, where water infiltration, and subsequent changes in water content, were imaged. Moreover, the plant roots themselves with their high water content could be identified in very detail, which in combination allows visualizing the dynamic impact of the roots on water content changes. Furthermore, by weekly repetition of the measurements the root growth and changes of dynamic water uptake behaviour could be observed.
Neutron images were taken at the NEUTRA facility at the Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland, in transmission with thermal neutrons. The CCD-cameras detector used had a resolution of much less than a millimetre, and exposure time was less than a minute per image. Infiltration events were monitored for up to an hour with shorter follow-up images. Also, different experimental factors have been varied, e.g. plant type and heavy metal content of the infiltrating solution.