Estimation of biomass of tree roots by GPR with high accuracy positioning system

Yokota, Yuya; Matsumoto, Masayoshi; Gaber, Ahmed; Grasmueck, Mark; Suzuki, Motoyuki

doi:10.1109/igarss.2011.6048924

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…In an effort to quantify below‐ground biomass, Yokota et al . [] used 3‐D GPR acquisition to identify the location of roots surrounding a tree that was then excavated to verify the observed positions. Zenone et al .…”

Section: Geophysical Characterization and Critical Zone Process Obsermentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale geophysical imaging of the critical zone

Parsekian

Singha

Minsley

et al. 2015

Reviews of Geophysics

222

171

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Details of Earth's shallow subsurface-a key component of the critical zone (CZ)-are largely obscured because making direct observations with sufficient density to capture natural characteristic spatial variability in physical properties is difficult. Yet this inaccessible region of the CZ is fundamental to processes that support ecosystems, society, and the environment. Geophysical methods provide a means for remotely examining CZ form and function over length scales that span centimeters to kilometers. Here we present a review highlighting the application of geophysical methods to CZ science research questions. In particular, we consider the application of geophysical methods to map the geometry of structural features such as regolith thickness, lithological boundaries, permafrost extent, snow thickness, or shallow root zones. Combined with knowledge of structure, we discuss how geophysical observations are used to understand CZ processes. Fluxes between snow, surface water, and groundwater affect weathering, groundwater resources, and chemical and nutrient exports to rivers. The exchange of gas between soil and the atmosphere have been studied using geophysical methods in wetland areas. Indirect geophysical methods are a natural and necessary complement to direct observations obtained by drilling or field mapping. Direct measurements should be used to calibrate geophysical estimates, which can then be used to extrapolate interpretations over larger areas or to monitor changing processes over time. Advances in geophysical instrumentation and computational approaches for integrating different types of data have great potential to fill gaps in our understanding of the shallow subsurface portion of the CZ and should be integrated where possible in future CZ research.

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Section: Geophysical Characterization and Critical Zone Process Obsermentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale geophysical imaging of the critical zone

Parsekian

Singha

Minsley

et al. 2015

Reviews of Geophysics

222

171

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Hirano et al (2009) showed that roots with high water content were detectable if greater than 19 mm in diameter but that GPR was not able to detect roots with less than 20% water content as would be expected for decaying roots or empty root channels under unsaturated soil conditions. Much of the problem stems from the challenges of collecting data on cm‐scale grids; even when using a millimeter‐accuracy positioning system for the three‐dimensional GPR survey by Yokota et al (2011), only roots with diameters greater than 5 cm could be detected reliably.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing Soil–Pipe Networks with Pseudo‐Three‐Dimensional Resistivity Tomography on Forested Hillslopes with Restrictive Horizons

Leslie

Heinse

2013

Vadose Zone Journal

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Soil pipes are important hillslope–hydrology features affecting mechanistic processes such as subsurface drainage, streamflow, erosion, hillslope stability, and discharge response to rain fall and snow melt. However, the limited capacity to characterize these pathways in situ remains a major limitation for process‐based understanding and incorporation into coupled hydrologic models. The goal of this study was to investigate the use of pseudo‐three‐dimensional electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) as a field method for characterizing soil–pipe spatial distribution and connectivity on a forested hillslope with a specific interest in detecting the formation of soil pipes from root decay and combustion. We conducted detailed ERT surveys on three 6.12‐ by 6.12‐m plots before and after a prescribed burn located on a 2‐ha clearcut of coniferous forest underlain by a fragipan. Excavation following the ERT measurements showed that soil pipes were mostly empty with 86% containing <25% decaying root matter. The mean diameter of pipes was 4.3 cm with a mean length of 1.6 m. Such empty pipes would resolve as elongated high‐electrical resistivity features. However, a high resistivity layer corresponding to the Bw and BE soil horizons overlaying a fragipan was observed on all plots with the majority of soil pipes larger than 1 cm diameter occurring within these horizons. The lack of observable contrast between pipes and the high resistivity layer as well as reduced data coverage within the vicinity of large soil pipes may have limited our ability to effectively characterize soil pipes occurring within these hillslopes. We conclude that the use of ERT surveys to detect large macropores pathways may be more suitable to settings where soil pipes are not occurring within high restrictive layers.

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“…The field tree roots measurements were carried out at National Institute for Environment Studies in Japan [32,33]. The survey site was dominated by larch trees (Larix kaempferi L.) with 2.0 m by 3.0 m tree spacing, and covered by the common brown forest soil in Japan.…”

Section: Survey Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…With recent improvements of positioning technique and data processing, some novel 3D GPR systems, that combine conventional GPR with high accuracy positioning systems, have been used in geophysical and archaeological applications [28][29][30][31]. The Sato Laboratory (Tohoku University in Japan) used a novel 3D GPR system to measure tree roots and acquire a 3D GPR data set, which combined commercial GPR with a portable rotary laser positioning system [32,33]. This positioning system can measure the x-y-, and z-coordinates of the antennas accurately, whether the antennas are stationary or mobile, thus, it is very convenient for obtaining full-resolution images of tree roots and also saves a great deal of measuring time [28].…”

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confidence: 99%

3D Ground Penetrating Radar to Detect Tree Roots and Estimate Root Biomass in the Field

Zhu

Huang

et al. 2014

Remote Sensing

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Abstract:The objectives of this study were to detect coarse tree root and to estimate root biomass in the field by using an advanced 3D Ground Penetrating Radar (3D GPR) system. This study obtained full-resolution 3D imaging results of tree root system using 500 MHz and 800 MHz bow-tie antennas, respectively. The measurement site included two larch trees, and one of them was excavated after GPR measurements. In this paper, a searching algorithm, based on the continuity of pixel intensity along the root in 3D space, is proposed, and two coarse roots whose diameters are more than 5 cm were detected and delineated correctly. Based on the detection results and the measured root biomass, a linear regression model is proposed to estimate the total root biomass in different depth ranges, and the total error was less than 10%. Additionally, based on the detected root samples, a new index named "magnitude width" is proposed to estimate the root diameter that has good correlation with root diameter compared with other common GPR indexes. This index also provides direct measurement of the root diameter with 13%-16% error, providing reasonable and practical root diameter estimation especially in the field.

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Estimation of biomass of tree roots by GPR with high accuracy positioning system

Cited by 6 publications

References 4 publications

Multiscale geophysical imaging of the critical zone

Multiscale geophysical imaging of the critical zone

Characterizing Soil–Pipe Networks with Pseudo‐Three‐Dimensional Resistivity Tomography on Forested Hillslopes with Restrictive Horizons

3D Ground Penetrating Radar to Detect Tree Roots and Estimate Root Biomass in the Field

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