Premium
Quantitative mapping of solute accumulation in a soil‐root system by magnetic resonance imaging
Author(s) -
HaberPohlmeier S.,
Vanderborght J.,
Pohlmeier A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1002/2017wr020832
Subject(s) - tracer , soil water , soil science , chemistry , infiltration (hvac) , root system , dns root zone , magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance , geology , materials science , botany , physics , medicine , radiology , nuclear physics , composite material , biology
Differential uptake of water and solutes by plant roots generates heterogeneous concentration distributions in soils. Noninvasive observations of root system architecture and concentration patterns therefore provide information about root water and solute uptake. We present the application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to image and monitor root architecture and the distribution of a tracer, GdDTPA 2− (Gadolinium‐diethylenetriaminepentacetate) noninvasively during an infiltration experiment in a soil column planted with white lupin. We show that inversion recovery preparation within the MRI imaging sequence can quantitatively map concentrations of a tracer in a complex root‐soil system. Instead of a simple T 1 weighting, the procedure is extended by a wide range of inversion times to precisely map T 1 and subsequently to cover a much broader concentration range of the solute. The derived concentrations patterns were consistent with mass balances and showed that the GdDTPA 2− tracer represents a solute that is excluded by roots. Monitoring and imaging the accumulation of the tracer in the root zone therefore offers the potential to determine where and by which roots water is taken up.