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Laparascopic Sampling of Roots of Known Age from an Expandable‐Wall Minirhizotron System
Author(s) -
Kosola Kevin R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1999.915876x
Subject(s) - rhizosphere , sampling (signal processing) , root system , biology , ecology , botany , paleontology , computer science , filter (signal processing) , bacteria , computer vision
Root system changes in response to experimental treatments may be due to a number of factors, which can be separated only by sampling roots of known age. Minirhizotrons allow for video recording of the growth of individual roots; subsequent removal of the minirhizotron would allow sampling of the roots under observation. A design for a removable minirhizotron with mechanically expandable walls is described in this paper, along with the use of laparascopic tools for sampling roots from removable minirhizotron systems. Laparascopic tools used in conjunction with removable minirhizotrons may be useful in field studies of the effects of root age and experimental treatments on root composition, physiology, and pathology; rhizosphere microbial ecology; rhizosphere mineralogy; and the dynamics of mycorrhizal colonization.