@article{RudolphMohrVontobelOswald2014,
  author    = {Rudolph-Mohr, Nicole and Vontobel, Peter and Oswald, Sascha Eric},
  title     = {A multi-imaging approach to study the root-soil interface},
  series = {Annals of botany},
  volume    = {114},
  journal   = {Annals of botany},
  number    = {8},
  publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press},
  address   = {Oxford},
  issn      = {0305-7364},
  doi       = {10.1093/aob/mcu200},
  pages     = {1779 -- 1787},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Background and Aims Dynamic processes occurring at the soil-root interface crucially influence soil physical, chemical and biological properties at a local scale around the roots, and are technically challenging to capture in situ. This study presents a novel multi-imaging approach combining fluorescence and neutron radiography that is able to simultaneously monitor root growth, water content distribution, root respiration and root exudation. Methods Germinated seeds of white lupins (Lupinus albus) were planted in boron-free glass rhizotrons. After 11 d, the rhizotrons were wetted from the bottom and time series of fluorescence and neutron images were taken during the subsequent day and night cycles for 13 d. The following day (i.e. 25 d after planting) the rhizotrons were again wetted from the bottom and the measurements were repeated. Fluorescence sensor foils were attached to the inner sides of the glass and measurements of oxygen and pH were made on the basis of fluorescence intensity. The experimental set-up allowed for simultaneous fluorescence imaging and neutron radiography. Key Results The interrelated patterns of root growth and distribution in the soil, root respiration, exudation and water uptake could all be studied non-destructively and at high temporal and spatial resolution. The older parts of the root system with greater root-length density were associated with fast decreases of water content and rapid changes in oxygen concentration. pH values around the roots located in areas with low soil water content were significantly lower than the rest of the root system. Conclusions The results suggest that the combined imaging set-up developed here, incorporating fluorescence intensity measurements, is able to map important biogeochemical parameters in the soil around living plants with a spatial resolution that is sufficiently high enough to relate the patterns observed to the root system.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{RudolphMohr2013,
  author    = {Rudolph-Mohr, Nicole},
  title     = {A novel non-invasive optical method for quantitative visualization of pH and oxygen dynamics in soils},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-66993},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {In soils and sediments there is a strong coupling between local biogeochemical processes and the distribution of water, electron acceptors, acids and nutrients. Both sides are closely related and affect each other from small scale to larger scales. Soil structures such as aggregates, roots, layers or macropores enhance the patchiness of these distributions. At the same time it is difficult to access the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of these parameter. Noninvasive imaging techniques with high spatial and temporal resolution overcome these limitations. And new non-invasive techniques are needed to study the dynamic interaction of plant roots with the surrounding soil, but also the complex physical and chemical processes in structured soils. In this study we developed an efficient non-destructive in-situ method to determine biogeochemical parameters relevant to plant roots growing in soil. This is a quantitative fluorescence imaging method suitable for visualizing the spatial and temporal pH changes around roots. We adapted the fluorescence imaging set-up and coupled it with neutron radiography to study simultaneously root growth, oxygen depletion by respiration activity and root water uptake. The combined set up was subsequently applied to a structured soil system to map the patchy structure of oxic and anoxic zones induced by a chemical oxygen consumption reaction for spatially varying water contents. Moreover, results from a similar fluorescence imaging technique for nitrate detection were complemented by a numerical modeling study where we used imaging data, aiming to simulate biodegradation under anaerobic, nitrate reducing conditions.},
  language  = {en}
}