Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 24, 2026
Using Flatbed Scanners to Collect High-resolution Time-lapsed Images of the Arabidopsis Root Gravitropic Response
Published on: January 25, 2014
Very-high-resolution time-lapse photography for plant and ecosystems research
Mary H Nichols1, Janet C Steven2, Randy Sargent3
1U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Southwest Watershed Research Center, 2000 East Allen Road, Tucson, Arizona 85719 USA.
Premise Of The Study:
Traditional photography is a compromise between image detail and area covered. We report a new method for creating time-lapse sequences of very-high-resolution photographs to produce zoomable images that facilitate observation across a range of spatial and temporal scales. •
Methods And Results:
A robotic camera mount and software were used to capture images of the growth and movement in Brassica rapa every 15 s in the laboratory. The resultant time-lapse sequence (http://timemachine.gigapan.org/wiki/Plant_Growth) captures growth detail such as circumnutation. A modified, solar-powered system was deployed at a remote field site in southern Arizona. Images were collected every 2 h over a 3-mo period to capture the response of vegetation to monsoon season rainfall (http://timemachine.gigapan.org/wiki/Arizona_Grasslands). •
Conclusions:
A technique for observing time sequences of both individual plant and ecosystem response at a range of spatial scales is available for use in the laboratory and in the field.
