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A Simple Protocol for Mapping the Plant Root System Architecture Traits

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How Do Roots Interact with Layered Soils?

Nina Kemp¹, Vasileios Angelidakis¹, Saimir Luli²

¹School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.

Journal of Imaging

|January 20, 2022

Summary

Vegetation reinforces soil, improving slope stability. This study uses X-ray micro-computed tomography (µCT) and machine learning to analyze how root growth and soil structure interact, enhancing slope stability models.

Keywords:

computed tomography deep learning micromechanics particle-scale behaviour soil fabric

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Area of Science:

Geotechnical Engineering
Soil Science
Biogeomechanics

Background:

Vegetation plays a crucial role in slope stability by reinforcing soil and influencing mechanical behavior.
Accurate slope stability models require detailed root system parameters like distribution, length, orientation, and diameter.
Understanding the interplay between soil physical characteristics and root growth is essential for predicting vegetated slope performance.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantify the relationship between soil physical characteristics and root growth.
To investigate how roots influence soil structure and vice versa.
To assess the impact of soil stratigraphy and image-segmentation parameters on root growth and soil properties.

Main Methods:

High-resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography (µCT) was employed to observe root behavior in layered soil.
A machine learning algorithm was trained for image segmentation across varying training percentages (30 image sets processed).
An automated image processing algorithm quantified void ratio and root volume ratio for post-processing and analysis.

Main Results:

The study provides insights into root system structure and its influence on soil fabric.
Analysis revealed the impact of soil stratigraphy on root growth patterns.
The effectiveness of different training data set sizes for image segmentation was evaluated.

Conclusions:

Root system characteristics significantly impact soil mechanical behavior and slope stability.
The interaction between root growth and soil structure is complex and bidirectional.
Advanced imaging and machine learning techniques offer powerful tools for analyzing root-soil interactions in geotechnical engineering.