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Assessment of frost damage in mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal roots of Scots pine seedlings using classification analysis of their electrical impedance spectra

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Abstract

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A novel non-destructive method is presented for studying the frost hardiness of roots. Principal component analysis from the electrical impedance spectra revealed differences between freezing temperatures, but no clear differences between the mycorrhizal treatments as regards freezing stress.

Abstract

We present a novel non-destructive method for the classification of root systems with different degrees of freezing injuries based on the measurement of electrical impedance spectra (EIS). Roots of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings, raised in perlite with nutrient solution, were colonized by Hebeloma sp. or Suillus luteus or left non-mycorrhizal, and exposed to a series of low temperatures (5, −5, −12 and −18 °C) after cultivation with and without cold acclimation regimes. In EIS measurements, we ran a small-amplitude electric current to the root system at 44 frequencies between 5 Hz and 100 kHz through electrodes set in the stem and in perlite at the bottom of the container. The normalized (Euclidian) electrical impedance spectra were classified using the CLAFIC-method (CLAss-Featuring Information Compression) that is based on a subspace method with two variants where the longest projection vector defines the sample class. The current delivery through the root system was affected by freezing injuries in the roots. The most remarkable change, indicating the threshold for cold tolerance, took place between −5 and −12 °C for non-acclimated and between −12 and −18 °C for cold acclimated roots. No difference was found between the mycorrhizal treatments in the response to the freezing temperatures. The results on the effects of both the low-temperature exposure and mycorrhizas agree with freezing damage assessments done by other methods.

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Author contribution statement

T. Repo: Planning the experiment and impedance measurements, leading role in writing the paper. A. Korhonen: Planning and implementation the experiment and the treatments, writing the paper. T. Lehto: Planning the experimental design, writing the paper. R. Silvennoinen: Planning the impedance measurements, implementation of the data analyses, writing the paper.

Acknowledgements

We thank Eija Koljonen, Mira Sääskilahti and Miikka Laukkanen for their technical assistance. The study is funded by the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Projects 3489, 3595) and the Academy of Finland (Projects 127924, 268279).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural Resources and Bioproduction, P.O. Box 68, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Tapani Repo & Anna Korhonen

  2. School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Tarja Lehto

  3. Department of Physics and Mathematics, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Raimo Silvennoinen

Authors
  1. Tapani Repo
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  2. Anna Korhonen
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  3. Tarja Lehto
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  4. Raimo Silvennoinen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tapani Repo.

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Communicated by T. Koike.

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Repo, T., Korhonen, A., Lehto, T. et al. Assessment of frost damage in mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal roots of Scots pine seedlings using classification analysis of their electrical impedance spectra. Trees 30, 483–495 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1171-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1171-x

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