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Root Observations and Measurements at (Transparent) Interfaces with Soil

  • Chapter
Root Methods

Abstract

Glass windows are often installed in rhizotron facilities to observe root growth. The same principle has been applied under field conditions, using “root windows” and “minirhizotrons” (transparent glass or plastic tubes pushed into the soil: Bates 1937), through which roots are observed non-destructively in situ at the interface between the glass and the soil. The possible observations include recording root growth and decay — processes which are difficult to measure otherwise — by still photography or videos, thereby providing time series that reveal the dynamics of root growth. Root researchers also use transparent interfaces when estimating the rooting characteristics of the surrounding bulk soil, such as root length intensity (Lv) and root mass per unit volume of soil (Wv), although this often necessitates a (cumbersome) conversion from 2-D to 3-D. All these methods and tools used to view roots are reviewed in this chapter.

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  1. Plant Research International (Wageningen UR), Postbus 16, 6700AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    A. L. Smit & J. Groenwold

  2. Institute for Plant Nutrition, Hohenheim University, Fruwirthstr. 20, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany

    E. George

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  2. E. George
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Research International (Wageningen UR), Postbus 16, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Albert L. Smit  & Siebe C. van de Geijn  & 

  2. Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) Invergowie, DD2 5DA, Dundee, UK

    A. Glyn Bengough

  3. Institute of Geosciences, Department of Agroecology, University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany

    Christof Engels

  4. ICRAF, JI CIFOR, PO Box 161, Situ Gede Sindang Barang Bogor 16680, 16001, Bogor, Indonesia

    Meine van Noordwijk

  5. INRA, 71 Avenue Edouard Bourleaux, B.P. 81, 33883, Villenave d’Ornon, France

    Sylvain Pellerin

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Smit, A.L., George, E., Groenwold, J. (2000). Root Observations and Measurements at (Transparent) Interfaces with Soil. In: Smit, A.L., Bengough, A.G., Engels, C., van Noordwijk, M., Pellerin, S., van de Geijn, S.C. (eds) Root Methods. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04188-8_8

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