Collaborative Research: EAGER SitS: Automated Imaging Platform for In Situ Sensing and Analysis of Roots, Fungi, and Soil Solution Chemistry

合作研究：EAGER SitS：用于根部、真菌和土壤溶液化学原位传感和分析的自动成像平台

• 批准号: 1841336
• 负责人: Rebecca Neumann
• 金额: $ 10.95万
• 依托单位: University of Washington
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1841336&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; EAGER; SitS; Automated

Understanding how plant roots and soils interact is critical to proper management of global water, carbon, and nutrient cycles. Studying processes that occur below the soil surface, however is challenging. Getting the necessary information can be laborious and usually means disturbing the soil. Developing inexpensive methods to study soil without disturbing it is crucial for effective soil management. This project will develop a new soil sensor system that can automatically detect changes in roots and soil chemistry with little soil disturbance. This new sensor will use affordable, commercially available components, and will automatically collect and process data. The system will allow direct comparisons of root activity and soil chemistry, which is currently not possible in the field. Final designs and software will be made publicly available to help other scientists advance understanding of roots and soils. This project will also engage undergraduate students in research and data analysis.To develop the new sensor system, project researchers will modify and combine two existing technologies: minirhizotrons (clear plastic tubes installed in the soil that allow repeat imaging of plant roots) and planar optodes (two-dimensional optical sensors that fluoresce at varying intensities based on the dissolved concentration of the chosen analyte). Outside sections of standard acrylic minirhizotron tubes will be impregnated with chemical-sensitive dyes, enabling side-by-side imaging of roots and analyte concentrations along the length of the minirhizotron tube. Field application of minirhizotrons and planar optode technology is currently limited by the size and cost of imaging equipment and the cost of labor associated with image collection and analysis. The developed system will address these shortcomings by using 1) an automated camera system, built with off-the-shelf components, that will be small enough to fit in the inside of minirhizotron tubes and capable of imaging both roots and analyte concentrations, and 2) open-source software, developed by project researchers, to automatically collect, process, and analyze image data. The system (hardware and software) will be tested and refined based on performance in two contrasting environments, a remote thermokarst bog in Alaska and an easily accessible production agriculture field in Kansas.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

了解植物根系和土壤如何相互作用对于正确管理全球水、碳和养分循环至关重要。然而，研究土壤表面以下发生的过程具有挑战性。获取必要的信息可能很费力，并且通常意味着扰乱土壤。开发廉价的方法来研究土壤而不干扰它是有效的土壤管理的关键。该项目将开发一种新的土壤传感器系统，该系统可以在几乎不干扰土壤的情况下自动检测根系和土壤化学的变化。这种新型传感器将使用价格实惠的商用组件，并将自动收集和处理数据。该系统将允许直接比较根系活动和土壤化学，这在目前的野外是不可能的。最终的设计和软件将公开提供，以帮助其他科学家提高对根系和土壤的认识。为了开发新的传感器系统，项目研究人员将修改并联合收割机两种现有技术：微型电子管（安装在土壤中的透明塑料管，可以重复成像植物根部）和平面光电管（二维光学传感器，根据所选分析物的溶解浓度发出不同强度的荧光）。标准丙烯酸微型电子管的外部部分将浸渍有化学敏感染料，从而能够沿着微型电子管的长度沿着成像根部和分析物浓度。微型电子管和平面光电二极管技术的现场应用目前受到成像设备的尺寸和成本以及与图像收集和分析相关的劳动力成本的限制。开发的系统将通过使用1）一个自动相机系统来解决这些缺点，该系统由现成的组件构建，该系统足够小，可以安装在微型电子管的内部，并且能够对根部和分析物浓度进行成像，以及2）由项目研究人员开发的开源软件，可以自动收集，处理和分析图像数据。该系统（硬件和软件）将在两种截然不同的环境中进行测试和改进，一个是阿拉斯加的偏远热喀斯特沼泽，另一个是堪萨斯的方便生产农业领域。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。