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

了解植物根系和土壤的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，研究发生在土壤表面以下的过程是具有挑战性的。获取必要的信息可能很费力，而且通常意味着扰乱土壤。开发廉价的土壤研究方法而不干扰它，对于有效的土壤管理至关重要。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。这种新的传感器将使用负担得起的商业组件，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，这在目前的田间是不可能的。最终的设计和软件将公之于众，以帮助其他科学家加深对根和土壤的了解。这个项目还将让本科生参与研究和数据分析。为了开发新的传感器系统，项目研究人员将修改和结合两项现有技术：微型微光管(安装在土壤中的透明塑料管，允许重复成像植物根)和平面光管(二维光学传感器，根据所选分析物的溶解浓度以不同的强度发光)。标准亚克力微型加速器管的外部部分将浸入化学敏感染料，从而能够沿微型加速器管的长度并排成像根部和分析物浓度。微型电子加速器和平面光电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采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)由现成组件建造的自动摄像系统来解决这些缺点，该系统将足够小，可以安装在微型加速器管的内部，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，用于自动收集、处理和分析图像数据。该系统(硬件和软件)将根据两个不同环境的表现进行测试和改进，这两个环境是阿拉斯加偏远的热喀斯特沼泽和堪萨斯州易于进入的生产性农业田。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.