Quantitative imaging of sodium concentrations in soil-root systems using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
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Quantitative imaging of sodium concentrations in soil-root systems using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Adi Perelman & Naftali Lazarovitch & Jan Vanderborght & Andreas Pohlmeier
Received: 11 May 2020 / Accepted: 28 June 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Aims Demonstrating the potential of MRI as a 3D, noninvasive and continuous measurement technique to map Na+ concentration distributions in soil and around roots. Methods Dissolved NaCl in soil and soil-plant systems was mapped by 3D 23Na-MRI. The lower limit of detectability in saturated and unsaturated porous media was evaluated, followed by evaporation experiments to test the quantification. Finally, Na+ enrichment around tomato roots, irrigated with saline solution under low/ high transpiration rates (LT, HT), was imaged in parallel to the root system,.
Responsible Editor: Peter J. Gregory A. Perelman : N. Lazarovitch French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Sede Boqer Campus, 849900, Israel J. Vanderborght Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium J. Vanderborght Institute of Bio- and Geoscience, Agrosphere Institute, IBG-3, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany e-mail: [email protected]
Present Address: A. Pohlmeier (*) Institute of Bio- and Geoscience, Agrosphere Institute, IBG-3, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany e-mail: [email protected]
Results A spin echo pulse sequence allowed the quantitative mapping of the volume concentration of NaCl in sandy porous medium. Evaporation experiments showed slight enrichment in the top surface layer, plus uniform temporal enrichment in the deeper layers. In the tomato experiments, enrichment was more distinct under HT than under LT. Concentration-distance correlation curves revealed thin enrichment zones ranging a few mm around the roots. Conclusions MRI can map Na+ non-invasively in 3D at relevant concentrations for root activity. Visualizing water content, roots and Na+ on the same scale is possible, despite limitations of different scanning times and resolution. This opens a route for further quantitative investigations of salt enrichment processes in soil and soil-plant systems. Keywords Na+ accumulation . Na+ distribution . Roots and soil . Saline irrigation . NMR . 23Na-MRI
Introduction Salinity is a major environmental factor limiting agricultural crops productivity, since most crops are sensitive to salinity stress caused by high salt concentrations in the soil (Rodriguez et al. 1997). When plants transpire, water moves from the soil to the roots and then to the transpiring leaves along pressure gradients (Denmead and Shaw 1962). Moreover, there is a correlation between the amount of water transpired and mineral uptake from the soil (Barber 1962) so that Na+
Plant Soil
movement toward the root will also be affected by transpiration rate. On th
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