The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Using GPR to estimate tree root biomass

USDA Forest Service (FS) researchers are improving the use of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to study tree roots nondestructively. They are refining GPR's processing capabilities by comparing results with those of more invasive methods.

GPR is an electromagnetic imaging technique that can be used to detect buried objects or hidden structures. GPR has been used for geological research, archaeology, forensics, and for assessing the integrity of roads and bridges. FS researchers soon recognized the potential for using the technology in forest-based research.

Measuring the belowground growth of trees is essential to understanding forest productivity and carbon allocation. Estimating the biomass of tree roots traditionally involves using soil cores, pits, and trenches--digging up roots, then sieving, washing, drying, and weighing them. These methods are destructive, labor-intensive, and not very useful for measuring the lateral extent of a root system.

In the September/October issue of the Soil Science Society of America Journal (SSSAJ), researchers from the FS Southern Research Station (SRS) unit in Research Triangle Park, NC present the results of a study that assesses ground penetrating radar (GPR) as a fast, noninvasive method to improve estimates of root biomass.

"Knowing both the volume and extent of root systems is important in the carbon sequestration studies we do," says Kurt Johnsen, director of the SRS Biological Foundations of Southern Forest Productivity and Sustainability unit, and co-author of the article with John Butnor and Lance Kress. "Many of the forests in the Southeast grow on land where the soil carbon has been depleted by former farming practices. In these forests, tree roots are the most dynamic pool for carbon accumulation below the ground."

For the carbon flux experiments that Johnsen and fellow researchers conduct at the Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) sites in the Duke Forest, they use a so
'"/>

Contact: John Butnor
jbutnor@fs.fed.us
802-951-6771 x1230
Southern Research Station - USDA Forest Service
23-Sep-2003


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Using statistics to decipher secrets of natural mutation
2. Using science to restore habitat for declining species
3. Using soils as filters to prevent crypto from moving to the groundwater
4. Using a companion crop to control weeds organically
5. Using plants and microbes to purify polluted industrial wastewater
6. Using computational power tools to bolster systems biology
7. Using RNA interference to tune gene activity in stem cells
8. Using sewage sludge as fertilizer
9. Using the oceans living light shows to fight terrorism or track the planets most massive migration
10. Using genetic research to treat inflammatory diseases Vienna centre of excellence in biomedicine harnesses basic research
11. Using brain activity to identify risk for disorders

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Using GPR estimate tree root biomass

(Date:11/23/2009)...ity of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) researchers sho...cal conditions (co-morbidity) do not explain the d... compared to Caucasians who also have colon cancer... , a journal of the American Cancer Society. , T...idity are independent predictors of poor survival ...
(Date:11/23/2009)...nprecedented detail how the ribosome interacts wit...de them toward their destination in biological cel...itting (MDFF) to examine the interaction of the ri... The first study, in Proceedings of the National ...ing between the ribosome and an elongation factor ...
(Date:11/23/2009)...ies about the multiple health benefits of vitamin ...ent, increased awareness of the huge numbers of pe... even led to an appreciation of it as "nature,s an...f your immune system to prevention of heart diseas...s now seen as one of the most critical nutrients f...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Racial disparity in colon cancer survival not easily explained, UAB researchers say 2Computational microscope peers into the working ribosome 2Computational microscope peers into the working ribosome 3Multiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive 2Multiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive 3Freeze on Capital Expenditures Coinciding with Expiring Equipment Leases Lead to Expensive Lease Extensions 56716 1Freeze on Capital Expenditures Coinciding with Expiring Equipment Leases Lead to Expensive Lease Extensions 56716 2SourceMedical Driving ASC Electronic Health Record Adoption through Compliance Guarantee and Financing Program 56714 1SourceMedical Driving ASC Electronic Health Record Adoption through Compliance Guarantee and Financing Program 56714 2SourceMedical Driving ASC Electronic Health Record Adoption through Compliance Guarantee and Financing Program 56714 3New Study a 26apos 3BWake Up Call 26apos 3B For the Urgent Need for Sleep Apnea Treatment 56712 1New Study a 26apos 3BWake Up Call 26apos 3B For the Urgent Need for Sleep Apnea Treatment 56712 2New Study a 26apos 3BWake Up Call 26apos 3B For the Urgent Need for Sleep Apnea Treatment 56712 3
(Date:11/24/2009)...York investment bank KTA Capital,s client Neuren P...mil convertible note private placement with a U.S.... arranged by KTA Capital as Neuren,s exclusive pla... New York (PRWEB) November 23, 2009 -- The indep..."KTA Capital") has announced that its cl...
(Date:11/24/2009)...care employment grew by 29,000 jobs in October, a...nt growth during the U.S. recession. However, clin... health systems are coming closer to having to act...istrators. , (Vocus) Nove...growing in October despite the shedding of jobs in...
(Date:11/24/2009)...--BlueMarbleEnergyCorp.announcedtodaythatthecompan...ecentlyawarded$2millionbyWashingtonState,sCommunit...cpartnershiptoconstructthestate,sfirstspecialtybio...investmentwillsignificantlyspeedthedevelopmentofou...,"saidBlueMarbleEnergyCEOKellyOgilvie."Wearegratef...
(Date:11/24/2009)...swire-FirstCall/--ArenaPharmaceuticals,Inc.(Nasdaq...opresentatthePiperJaffray21stAnnualHealthCareConfe...m.PacificTime)attheNewYorkPalaceHotelinNewYorkCity...er,isscheduledtoprovideanoverviewofthecompany,incl..., Aliveaudiowebcastofthepresentationwillbeavail...
Breaking Biology Technology:KTA Capital Arranges an AU$6.7 Million Private Placement by Neuren Pharmaceuticals 2The MedZilla Report for October 2009 - Health Care Employment Grows Again in October Even As Clinics, Specialty Centers Close 2The MedZilla Report for October 2009 - Health Care Employment Grows Again in October Even As Clinics, Specialty Centers Close 3The MedZilla Report for October 2009 - Health Care Employment Grows Again in October Even As Clinics, Specialty Centers Close 4Blue Marble Energy, OPDA Awarded $2M by WA's Community Economic Revitalization Board 2Arena Pharmaceuticals to Present at the Piper Jaffray 21st Annual Health Care Conference 2
Other News:
...ast common link between invertebrate and vertebrat...rates the spineless from the backboned.... Jere...logy at Washington University in St. Louis, studie...rtebrate species that is the closest living invert...
...to introduce three experts on the issues of shark ...ery biology and management.......WHEN: Tuesda...ndment Lounge, National Press Club... 1....C.......WHO: George Burgess, Director, Interna...
...deficiency virus (HIV) is briefly suppressed durin...ohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. A ...und that HIV levels in the blood were significantl...ted children who did not have measles. The researc...
...searchers using paleoenvironmental techniques to s...000 years have found that surprisingly wide fluctu...or concerns were raised about depleted stocks. The...y low population numbers in the period ca.100 BC t...
Researcher traces gene development in 'last common link' 2Researcher traces gene development in 'last common link' 3Shark Attack News & Science Briefing 2Study finds acute measles supresses HIV replication 2Lake mud holds secrets to forecasting future salmon abundances, Queen's researchers say 2Lake mud holds secrets to forecasting future salmon abundances, Queen's researchers say 3
...Medicine researchers have found a way to exercise ... flies jump, beat their wings, and fly on command ...cientists designed and installed in the insects' c...in the 8 April issue of the journal Cell.......Sus...
...l 7, 2005) - - Fear about the safety of the air in...y of a new or emerging infection, such as SARS or ...new report of an avian flu outbreak raises questio...he virus, which some scientists predict could be t...
...t from the University of Queensland's Institute fo...e prestigious GlaxoSmithKline Australia Award for ...o the development of new treatments for renal dise...by around 300 of Australia's top medical research ...
Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute are reporting the results of a recent study that addresses why different tissues in the human body vary in their susceptibility to "amyloid" diseases, whi
Remote control flies?: Fly behavior controlled by laser light 2Remote control flies?: Fly behavior controlled by laser light 3Clearing the air on airplane cabin air 2Clearing the air on airplane cabin air 3Australian kidney researcher applauded 2Why do amyloid diseases strike different tissues? 2Why do amyloid diseases strike different tissues? 3Why do amyloid diseases strike different tissues? 4Why do amyloid diseases strike different tissues? 5Why do amyloid diseases strike different tissues? 6Why do amyloid diseases strike different tissues? 7Why do amyloid diseases strike different tissues? 8