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Forward simulation of root’s ground penetrating radar signal: simulator development and validation

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Abstract

Background and aims

It remains unclear how the limiting factors (e.g., root size, root water content, spacing between roots, and soil water content) affect root investigation using ground penetrating radar (GPR). The objective of this study is to develop a theoretical forward simulation protocol of synthesizing root’s GPR signal and test the feasibility of our proposed simulation protocol in evaluating the impacts of limiting factors on GPR-based root detection and quantification.

Methods

The proposed forward simulation protocol was developed by integrating several existing numerical models, such as the Root Composition Model, the Root Dielectric Constant Model, the Root Electrical Conductivity Model, the Soil Dielectric Constant Model, the Soil Electrical Conductivity Model, and a newly-established model (Root Length-Biomass Model). Resolution and GPR index obtained from both field collected radargrams and corresponding simulations were compared to validate the accuracy of simulation.

Results

Simulated radargrams exhibit similar resolution with that of the in situ collected. The same trends of root radar signals against different levels of root size, root water content, interval between roots, root depth, and antenna frequency were observed on both in situ radargrams and simulated radargrams. Strong correlations (correlation coefficients ranging from 0.87 to 0.96) were found between GPR indices extracted from the simulated data and those from the field collected data.

Conclusions

Our proposed forward simulation is effective for assessing the impacts of limiting factors on root detection and quantification using GPR. This forward simulation protocol can be used to provide guidance for in situ GPR root investigation and can predict the accuracy of GPR-based root quantification under site-specific conditions.

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Abbreviations

GPR:

Ground penetrating radar

EM:

Electromagnetic

FDTD:

Finite difference time domain

ECa :

Apparent soil electrical conductivity

RMSE:

Root mean square error

FSP:

Fiber saturation point

CDP:

Completely dry point

CSP:

Completely saturation point

MG:

Maxwell Garnett

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Acknowledgements

We thank Xin Cao, Ruyin Cao, Yuan Wu, Dameng Yin, Shengqiang Wang, Cong Wang, Yuhan Rao, and Jianmin Wang for their helps during the field experiments. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that helped improve the quality of manuscript. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41001239), the Ph.D. Programs Foundation of the Ministry of Education of China and the Open project supported by the State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology at Beijing Normal University.

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Correspondence to Jin Chen.

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Responsible Editor: Peter J. Gregory.

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Guo, L., Lin, H., Fan, B. et al. Forward simulation of root’s ground penetrating radar signal: simulator development and validation. Plant Soil 372, 487–505 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1751-8

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