Can we use X-ray CT to generate 3D penetration resistance data?

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  • Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
  • Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
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Original languageEnglish
Article number116700
JournalGEODERMA
Volume439
Early online date28 Oct 2023
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023

Abstract

Noninvasive imaging of soils with X-ray CT has proven to be a useful method to assess soil structure from a pore space perspective. In contrast, methods like cone penetration tests reflect soil structure from the perspective of the soil matrix as assessed by its mechanical strength. Because both the gray value (GV) obtained with X-ray CT and the penetration resistance (PR) obtained with a cone penetration test depend on soil density there should be a relationship between the two. To the best of our knowledge, no studies attempted so far to investigate the nature of the PR ∼ GV relationship and to understand how well PR and GV are correlated. We aimed at bridging that gap and carried out a combined analysis of local GV and PR with undisturbed soil cores sampled in two soil textures, i.e., loam and sand. To carry out the GV measurements, we developed a new approach which considers an adaptive volume of the zone of influence of the penetrometer tip as a function of soil density. For sand and when looking at samples individually, the correlation between PR and GV was best when the soil microscale heterogeneity was high, i.e., when dense and loose zones of soil were present on the course of the penetrometer tip. For loam, the correlation between PR and GV was not dependent on soil heterogeneity. When looking at the whole dataset, the agreement between PR and GV was better in loam than in sand, with a distance correlation metric of 0.66 for loam and 0.34 for sand, respectively. For loam, the relationship PR ∼ GV had a trend which was similar to that of a hyperbola, i.e., with escalating PR values in a narrow GV range. For sand, no particular model could be recognized. In order to provide a proof-of-concept on how to generate 3D PR maps, the co-located measurements of GV and PR were used to establish an empirical relationship and X-ray CT was used to extrapolate it in 3D. This was carried out with the loam dataset by fitting a hyperbolic function to the PR ∼ GV data pairs. This model was then used to convert GVs into PR values, at a spatial resolution equal to that of the shaft diameter of the penetrometer tip we have used. Notwithstanding the fact that the suggested approach is dependent on numerous experimental conditions and edaphic factors, we advocate for the use of 3D PR maps. These maps could be used in root-soil interactions research, for which the study and breeding of cultivars that could show plastic response in their root systems under mechanical stress is becoming more and more important. This is particularly relevant in the context of mechanized modern agriculture.

Keywords

    Gray value, Penetration resistance, Soil structure, X-ray CT

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cite this

Can we use X-ray CT to generate 3D penetration resistance data? / Phalempin, Maxime; Rosskopf, Ulla; Schlüter, Steffen et al.
In: GEODERMA, Vol. 439, 116700, 11.2023.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Phalempin M, Rosskopf U, Schlüter S, Vetterlein D, Peth S. Can we use X-ray CT to generate 3D penetration resistance data? GEODERMA. 2023 Nov;439:116700. Epub 2023 Oct 28. doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2023.116700
Phalempin, Maxime ; Rosskopf, Ulla ; Schlüter, Steffen et al. / Can we use X-ray CT to generate 3D penetration resistance data?. In: GEODERMA. 2023 ; Vol. 439.
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title = "Can we use X-ray CT to generate 3D penetration resistance data?",
abstract = "Noninvasive imaging of soils with X-ray CT has proven to be a useful method to assess soil structure from a pore space perspective. In contrast, methods like cone penetration tests reflect soil structure from the perspective of the soil matrix as assessed by its mechanical strength. Because both the gray value (GV) obtained with X-ray CT and the penetration resistance (PR) obtained with a cone penetration test depend on soil density there should be a relationship between the two. To the best of our knowledge, no studies attempted so far to investigate the nature of the PR ∼ GV relationship and to understand how well PR and GV are correlated. We aimed at bridging that gap and carried out a combined analysis of local GV and PR with undisturbed soil cores sampled in two soil textures, i.e., loam and sand. To carry out the GV measurements, we developed a new approach which considers an adaptive volume of the zone of influence of the penetrometer tip as a function of soil density. For sand and when looking at samples individually, the correlation between PR and GV was best when the soil microscale heterogeneity was high, i.e., when dense and loose zones of soil were present on the course of the penetrometer tip. For loam, the correlation between PR and GV was not dependent on soil heterogeneity. When looking at the whole dataset, the agreement between PR and GV was better in loam than in sand, with a distance correlation metric of 0.66 for loam and 0.34 for sand, respectively. For loam, the relationship PR ∼ GV had a trend which was similar to that of a hyperbola, i.e., with escalating PR values in a narrow GV range. For sand, no particular model could be recognized. In order to provide a proof-of-concept on how to generate 3D PR maps, the co-located measurements of GV and PR were used to establish an empirical relationship and X-ray CT was used to extrapolate it in 3D. This was carried out with the loam dataset by fitting a hyperbolic function to the PR ∼ GV data pairs. This model was then used to convert GVs into PR values, at a spatial resolution equal to that of the shaft diameter of the penetrometer tip we have used. Notwithstanding the fact that the suggested approach is dependent on numerous experimental conditions and edaphic factors, we advocate for the use of 3D PR maps. These maps could be used in root-soil interactions research, for which the study and breeding of cultivars that could show plastic response in their root systems under mechanical stress is becoming more and more important. This is particularly relevant in the context of mechanized modern agriculture.",
keywords = "Gray value, Penetration resistance, Soil structure, X-ray CT",
author = "Maxime Phalempin and Ulla Rosskopf and Steffen Schl{\"u}ter and Doris Vetterlein and Stephan Peth",
note = "Funding Information: This project was carried out in the framework of the priority programme 2089 “Rhizosphere spatiotemporal organization - a key to rhizosphere functions” funded by the German Research Foundation (project number 403801423 and 403627636 ).The authors would like to thank Max K{\"o}hne for his help during the undisturbed cores sampling campaign. ",
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AU - Phalempin, Maxime

AU - Rosskopf, Ulla

AU - Schlüter, Steffen

AU - Vetterlein, Doris

AU - Peth, Stephan

N1 - Funding Information: This project was carried out in the framework of the priority programme 2089 “Rhizosphere spatiotemporal organization - a key to rhizosphere functions” funded by the German Research Foundation (project number 403801423 and 403627636 ).The authors would like to thank Max Köhne for his help during the undisturbed cores sampling campaign.

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N2 - Noninvasive imaging of soils with X-ray CT has proven to be a useful method to assess soil structure from a pore space perspective. In contrast, methods like cone penetration tests reflect soil structure from the perspective of the soil matrix as assessed by its mechanical strength. Because both the gray value (GV) obtained with X-ray CT and the penetration resistance (PR) obtained with a cone penetration test depend on soil density there should be a relationship between the two. To the best of our knowledge, no studies attempted so far to investigate the nature of the PR ∼ GV relationship and to understand how well PR and GV are correlated. We aimed at bridging that gap and carried out a combined analysis of local GV and PR with undisturbed soil cores sampled in two soil textures, i.e., loam and sand. To carry out the GV measurements, we developed a new approach which considers an adaptive volume of the zone of influence of the penetrometer tip as a function of soil density. For sand and when looking at samples individually, the correlation between PR and GV was best when the soil microscale heterogeneity was high, i.e., when dense and loose zones of soil were present on the course of the penetrometer tip. For loam, the correlation between PR and GV was not dependent on soil heterogeneity. When looking at the whole dataset, the agreement between PR and GV was better in loam than in sand, with a distance correlation metric of 0.66 for loam and 0.34 for sand, respectively. For loam, the relationship PR ∼ GV had a trend which was similar to that of a hyperbola, i.e., with escalating PR values in a narrow GV range. For sand, no particular model could be recognized. In order to provide a proof-of-concept on how to generate 3D PR maps, the co-located measurements of GV and PR were used to establish an empirical relationship and X-ray CT was used to extrapolate it in 3D. This was carried out with the loam dataset by fitting a hyperbolic function to the PR ∼ GV data pairs. This model was then used to convert GVs into PR values, at a spatial resolution equal to that of the shaft diameter of the penetrometer tip we have used. Notwithstanding the fact that the suggested approach is dependent on numerous experimental conditions and edaphic factors, we advocate for the use of 3D PR maps. These maps could be used in root-soil interactions research, for which the study and breeding of cultivars that could show plastic response in their root systems under mechanical stress is becoming more and more important. This is particularly relevant in the context of mechanized modern agriculture.

AB - Noninvasive imaging of soils with X-ray CT has proven to be a useful method to assess soil structure from a pore space perspective. In contrast, methods like cone penetration tests reflect soil structure from the perspective of the soil matrix as assessed by its mechanical strength. Because both the gray value (GV) obtained with X-ray CT and the penetration resistance (PR) obtained with a cone penetration test depend on soil density there should be a relationship between the two. To the best of our knowledge, no studies attempted so far to investigate the nature of the PR ∼ GV relationship and to understand how well PR and GV are correlated. We aimed at bridging that gap and carried out a combined analysis of local GV and PR with undisturbed soil cores sampled in two soil textures, i.e., loam and sand. To carry out the GV measurements, we developed a new approach which considers an adaptive volume of the zone of influence of the penetrometer tip as a function of soil density. For sand and when looking at samples individually, the correlation between PR and GV was best when the soil microscale heterogeneity was high, i.e., when dense and loose zones of soil were present on the course of the penetrometer tip. For loam, the correlation between PR and GV was not dependent on soil heterogeneity. When looking at the whole dataset, the agreement between PR and GV was better in loam than in sand, with a distance correlation metric of 0.66 for loam and 0.34 for sand, respectively. For loam, the relationship PR ∼ GV had a trend which was similar to that of a hyperbola, i.e., with escalating PR values in a narrow GV range. For sand, no particular model could be recognized. In order to provide a proof-of-concept on how to generate 3D PR maps, the co-located measurements of GV and PR were used to establish an empirical relationship and X-ray CT was used to extrapolate it in 3D. This was carried out with the loam dataset by fitting a hyperbolic function to the PR ∼ GV data pairs. This model was then used to convert GVs into PR values, at a spatial resolution equal to that of the shaft diameter of the penetrometer tip we have used. Notwithstanding the fact that the suggested approach is dependent on numerous experimental conditions and edaphic factors, we advocate for the use of 3D PR maps. These maps could be used in root-soil interactions research, for which the study and breeding of cultivars that could show plastic response in their root systems under mechanical stress is becoming more and more important. This is particularly relevant in the context of mechanized modern agriculture.

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KW - Penetration resistance

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