An enhanced data processing framework for mapping tree root systems using ground penetrating radar

Lists

Lantini, Livia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0416-1077, Tosti, Fabio ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0291-9937, Giannakis, Iraklis, Zou, Lilong ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5109-4866, Benedetto, Andrea and Alani, Amir (2020) An enhanced data processing framework for mapping tree root systems using ground penetrating radar. Remote Sensing, 12 (20). p. 3417.

Preview	PDF Lantini et al. - Remote Sensing.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (3MB) \| Preview
Preview	PDF remotesensing-12-03417-v3.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (16MB) \| Preview

Official URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12203417

Abstract

The preservation of natural assets is nowadays an essential commitment. In this regard, root systems are endangered by fungal diseases which can undermine the health and stability of trees. Within this framework, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is emerging as a reliable non-destructive method for root investigation. A coherent GPR-based root-detection framework is presented in this paper. The proposed methodology is a multi-stage data analysis system that is applied to semi-circular measurements collected around the investigated tree. In the first step, the raw data are processed by applying several standard and advanced signal processing techniques, to reduce noise-related information. In the second stage, the presence of any discontinuity element within the survey area is investigated by analysing the signal reflectivity. Then, a tracking algorithm aimed at identifying patterns compatible with tree roots is implemented. Finally, the mass density of roots is estimated by means of continuous functions, to achieve a more realistic representation of the root paths and to identify their length in a continuous and more realistic domain. The method was validated in a case study in London (UK), where the root system of a real tree was surveyed using GPR and a soil test pit was excavated for validation purposes. Results support the feasibility of the data processing framework implemented in this study.

Item Type:	Article
Identifier:	10.3390/rs12203417
Additional Information:	This research was funded by the following trusts, charities, organisations and individuals: Lord Faringdon Charitable Trust, The Schroder Foundation, Cazenove Charitable Trust, Ernest Cook Trust, Sir Henry Keswick, Ian Bond, P. F. Charitable Trust, Prospect Investment Management Limited, The Adrian Swire Charitable Trust, The John Swire 1989 Charitable Trust, The Sackler Trust, The Tanlaw Foundation, and The WyfoldCharitable Trust.
Keywords:	Assessment of Tree Roots; Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR); Tree Root Mapping; Tree Root Mass Density; Multi-stage Data Processing Framework
Subjects:	Construction and engineering > Civil and environmental engineering Construction and engineering > Digital signal processing Construction and engineering
Related URLs:	Publisher Publisher
Depositing User:	Livia Lantini
Date Deposited:	17 Oct 2020 16:58
Last Modified:	04 Nov 2024 11:46
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/7406

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Actions (login required)

View Item

References

1. Pallardy, S.G. Physiology of Woody Plants, 3rd ed.; Academic Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2010.
2. Donovan, G.H.; Butry, D.T.; Michael, Y.L.; Prestemon, J.P.; Liebhold, A.M.; Gatziolis, D.; Mao, M.Y. The Relationship between Trees and Human Health: Evidence from the Spread of the Emerald Ash Borer. American journal of preventive medicine 2013, 44, 139-145. DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2012.09.066.
3. Tzoulas, K.; Korpela, K.; Venn, S.; Yli-Pelkonen, V.; Kaźmierczak, A.; Niemela, J.; James, P. Promoting Ecosystem and Human Health in Urban Areas using Green Infrastructure: A Literature Review. Landscape and Urban Planning 2007, 81, 167-178. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.02.001.
4. Tallis, M.; Taylor, G.; Sinnett, D.; Freer-Smith, P. Estimating the Removal of Atmospheric Particulate Pollution by the Urban Tree Canopy of London, Under Current and Future Environments. Landscape and Urban Planning 2011, 103, 129-138. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.07.003.
5. Hwang, H.; Yook, S.; Ahn, K. Experimental Investigation of Submicron and Ultrafine Soot Particle Removal by Tree Leaves. Atmospheric Environment 2011, 45, 6987-6994. DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.09.019.
6. Mullaney, J.; Lucke, T.; Trueman, S.J. A Review of Benefits and Challenges in Growing Street Trees in Paved Urban Environments. Landscape and Urban Planning 2015, 134, 157-166. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.10.013.
7. Hartig, T.; van den Berg, A.; Hagerhall, C.; Tomalak, M.; Bauer, N.; Hansmann, R.; Ojala, A.; Syngollitou, E.; Carrus, G.; van Herzele, A. et al. Health Benefits of Nature Experience: Psychological, Social and Cultural Processes. In Forests, Trees and Human Health.; Nilsson, K., Sangster, M., Gallis, C., Hartig, T., de Vries, S., Seeland, K. and Schipperijn, J., Eds.; Springer Netherlands: Dordrecht, 2011, pp. 127-168.
8. McPherson, E. G.; Nowak, D.J.; Rowntree, R.A. Chicago's Urban Forest Ecosystem: Results of the Chicago Urban Forest Climate Project. Forest Service General Technical Report. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station 1994, 186.
9. Tyrväinen, L.; Pauleit, S.; Seeland, K.; de Vries, S. Benefits and Uses of Urban Forests and Trees. In Urban Forests and Trees.; Nilsson, K., Schipperijn, J., Randrup, T. and Konijnendijk, C., Eds.; Springer: Berlin, Heidelberg, 2005, pp. 81-114.
10. van Dillen, Sonja M E; de Vries, S.; Groenewegen, P.P.; Spreeuwenberg, P. Greenspace in Urban Neighbourhoods and Residents' Health: Adding Quality to Quantity. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2012, 66. DOI: 10.1136/jech.2009.104695.
11. Pandit, R.; Polyakov, M.; Sadler, R. The Importance of Tree Cover and Neighbourhood Parks in Determining Urban Property Values. In 56th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) Annual Conference, Fremantle, Western Australia, February 7-10, 2012. DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.124357.
12. Coutts, M.P. Root Architecture and Tree Stability. Plant and Soil 1983, 71, 171-188. DOI: 10.1007/BF02182653.
13. Alani, A.M.; Lantini, L. Recent Advances in Tree Root Mapping and Assessment using Non-Destructive Testing Methods: A Focus on Ground Penetrating Radar. Surv. Geophys. 2020, 41, 605-646. DOI: 10.1007/s10712-019-09548-6.
14. Barton, C.V.M.; Montagu, K.D. Detection of Tree Roots and Determination of Root Diameters by Ground Penetrating Radar Under Optimal Conditions. Tree physiology 2004, 24, 1323-1331. DOI: 10.1093/treephys/24.12.1323.
15. Hansen, E.M.; Goheen, E.M. Phellinus Weirii and Other Native Root Pathogens as Determinants of Forest Structure and Process in Western North America. Annual review of phytopathology 2000, 38, 515-539. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.phyto.38.1.515.
16. J. Rishbeth. Resistance to Fungal Pathogens of Tree Roots. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences 1972, 181, 333-351. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.1972.0054.
17. Shaw, C.G.; Kile, G.A. Armillaria Root Disease.; Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture: Washington, D.C, 1991.
18. Reubens, B.; Poesen, J.; Danjon, F.; Geudens, G.; Muys, B. The Role of Fine and Coarse Roots in Shallow Slope Stability and Soil Erosion Control with a Focus on Root System Architecture: A Review. Trees 2007, 21, 385-402. DOI: 10.1007/s00468-007-0132-4.
19. Guo, L.; Chen, J.; Cui, X.; Fan, B.; Lin, H. Application of Ground Penetrating Radar for Coarse Root Detection and Quantification: A Review. Plant Soil 2013, 362, 1-23. DOI: 10.1007/s11104-012-1455-5.
20. Čermák, J.; Nadezhdina, N.; Meiresonne, L.; Ceulemans, R. Scots Pine Root Distribution Derived from Radial Sap Flow Patterns in Stems of Large Leaning Trees. Plant Soil 2008, 305, 61-75. DOI: 10.1007/s11104-007-9433-z.
21. Gregory, P.J.; Hutchison, D.J.; Read, D.B.; Jenneson, P.M.; Gilboy, W.B.; Morton, E.J. Non-invasive imaging of roots with high resolution X-ray micro-tomography. In Roots: The Dynamic Interface between Plants and the Earth.; Abe, J., Ed.; Springer: Dordrecht, 2003; 101, pp. 351-359.
22. Moran, C.J.; Pierret, A.; Stevenson, A.W. X-Ray Absorption and Phase Contrast Imaging to Study the Interplay between Plant Roots and Soil Structure. Plant Soil 2000, 223, 101-117. DOI: 10.1023/A:1004835813094.
23. Paglis, C.M. Application of Electrical Resistivity Tomography for Detecting Root Biomass in Coffee Trees. International Journal of Geophysics 2013, 2013, 6. DOI: 10.1155/2013/383261.
24. Amato, M.; Basso, B.; Celano, G.; Bitella, G.; Morelli, G.; Rossi, R. In Situ Detection of Tree Root Distribution and Biomass by Multi-Electrode Resistivity Imaging. Tree Physiol. 2008, 28, 1441-1448. DOI: 10.1093/treephys/28.10.1441.
25. Benedetto, A.; Tosti, F.; Ortuani, B.; Giudici, M.; Mele, M. Soil Moisture Mapping using GPR for Pavement Applications. In 2013 7th International Workshop on Advanced Ground Penetrating Radar, Nantes, July 2-5, 2013; pp. 1-5. DOI: 10.1109/IWAGPR.2013.6601550.
26. Themistocleous, K.; Neocleous, K.; Pilakoutas, K.; Hadjimitsis, D.G. Damage Assessment using Advanced Non-Intrusive Inspection Methods: Integration of Space, UAV, GPR, and Field Spectroscopy. In Second International Conference on Remote Sensing and Geoinformation of the Environment (RSCy2014), Cyprus, April 7-10, 2014; pp. 92291O-5. DOI: 10.1117/12.2069507.
27. Hager, J.L.; Carnevale, M. GPR as a Cost-Effective Bedrock Mapping Tool for Large Areas. In Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems 2001; pp. GP13-GP13. DOI: 10.4133/1.2922891.
28. Daniels, D.J. Surface-Penetrating Radar. Electronics & Communication Engineering Journal 1996, 8, 165-182. DOI: 10.1049/ecej:19960402.
29. Goodman, D. Ground‐penetrating Radar Simulation in Engineering and Archaeology. Geophysics 1994, 59, 224-232. DOI: 10.1190/1.1443584.
30. Alani, A.M.; Aboutalebi, M.; Kilic, G. Applications of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) in Bridge Deck Monitoring and Assessment. Journal of applied geophysics 2013, 97, 45-54. DOI: 10.1016/j.jappgeo.2013.04.009.
31. Potin, D.; Duflos, E.; Vanheeghe, P. Landmines Ground-Penetrating Radar Signal Enhancement by Digital Filtering. TGRS 2006, 44, 2393-2406. DOI: 10.1109/TGRS.2006.875356.
32. Tosti, F.; Bianchini Ciampoli, L.; D'Amico, F.; Alani, A.M.; Benedetto, A. An Experimental-Based Model for the Assessment of the Mechanical Properties of Road Pavements using Ground-Penetrating Radar. Construction & building materials 2018, 165, 966-974. DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.01.179.
33. Brancadoro, M.G.; Ciampoli, L.B.; Ferrante, C.; Benedetto, A.; Tosti, F.; Alani, A.M. An Investigation into the Railway Ballast Grading using GPR and Image Analysis. In 2017 9th International Workshop on Advanced Ground Penetrating Radar (IWAGPR), Edinburgh; pp. 1-4. DOI: 10.1109/IWAGPR.2017.7996043.
34. Lambot, S.; Javaux, M.; Hupet, F.; Vanclooster, M. A Global Multilevel Coordinate Search Procedure for Estimating the Unsaturated Soil Hydraulic Properties. Water resources research 2002, 38, 6-15. DOI: 10.1029/2001WR001224.
35. Huisman, J.A.; Hubbard, S.S.; Redman, J.D.; Annan, A.P. Measuring Soil Water Content with Ground Penetrating Radar: A Review. Vadose Zone Journal 2003, 2, 476-491. DOI: 10.2113/2.4.476.
36. Hruska, J.; Čermák, J.; Šustek, S. Mapping Tree Root Systems with Ground-Penetrating Radar. Tree Physiol. 1999, 19, 125-130.
37. Butnor, J.R.; Doolittle, J.A.; Johnsen, K.H.; Samuelson, L.; Stokes, T.; Kress, L. Utility of Ground-Penetrating Radar as a Root Biomass Survey Tool in Forest Systems. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 2003, 67, 1607-1615. DOI: 10.2136/sssaj2003.1607.
38. Alani, A.M.; Ciampoli, L.B.; Lantini, L.; Tosti, F.; Benedetto, A. Mapping the Root System of Matured Trees using Ground Penetrating Radar. In 2018 17th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Rapperswil, Switzerland, June 18-21, 2018; pp. 1-6. DOI: 10.1109/ICGPR.2018.8441535.
39. Lantini, L.; Holleworth, R.; Egyir, D.; Giannakis, I.; Tosti, F.; Alani, A.M. Use of Ground Penetrating Radar for Assessing Interconnections between Root Systems of Different Matured Tree Species. In 2018 Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (MetroArchaeo), Cassino, Italy, October 22-24, 2018; pp. 22-26. DOI: 10.1109/MetroArchaeo43810.2018.13682.
40. Gunnersbury Park Trees. Available online: https://gunnersburyfriends.org/gunnersbury-park-trees/ (accessed on Jul 15, 2020).
41. Time and Date AS. Available online: https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/uk/london/historic?month=4&year=2019 (accessed on Jul 3, 2020).
42. Fayle, D.C.F. Radial Growth in Tree Roots: Distribution, Timing, Anatomy. University of Toronto, Faculty of Forestry 1968.
43. Chauvière, M.; Colin, F.; Nielsen, C.N.; Drexhage, M. Development of Structural Root Architecture and Allometry of Quercus Petraea. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 1999, 29, 600-608. DOI: 10.1139/x99-027.
44. Elkarmoty, M.; Tinti, F.; Kasmaeeyazdi, S.; Giannino, F.; Bonduà, S.; Bruno, R. Implementation of a Fracture Modeling Strategy Based on Georadar Survey in a Large Area of Limestone Quarry Bench. Geosciences (Basel) 2018, 8, 481. DOI: 10.3390/geosciences8120481.
45. Daniels, D.J. Ground Penetrating Radar, 2nd ed.; The Institution of Electrical Engineers: London, 2004.
46. Jol, H.M. Ground Penetrating Radar Theory and Applications, 1st ed.; Elsevier: Amsterdam, 2009.
47. Kim, J.; Cho, S.; Yi, M. Removal of Ringing Noise in GPR Data by Signal Processing. Geosci J 2007, 11, 75-81. DOI: 10.1007/BF02910382.
48. Lantini, L.; Giannakis, I.; Tosti, F.; Mortimer, D.; Alani, A. A Reflectivity-Based GPR Signal Processing Methodology for Mapping Tree Root Systems of Street Trees. In 2020 43rd International Conference on Telecommunications and Signal Processing, Online event, Jul 7-9, 2020. DOI: 10.1109/TSP49548.2020.9163517.
49. Cui, X.H.; Chen, J.; Shen, J.; Cao, X.; Chen, X.; Zhu, X. Modeling Tree Root Diameter and Biomass by Ground-Penetrating Radar. Sci. China Earth Sci 2011, 54, 711-719. DOI: 10.1007/s11430-010-4103-z.
50. Kreyszig, E. Advanced Engineering Mathematics, 9th ed.; John Wiley & Sons, 2006.
51. Hansen, P.C.; Pereyra, V.; Scherer, G. Least Squares Data Fitting with Applications.; Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, 2013.
52. Fausett, L.V. Applied Numerical Analysis using MATLAB, 2. ed. ed.; Pearson Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2008.
53. Köstler, J.; Brückner, E.; Bibelriether, H. Die Wurzeln Der Waldbäume.; P. Parey: Hamburg, 1968.
54. Crow, P. The Influence of Soils and Species on Tree Root Depth. Forestry Commission 2005.
55. Kelley, C.T. Iterative Methods for Optimization.; Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 1999.
56. Hecht-Nielsen, R. Theory of the Backpropagation Neural Network. Neural networks 1988, 1, 445. DOI: 10.1016/0893-6080(88)90469-8.