Correlative Imaging of Plant Roots using Neutrons and X-rays

The interactions between plant roots and soil are an area of active research, particularly in terms of water and nutrient uptake. Since non-invasive, in vivo studies are required, tomographic imaging appears an obvious method to use, but no one imaging modality is well suited to capture the complete system. X-ray imaging gives clear insight to soil structure and composition, however water is comparatively transparent to X-rays and biological matter also displays poor contrast with respect to the pores between soil particles. Neutron imaging presents a complementary view where water and biological matter are better distinguished but the soil minerals are not imaged as clearly as they would be with X-rays. This work aims to develop robust methods for correlative imaging of Plant Roots using Neutrons and X-rays.植物根系与土壤的相互作用是当前的前沿研究热点，尤其聚焦于水分与养分吸收过程。由于该研究需开展无创活体实验，断层成像技术（tomographic imaging）成为了显而易见的可选方案，但目前尚无单一成像模态能够完整捕捉该系统的全部信息。X射线成像（X-ray imaging）可清晰揭示土壤的结构与组成，但水分对X射线相对透明，且生物物质与土壤颗粒孔隙间的对比度也相对较低。中子成像（neutron imaging）是一种互补的成像方式，可更好地区分水分与生物物质，但对土壤矿物的成像效果却不如X射线成像清晰。本研究旨在开发基于中子与X射线的植物根系关联成像（correlative imaging）稳健方法。