Software for micromorphometric characterization of soil pores obtained from 2-D image analysis

ABSTRACT Studies of soil porosity through image analysis are important to an understanding of how the soil functions. However, the lack of a simplified methodology for the quantification of the shape, number, and size of soil pores has limited the use of information extracted from images. The present work proposes a software program for the quantification and characterization of soil porosity from data derived from 2-D images. The user-friendly software was developed in C++ and allows for the classification of pores in terms of size, shape, and combinations of size and shape. Using raw data generated by image analysis systems, the software calculates the following parameters for the characterization of soil porosity: total area of pore (Tap), number of pores, pore shape, pore shape and pore area, and pore shape and equivalent pore diameter (EqDiam). In this paper, the input file with the raw soil porosity data was generated using the Noesis Visilog 5.4 image analysis system; however other image analysis programs can be used, in which case, the input file requires a standard format to permit processing by this software. The software also shows the descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, variance, and the coefficient of variation) of the parameters considering the total number of images evaluated. The results show that the software is a complementary tool to any analysis of soil porosity, allowing for a precise and quick analysis.

摘要 通过图像分析开展土壤孔隙度研究，对于理解土壤功能机制具有重要意义。然而，当前缺乏可用于量化土壤孔隙形状、数量及尺寸的简化方法，这限制了从图像中提取的孔隙信息的应用。本研究开发了一款可基于二维（2-D）图像数据对土壤孔隙度进行量化与表征的软件程序。该界面友好的软件采用C++语言开发，可依据孔隙尺寸、形状以及尺寸与形状的组合对孔隙进行分类。该软件可利用图像分析系统生成的原始数据，计算以下用于表征土壤孔隙度的参数：孔隙总面积（Tap）、孔隙数量、孔隙形状、孔隙形状与孔隙面积、孔隙形状与等效孔隙直径（EqDiam）。本文中，原始土壤孔隙度数据的输入文件通过Noesis Visilog 5.4图像分析系统生成；不过也可使用其他图像分析程序，此时输入文件需符合标准格式，以确保该软件可对其进行处理。该软件还可基于所评估的全部图像数量，计算并输出各参数的描述性统计量，包括均值、标准差、方差及变异系数。研究结果表明，该软件可作为土壤孔隙度各类分析的辅助工具，能够实现精准且高效的分析。