Selhausen, Germany
The field minirhizotron facilities in Selhausen offers unique monitoring data and insights of the soil-plant continuum. The MR facilities were built by the Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences Agrosphere (IBG-3) and are located in Selhausen, Germany. They are part of the earth observation network TERENO (TERrestrial ENvironmental Observatories), specifically the Eifel/Lower Rhine observatory. The two MR facilities are situated in close proximity and share the local climate but have different soil types. Each MR facility is equipped with 7-meter-long horizontal, transparent rhizotubes installed at six depths with 9 replicates, which are utilized for crosshole ground penetrating radar (GPR) and minirhizotron camera measurement acquisition. Soil sensors deliver observations of soil temperature, soil water content and matric potential with high temporal and spatial resolution. The rhizotubes, which are located within an agricultural field, end in an access trench, where measurement can be performed and the data collection hardware for the soil sensors is located. The agricultural field is divided into three plots, which allow the comparison of different agricultural management practices, including surface water treatment (sheltered, natural, irrigated), sowing date, sowing density and comparing cultivars with differing rooting depths. The comprehensive data set collected enhances the understanding on root growth and soil water distribution for varying conditions within the soil-plant continuum.
The regularly updated multi-year above- and belowground data publications enhance the understanding of plant growth and plant-soil interactions under changing environmental conditions.
List of funding projects over the years:
