RootScan

Plant roots play pivotal roles for terrestrial ecosystem functionality, as roots determine plant water and nutrient uptake, and drive ecosystem carbon storage. Yet, roots remain understudied ecosystem components. We quantify above- and belowground plant functional responses to experimental climate change in the Arctic. Currently we spend substantial excess time on manual image data validation and cleaning due to scanning artefacts arising from using non-specialized instruments. Using a new optical scanner built exclusively for root analyses will greatly reduce root data acquisition time and scanning artefacts. Ultimately, this will allow us to focus our research efforts on producing high quality, novel root data in relation to climate change effects on ecosystems and biodiversity.