Assessment of health status of tree trunks using ground penetrating radar tomography

Maria Sudakova; Evgeniya Terentyeva; Alexey Kalashnikov; Maria Sudakova; Evgeniya Terentyeva; Alexey Kalashnikov

doi:10.3934/geosci.2021010

AIMS Geosciences

2021, Volume 7, Issue 2: 162-179. doi: 10.3934/geosci.2021010

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Assessment of health status of tree trunks using ground penetrating radar tomography

1.
MSU Lomonosov, geology faculty, seismic department, 119991, GSP-1, 1 Leninskiye Gory, Moscow, Russia
2.
Earth Cryosphere Institute Tyumen Scientific Centre SB RAS, 625000, Maligyna, 86, Tyumen, Russia
3.
Moscow State University of Civil Engineering, 129337, 26, Yaroslavskoye Shosse, Moscow Russia

Received: 30 November 2020 Accepted: 29 March 2020 Published: 08 April 2021

Typical tree health assessment methods are destructive. Non-destructive Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technique can provide a diagnostic tool for assessing the health status of live tree trunks based on internal dielectric permittivity distribution. Typical GPR acquisition technique—common-offset—is not helpful in providing robust and high-resolution quantitative results. In the current work we evaluate the capabilities of GPR tomography on locating tree-decays in a number of different tree species, imaging the interval structure of a healthy tree and quantitative estimation of moisture content (MC) based on distribution of dielectric permittivity, directly related to MC. The measurements described in this work were made on the trunks of live trees of different species in different conditions: a "healthy" English oak (Quercus robur), a "dry" Siberian fir (Picea obovata), a Horse chestnut (Castanea dentata) and a European aspen (Populus tremula) with rot inside. The results of the suggested approach were confirmed by resistography. Different parts of the trunk (bark, core, sapwood), as well as healthy and affected areas differ in moisture content, so the method of GPR tomography allowed us to see both the structure of the trunk of a healthy tree, and the presence and dimensions of defects.
- non-destructive testing,
- tree stability,
- wood decay,
- wood moisture content,
- trees monitoring
Citation: Maria Sudakova, Evgeniya Terentyeva, Alexey Kalashnikov. Assessment of health status of tree trunks using ground penetrating radar tomography[J]. AIMS Geosciences, 2021, 7(2): 162-179. doi: 10.3934/geosci.2021010

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Abstract

Typical tree health assessment methods are destructive. Non-destructive Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technique can provide a diagnostic tool for assessing the health status of live tree trunks based on internal dielectric permittivity distribution. Typical GPR acquisition technique—common-offset—is not helpful in providing robust and high-resolution quantitative results. In the current work we evaluate the capabilities of GPR tomography on locating tree-decays in a number of different tree species, imaging the interval structure of a healthy tree and quantitative estimation of moisture content (MC) based on distribution of dielectric permittivity, directly related to MC. The measurements described in this work were made on the trunks of live trees of different species in different conditions: a "healthy" English oak (Quercus robur), a "dry" Siberian fir (Picea obovata), a Horse chestnut (Castanea dentata) and a European aspen (Populus tremula) with rot inside. The results of the suggested approach were confirmed by resistography. Different parts of the trunk (bark, core, sapwood), as well as healthy and affected areas differ in moisture content, so the method of GPR tomography allowed us to see both the structure of the trunk of a healthy tree, and the presence and dimensions of defects.

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