Research project

in cooperation with Kiel University

The shape and dynamics of the pore space are of great importance for the transport of gas, water and the nutrients dissolved in it, as well as for the habitat conditions for the soil microorganisms involved in the release. In the subsoil in particular, accessibility to nutrient sources depends on the development of the root system and the intact functional relationship between biological, physical and chemical processes. The development of the soil structure is closely linked to root growth, with roots creating new pore space on the one hand and utilizing an existing structure (e.g. shrinkage cracks and biopores) for their growth on the other. Knowledge of the architecture, morphology and topology of the pore network, consisting of pedogenically and biogenically formed cavities, is the basis for a better understanding of the interaction of biological, biochemical and physical processes that control the accessibility and mobilization of nutrient sources.

Our contribution to the long-term research goal of identifying and quantifying relevant processes for nutrient mobilization lies in the detailed non-invasive investigation of microstructural dynamics and the small-scale physical properties that depend on them. The combination of X-ray based microcomputed tomography (XR-µCT) with 3D image analysis techniques and in situ measurements of oxygen partial pressure distributions (pO2), redox potentials, and oxygen diffusion rates (ODR) on the micro- and macro-scale will allow us to quantify functional relationships between pore space geometry, microstructure dynamics, root growth and habitat conditions for microorganisms.

DFG FOR 1320/DAAD-Fondecyt

• MSc.S. Pagenkemper
• MSc. D.Uteau-Puschmann