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

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 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 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 tree, and the presence and dimensions of defects.