Abstract
Rapid development of urban infrastructure in past decades together with a relatively recent growth of awareness of its impact on the natural environment result in an increased interest in non-destructive ground interrogation methods. Tree root damage is a very well known issue in civil engineering and can emerge as road surface fracture, building foundations disintegration or pipe penetration, among others. In this paper we investigate the feasibility of using a vibroacoustic method for tree root mapping. The core of the idea is that the mechanical waves induced by an excitation mechanism acting on the tree trunk propagate to the roots and then radiate into the surrounding soil. Owing to that, the response measured at the ground surface contains the contribution of waves radiating from roots and can be used for mapping their extent. In this paper, we report a set of field experiments on a ‘purpose-built’ root-trunk model buried underground. These preliminary results both demonstrate the technique and shed light on related challenges and limitations.
Highlights
Trees play a vital role in the carbon cycle, through oxygen synthesis and biomass production
We investigate the possibility of using vibration to detect tree roots from ground surface vibration measurements
Wave-based buried utility mapping uses unwrapped phase maps to identify the objects of interest, as reported in [7, 8]
Summary
Trees play a vital role in the carbon cycle, through oxygen synthesis and biomass production. In the era of rapid urbanisation and climate changes, tree ecosystems are endangered. On one hand it is very much desired that cities contain large green areas, but at the same time, intense exploitation of city space is a threat for trees. Challenging aspect is the coexistence of tree root networks with city infrastructure. Roots’ growth often results in an unexpected damage to pipe networks, road surfaces and building foundations. Roots can be severely damaged by building works. It is essential that the location and growth direction of living roots can be monitored periodically, to allow for an informed construction planning and infrastructure maintenance
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