X-Ray Imaging of the Soil Porous Architecture

The advent of X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) as a tool for the soil sciences almost 40 years ago has revolutionised the field. Soil is the fragile, thin layer of material that exists above earth’s geological substrates upon which so much of life on earth depends. However a major limitation to our understanding of how soils behave and function is due to its complex, opaque structure that hinders our ability to assess its porous architecture without disturbance. X-ray imagery has facilitated the ability to truly observe soil as it exists in three dimensions and across contrasting spatial and temporal scales in the field in an undisturbed fashion. 

This book gives a comprehensive overview of the “state of the art” in a variety of application areas where this type of imaging is used, including soil water physics and hydrology, agronomic management of soils, and soil-plant-microbe interactions. It provides the necessary details for entry level readers in the crucial areas of sample preparation, scanner optimisation and image processing and analysis.
Drawing on experts across the globe, from both academia and industry, the book covers the necessary “dos and don’ts”, but also offers insights into the future of both technology and science. The wider application of the book is provided by dedicated chapters on how the data from such imagery can be incorporated into models and how the technology can be interfaced with other relevant technical applications. 

The book ends with a future outlook from the four editors, each of whom has over 20 years of experience in the application of X-ray CT to soil science.

Professor Sacha Mooney holds the Chair in Soil Physics at the University of Nottingham. He holds a BSc in Geography and a MSc in Soil Science from the University of Aberdeen. He also holds a PhD in Soil Science from the Department of Agricultural Engineering at University College Dublin. At Nottingham he recently headed the Division of Agriculture and Environmental Science and currently acts as Director of the Hounsfield Facility, a globally unique X-ray Computed Tomography imaging Centre interfaced with robotics dedicated to soil and plant sciences that he founded with colleagues via funding from the Wolfson Foundation, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the European Research Council (ERC) . His research interests focus on the key role soil structure plays in controlling and regulating soil function. His particular expertise is focused on using imagery to quantify soil pore architecture across a range of spatial scales and relate that to strategies for sustainable soil management. He is the current outgoing President of the British Society of Soil Science and sits on the management board for the forthcoming World Congress of Soil Science to be held in Glasgow in 2022.

Professor Iain Young is the Dean of the Biological and Environmental Sciences & Engineering Division at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Iain completed his BSc (Hons) at Aberdeen University in 1984, then obtaining a PhD in Soil Physics (1987) in the same institution. He then moved to The Scottish Crop Research Institution (SCRI) as a Research Leader in 1988 - now the James Hutton Institute. Spending 12 years at SCRI, he became Head of the multidisciplinary Soil-Plant Dynamics group, before moving to Abertay University as a Founding Director and Professor of the Scottish Informatics Mathematics, Biology and Statistics (SIMBIOS) Centre. In 2008, he moved to Australia to take up the post of Head of Environmental and Rural Science at the University of New England, in Australia. In 2016 he moved to Sydney University to take up the role of Head of School of Life and Environmental Sciences.  In 2018 he became the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at Sydney University.  Iain’s main interest is the origin and consequences of the physical of soil and specifically how this interacts with soil microorganisms.  Iain was one of the first soil scientists to use µCT and build a dedicated lab for environmental sciences based on µCT technology.

Professor Richard J Heck is a faculty member of the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph, Canada. He holds a bachelor's degree in agriculture sciences, as well as M.Sc. and Ph.D. in soil science, specializing in pedology, from the University of Saskatchewan. Prior to his current position, Richard was a lecturer at his alma mater, followed by a term as visiting professor at the Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco in Brazil. His teaching and research now focus on soils and landscape processes, with special interest on the application of x-ray computed tomography to quantify soil microstructure. Over the past decade, Richard has held the position of Special Visiting Researcher at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (Brazil), where he has helped guide the establishment of an x-ray CT laboratory and diverse research programs. In addition to hosting international scholars, he has also attended diverse invitations to speak on and deliver short courses on the applications of x-ray computed tomography to soil. Richard was (2014-2022) Vice-Chair of Commission 1.1, Soil Morphology and Micromorpholgy, and is currently (2022-2026) Chair of Division 1, Soil in Space and Time, of the International Union of Soil Sciences.

Professor Stephan Peth is the head of Department of Soil Science at the University of Kassel, Germany. He graduated at the Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel with a Masters in Geology and holds a PhD-degree in Soil Science. He was serving as Vice-Chair of the Soil Physics and Hydrology Commission of the German Soil Science Society and as member of the review panel of Imaging Beamlines of the Synchrotron-Facility in Hamburg (DESY). Currently he serves as a Chair of the Soil Physics Commission of the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS) and as Associate Editor for the Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science.