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. 2007 Apr;99(4):777-83.
doi: 10.1093/aob/mcm009. Epub 2007 Mar 12.

A new method for non-destructive measurement of biomass, growth rates, vertical biomass distribution and dry matter content based on digital image analysis

Oliver Tackenberg  1
Affiliations

A new method for non-destructive measurement of biomass, growth rates, vertical biomass distribution and dry matter content based on digital image analysis

Oliver Tackenberg. Ann Bot. 2007 Apr.

Abstract

Background and aims: Biomass is an important trait in functional ecology and growth analysis. The typical methods for measuring biomass are destructive. Thus, they do not allow the development of individual plants to be followed and they require many individuals to be cultivated for repeated measurements. Non-destructive methods do not have these limitations. Here, a non-destructive method based on digital image analysis is presented, addressing not only above-ground fresh biomass (FBM) and oven-dried biomass (DBM), but also vertical biomass distribution as well as dry matter content (DMC) and growth rates.

Methods: Scaled digital images of the plants silhouettes were taken for 582 individuals of 27 grass species (Poaceae). Above-ground biomass and DMC were measured using destructive methods. With image analysis software Zeiss KS 300, the projected area and the proportion of greenish pixels were calculated, and generalized linear models (GLMs) were developed with destructively measured parameters as dependent variables and parameters derived from image analysis as independent variables. A bootstrap analysis was performed to assess the number of individuals required for re-calibration of the models.

Key results: The results of the developed models showed no systematic errors compared with traditionally measured values and explained most of their variance (R(2) > or = 0.85 for all models). The presented models can be directly applied to herbaceous grasses without further calibration. Applying the models to other growth forms might require a re-calibration which can be based on only 10-20 individuals for FBM or DMC and on 40-50 individuals for DBM.

Conclusions: The methods presented are time and cost effective compared with traditional methods, especially if development or growth rates are to be measured repeatedly. Hence, they offer an alternative way of determining biomass, especially as they are non-destructive and address not only FBM and DBM, but also vertical biomass distribution and DMC.

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Figures

F<sc>ig</sc>. 1.
Fig. 1.
Main steps of the semi-automatic image processing. (A) Source image of a 21-week-old Bromus secalinus L. individual at the start of its flowering period with a 10 cm high white scale. (B) Background set to black. The white horizontal line represents 0 cm height. (C) Pixels of greenish colour only. (D) Pixels of yellowish colour only. (E) Scaled black and white image. (F) Vertical biomass distribution in 5 cm height intervals (originally 1 cm intervals were calculated). Biomass below the 0 cm line is included in the 0–5 cm interval. (G) Picture taken for testing the accuracy of height measurement.
F<sc>ig</sc>. 2.
Fig. 2.
Validation of the developed models for (A) dry biomass (DBM) and (B) dry matter content (DMC) for 291 grass individuals. All axes are log-scaled.
F<sc>ig</sc>. 3.
Fig. 3.
Development of one Aira caryophyllea L. individual during the growing season for (A) vertical distribution of dry biomass (sum-curves giving total biomass below the respective reference height), (B) relative growth rate (RGR) during different time intervals and (C) dry matter content (DMC) on different dates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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