Analysis of nickel concentration profiles around the roots of the hyperaccumulator plant Berkheya coddii using MRI and numerical simulations

Investigations of soil-root interactions are hampered by the difficult experimental accessibility of the rhizosphere. Here we show the potential of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as a non-destructive measurement technique in combination with numerical modelling to study the dynamics of the spatial distribution of dissolved nickel (Ni2+) around the roots of the nickel hyperaccumulator plant Berkheya coddii. Special rhizoboxes were used in which a root monolayer had been grown, separated from an adjacent inert glass bead packing by a nylon membrane. After applying a Ni2+ solution of 10 mg l(-1), the rhizobox was imaged repeatedly using MRI. The obtained temporal sequence of 2-dimensional Ni2+ maps in the vicinity of the roots showed that Ni2+ concentrations increased towards the root plane, revealing an accumulation pattern. Numerical modelling supported the Ni2+ distributions to result from advective water flow towards the root plane, driven by transpiration, and diffusion of Ni2+ tending to eliminate the concentration gradient. With the model, we could study how the accumulation pattern of Ni2+ in the root zone transforms into a depletion pattern depending on transpiration rate, solute uptake rate, and Ni2+ concentration in solution.