J. For. Sci., 2025, 71(8):406-415 | DOI: 10.17221/27/2025-JFS

Assessing the accuracy of a root detector in mapping radial tree root distributionOriginal Paper

Mochammad Taufiqurrachman1, Utami Dyah Syafitri ORCID...2, Goh Mia Chun3, Lina Karlinasari ORCID...1
1 Department of Forest Products, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
2 Department of Statistics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
3 CSK Landscape Services, Singapore

A root detector is a non-destructive technology developed to indicate the radial distribution of tree roots, which are not often visible on the surface. This study aims to assess the accuracy of the root detector in estimating the radial distribution of both exposed and buried tree roots. Six Agathis loranthifolia Salisb. trees were selected, three with exposed roots and three with buried roots. The Fakopp® root detector, an acoustic-based tool, was used in this study. Root estimation was based on a combination of threshold values (> 400 m·s–1), average values, and the peak of the sound wave velocity. Soil excavation was manually conducted at a depth of 30 cm within a 100 cm radius of the tree trunk. The results showed that under similar soil conditions, the root detector achieved an accuracy of over 80% in detecting the actual radial root distribution, as validated by the excavation method. Root diameter exhibited the strongest correlation with sound velocity in detecting lateral roots. However, root depth and inclination angle contributed to detection inaccuracies in estimating the radial distribution of lateral roots.

Keywords: excavation method; lateral root; non-destructive method; sound velocity; validating

Received: March 15, 2025; Revised: August 6, 2025; Accepted: August 7, 2025; Prepublished online: August 27, 2025; Published: August 30, 2025  Show citation

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Taufiqurrachman M, Syafitri UD, Chun GM, Karlinasari L. Assessing the accuracy of a root detector in mapping radial tree root distribution. J. For. Sci. 2025;71(8):406-415. doi: 10.17221/27/2025-JFS.
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