Fig. 1

Example minirhizotron images illustrating the varying image qualities and properties used in this study. a and b are images (tree-grassland ecosystem) of the MANIP project dataset; c and d are maize (Zea mays) and olive (Olea europaea) roots from the ATTRACT project dataset, respectively. Both datasets are using different cameras system, focus, resolution, and illumination (see Method section for details on projects/datasets). Subpanels a and b present heterogeneous lighting but overall dark images with a lot of shadows. Both c and d exhibit uniform lighting without significant shadows, but there are distinct variations in soil moisture levels on the outer surface of the MR tubes