Description

Trees play an important role in the energy and water cycles on Earth. They regulate their temperature and transpiration rates by opening an closing small cavities in their leaves or needles, stomata. In this topic you will study how these stomata respond to weather conditions. The behaviour of stomata is an important factor in climate-ecosystem interactions.

Objectives and Methodology

The objective of this study is to analyze the response of tree transpiration and evaporation to weather extremes. The methodology includes the following steps: (1) You will install sap flux density sensors and a thermal camera in trees in an instrumented research site, Speulderbos. (2) You will process the data into an organized field data set, (3) you will estimate tree transpiration and analyze its relation with weather variables measured at the site.

Further reading