SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT USED
Intensively monitoring the trees across such a large area, with so many plots, is no mean feat! We have opted to go with wireless technologies as far as possible at the IMPACT OAL to minimise cables and make deployment and data acquisition as efficient as we can. These instruments will be logging data from every 5 minutes to every day.
- Weather data is constantly logged at the site with an automatic weather station that measures rainfall, wind speed and direction, temperature, incoming solar radiation and barometric pressure.
- For continuous monitoring of stem size, a new wireless dendrometer has been developed which is run by a newly developed wireless logger (WiLo) that includes a soil water content/temperature sensor, as well as an air temperature and humidity sensor. This means these dendrometers can be deployed while logging information about both water supply and demand, an important part of our planned analyses. These dendrometers will be deployed in all plots as soon as the trees reaches a suitable size.
- We will also install sap flow sensors in a subset of plots. We will be using both heat balance-type systems (in particular, Dynamax Dynagage sensors) as well as heat ratio-type systems (such as Plant Pulse sensors).
- Soil water content and temperature through the profile will be logged with Sentek Drill-and-drop probes to depths of 90 cm across two or three transects at the site. These data will be bolstered by several Campbell Scientific CS655 probes at varying depths at selected plots.
- A set of soil Rhizotrons are being developed to monitor root development on a weekly basis in all plots.
In addition to the sensors that are/ will be deployed at the site, and constantly returning data, other measurements are made on a regular basis using several techniques and instruments. These include:
- LiDAR and multispectral drones for aerial imagery of trees and landscape
- Riegl VZ400i Terrestrial Laser Scanner for monitoring tree growth and canopy structure
- LI-COR LI-600F porometer/fluorometer for monitoring fluorescence and stomatal conductance
- LI-COR LI-6400 to obtain calibration data and light/carbon dioxide response information
- Trephor corer for tree core collection to perform wood anatomy analyses
