| Affiliations: | Aggie Research Mentoring Program |
| Project Leader: | Miriam Catalan mmorua_0206@tamu.edu Ecology and Conservation Biology |
| Faculty Mentor: | Carol Loopstra, Ph.D. |
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Meeting Times:
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TBD |
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Team Size:
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4
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| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Special Opportunities:
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Students will have the opportunities to become familiar with sap flow sensors, plant histology, plant anatomy, plant hydraulics, and greenhouse management. There is a potential for earning co-authorship for publications
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Team Needs:
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Interest in plants, ecology, plant physiology, experience with horticulture or forestry, strong attention to detail preferred |
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Description:
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Continuous measurements of tree water use and stand transpiration are important to understand forest water output and assess the reliability of forest ecosystem water cycle research (Fei et al. 2012). The best way to measure forest transpiration is by using thermal dissipation sap flow sensors and by using forest stand metrics to upscale measurements. This requires an accurate estimation of sapwood area and an understanding of the radial variation of the trunk sap flow. This project attempts to resolve these knowledge gaps by using a novel approach to characterize radial variability with a modified thermal dissipation sap flow sensor; coupled with micromorphological observations to determine the xylem anatomical structural determinants to better understand the influence of wood properties on radial patterns of sap flux density and hydraulic conductivity measurements |