Tall Trees - The California Redwood

Dr Stephen C. Sillett (of Humboldt State University, California) has been studying the ecology of Coastal Redwoods for a decade. Discover more about Professor Sillett's latest work, which has benefited from the integral use of ICT International's Smart Logger and DataBus.

Coastal Redwood is an important ecological and economic resource; the timber has good decay, insect and fire resistance.

Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), also called coast redwood and California redwood, is native to the central and northern California coast, a region of moderate to heavy winter rain and summer fog so vital to this tree. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeast Area

Tall Trees - Experiment

Aim

To gather sapflow and environmental meteorological data from Sequoia sempervirens specimens to study biophysical limits to tree height.

Method

Data logging field stations were installed in 15 specimens of Sequoia sempervirens. Sensor clusters were placed at 3 heights on each tree: near the crown, bottom of crown and at the base of the tree.

The following illustrates an installation example

Results

• Up to 1069 liters H₂O transpired per day
• Up to 297 liters H₂O absorbed by leaves per day

Conclusions

During periods of rain, a negative sapflow was observed.

Tall Trees - Gallery

The world's tallest tree: "Stratosphere Giant" 112.87 m (2006), Sequoia sempervirens.	Installing HRM Sapflow sensors.	Installing HRM Sapflow sensors. (Closer view)
	HRM Sapflow sensor installed in trunk.	HRM Sapflow sensor, Humidity and Temperature sensor in Sensor Shelter, Anemometer and Solar Panel.
Meteorology equipment and Solar Panel.	Anemometer.	Anemometer and Solar Radiation sensor.
Tipping Bucket Rain gauge.	Smart Logger and 12 V battery in Logger Housing.	Leaf Wetness sensor.
HRM Sapflow sensor near top of tree.		HRM Sapflow sensor.

Testimonials

Dr. Steve Sillett

Kenneth L. Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology

Humboldt State University, California

Having installed a number of solar-powered sensor arrays in the crowns of tall trees since 2000, including 7 manufactured by Campbell Scientific, Inc. and 15 manufactured by ICT International, I can speak authoritatively about the strengths and weaknesses of these systems. Without question, the ICT systems are easier to install and maintain than systems made by Campbell Scientific, Inc.

The SmartLogger is amazing! There is no programming involved, and all the sensors can be connected to a single wire running the length of the tree. ICT's claim that these are "plug and play" is absolutely correct. The user interface is extremely intuitive and virtually no training is required to operate the systems via a laptop computer. The ICT programming is a so refreshingly simple that I cannot imagine ever finding a better solution to datalogging.

I am particularly impressed with the HRM probes manufactured by ICT. The quality of the data is much higher than anything obtained with previous versions of this technology. Each probe can be customized to account for site-to-site variation in sapwood depth, wood density, and other factors. Even though some of the probes have malfunctioned, the frequency of these failures is quite low compared to the previous versions I was using. ICT has happily replaced malfunctioned probes, and their engineers have provided very useful feedback about the nature of the problems encountered.

The most impressive thing about ICT International is their staff. In every single interaction I have had with them, they have been 100% professional, courteous, and helpful. My work in the redwoods has exposed ICT instruments to stresses never before encountered, and, yes, there have been some problems. But I am convinced that the engineers will solve these problems. I simply return the damaged or malfunctioning sensors, and their engineers carefully examine them to see what went wrong. After discovering the problem, they not only send replacements, but they also explain the nature of the problem and how they were able to fix it. They are clearly the best in the business, and it has been a consistent pleasure to work with ICT International.

Anthony Ambrose

Graduate Student, Humboldt State University, California

Overall, I am very pleased with the ease of installation and use of the ICT systems, and encourage anyone seeking to install portable data logging systems in the field to use these systems. The digital design of the ICT system has revolutionized our ability to efficiently gather important environmental data in challenging applications. The amount of wiring needed for an ICT system is a fraction of other comparable non-digital systems, the digital design eliminates the need for complex logger programming and wiring, and the "plug-and-play" sensor interfaces allow systems to be easily changed or re-configured without major hassle. In addition, ICT staff are extremely helpful with technical support and go out of their way to make sure that systems are functioning optimally. I highly recommend ICT systems for all data logging applications.

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