Water content and bark thickness of Norway spruce (Picea abies) stems: phloem water capacitance and xylem sap flow

The TDR can be used to measure water content and nutrients in several media with a potential to monitor the xylem sap flow in plants. The objective of this study was to determine whether there is a correlation between the xylem sap content and water available in the soil for sugarcane cultivation using TDR. The study was conducted in a protected environment with eight boxes (500 L). The boxes were divided into two treatments with different water application rates (1.6 and 3.4 L h-1) through subsurface irrigation. In each box TDR probes were inserted in the medium part of sugarcane stalk, totaling three probes per box to monitoring the sap flow. The soil water content was monitored using 20 net-placed probes. Therefore, the simultaneous monitoring of xylem sap and soil water content occurred for five months. As a result, it was obtained that the xylem content monitoring through TDR is moderately related to soil moisture, with a response to the absorption and translocation of the solution in the stem of sugarcane plants as a consequence of irrigation applications and/or fertirrigation. Thus, it was concluded that there is a weak relations between water contents in the soil and plant, especially for the treatment that used the highest flow rate (3.4 L h-1).

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Xylem sap flow of Norway spruce after inoculation with the blue-stain fungus Ceratocystis polonica

Plant Pathology ◽

10.1046/j.1365-3059.2002.00722.x ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 51 (3) ◽

pp. 359-364 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

T. Kirisits ◽

I. Offenthaler

Keyword(s):

Norway Spruce ◽

Sap Flow ◽

Xylem Sap ◽

Blue Stain ◽

Xylem Sap Flow ◽

Ceratocystis Polonica

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Microscale Xylem Sap Flow Sensor Facilitating the Simultaneous Measurement of Flow Velocity and Direction

Proceedings ◽

10.3390/proceedings2130824 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (13) ◽

pp. 824

Author(s):

Yuki Hara ◽

Naoki Hara ◽

Hiroki Ishizuka ◽

Kyohei Terao ◽

Hidekuni Takao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Flow Velocity ◽

Simultaneous Measurement ◽

Sap Flow ◽

Xylem Sap ◽

Flow Sensor ◽

Functional Verification ◽

Thermal Flow Sensor ◽

Quantitative Monitoring ◽

Mems Technology ◽

Xylem Sap Flow

In this study, we focused on direct and quantitative monitoring of sap dynamics in plant stems, and proposed the microscale xylem sap flow sensor. This sensor facilitates the simultaneous measurement of flow velocity and direction by combining the principles of a Granier sensor and a thermal flow sensor. We fabricated micro-sensor chips for functional verification by using MEMS technology, and assembled them on a resin film to facilitate mounting on the epidermis of plants. Furthermore, we measured the sap dynamics by using an experimental setup, and succeeded in measuring the flow velocity and direction at the same time.

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In vivo pressure gradient heterogeneity increases flow contribution of small diameter vessels in grapevine

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-019-13673-6 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Martin Bouda ◽

Carel W. Windt ◽

Andrew J. McElrone ◽

Craig R. Brodersen

Keyword(s):

Sap Flow ◽

Xylem Sap ◽

Small Diameter ◽

Fourth Power ◽

First Year ◽

Long Distance ◽

Xylem Sap Flow ◽

Flow Mri ◽

Vessel Network

AbstractLeaves lose approximately 400 H2O molecules for every 1 CO2 gained during photosynthesis. Most long-distance water transport in plants, or xylem sap flow, serves to replace this water to prevent desiccation. Theory predicts that the largest vessels contribute disproportionately to overall sap flow because flow in pipe-like systems scales with the fourth power of radius. Here, we confront these theoretical flow predictions for a vessel network reconstructed from X-ray μCT imagery with in vivo flow MRI observations from the same sample of a first-year grapevine stem. Theoretical flow rate predictions based on vessel diameters are not supported. The heterogeneity of the vessel network gives rise to transverse pressure gradients that redirect flow from wide to narrow vessels, reducing the contribution of wide vessels to sap flow by 15% of the total. Our results call for an update of the current working model of the xylem to account for its heterogeneity.

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