Sapling science
What’s this mysterious object amongst the saplings? A weather station? A moon-lander? Well, it’s actually a Tree Growth Monitoring Station - the latest technology in forestry science... Installed and monitored by climate change scientists at Forest Research, the research agency of the Forestry Commission, this solar-powered station is equipped with sensors which measure the growth of five of our rowan saplings. This will give researchers information about growth throughout the seasons and how extreme events such as drought can affect tree health.
Sensitive sensors
The sapling sensors are known as ‘pivot auto-dendrometers’. These are fitted around the stem and measure the tiniest changes in diameter every 10 minutes.
Light, heat and humidity
The station is also equipped with light, temperature and humidity sensors - the data from these will link the environmental conditions with the tree growth data. This will help show how seasons, daylight, heatwaves or frosts might affect the saplings.
Data delivery
The data is uploaded every 3 hours - allowing scientists to view real-time changes from their HQ at Alice Holt Forest in Hampshire.