Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T04:31:18.248Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Correction of Systematic Errors in Estimates of Transpiration Obtained Using a Constant Temperature Heat Balance Technique

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

Ahmed A. H. Khan
Affiliation:
International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), PO Box 30677, Nairobi, Kenya
Chin K. Ong
Affiliation:
International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), PO Box 30677, Nairobi, Kenya

Summary

Field measurements using 30-month-old grevillea trees indicated that the three main sources of error in sap flow estimation can be overcome by: estimating the temperature bias with the gauge heater switched off or covering the whole trunk with 20 mm thick styrofoam sheet and alumimium foil; or by inserting thermocouples in the stem and accounting for radial and conductive heat losses. These corrections reduce gauge error for tree trunks (50–90 mm diameter) from 10–47% to ±7%. In the absence of a large lysimeter, a comparison of sap flow rates was made by attaching gauges to the trunk and a single terminal branch on the same tree.

Calibrado del flujo de la savia en los árboles del género Grevillea

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Baker, J. M. & van Bavel, C. H. M. (1987). Measurement of mass flow of water in the stems of herbaceous plants. Plant, Cell and Environment 10:777787.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, Y., Takeuchi, S., Nozaka, J. & Yano, T. (1993). Accuracy of sap flow measurements using heat balance and heat pulse methods. Agronomy Journal 85:10801086.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fichtener, K. & Schulze, E. (1990). Xylem water flow in tropical vines as measured by a steady state heating method. 0ecologia 82:355361.Google Scholar
Gutierrez, Marco V., Harrington, R. A., Meinzer, F. C. & Fownes, J. H. (1994). The effect of environmentally induced stem temperature gradients on transpiration estimates from the heat balance method in tropical woody species. Tree Physiology 14:179190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ham, J. M. & Heilman, J. L. (1990). Dynamics of a heat balance stem flow gauge during high flow. Agronomy Journal 82:147152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ishida, T., Campbell, G. S. & Calissendorff, C. (1991). Improved heat balance method for determining sap flow rate. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 56:3548.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sakuratani, T. (1981). A heat balance method for measuring water flux in the stem of intact plants. journal of Agricultural Meteorology 37:917.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sakuratani, T. (1984). Improvement of probe for measuring water flux rate in intact plants with stem heat balance method. Journal of Agricultural Meteorology 40:273277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shackel, K. A., Johnson, R. C., Medawar, C. K. & Phene, C.J. (1992). Substantial errors in estimates of sap flow using the heat balance technique on woody stems under field conditions. journal of the American Society of Horticultural Science 117.Google Scholar
Steinberg, S. L., van Bavel, C. H. M. & McFarland, M. J. (1990). Improved sap flow gauge for woody and herbaceous plants. Agronomy Journal 82:851854.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swanson, R. N. & Whitfield, D. W. A. (1981). Numerical analysis of heat pulse velocity theory. Journal of Experimental Botany 32:221239CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valancogne, C. & Naser, Z. (1993). A heat balance method for measuring sap flow in small trees. In Water Transport in Plants under Climatic Stress. Proceedings of an International Workshop, Vallombrosa, Florence, 166173 (Eds Borghetti, M., Grace, J. and Rachieds, A.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar