A project of
Growing up in Israel, Yakir Preisler developed a deep appreciation for the benefits of urban trees, seeking refuge in their shade during scorching summers. His curiosity about how urban trees cope with escalating climate stressors emerged during his Ph.D. studies on managed forests in drylands.
To unravel the mystery, Yakir reached out to several colleagues. The question became: Do we have a comprehensive understanding of trees' cooling efficiency in urban settings? Is there a discernible difference among species in various cities? Are scientists and decision-makers equipped with the knowledge to choose the most suitable trees for their urban landscapes?
During this exploration, common themes emerged among cities globally; even highly-trained ecophysiologists had the assumption that urban trees must be stressed—but nobody was really sure. A big knowledge gap was identified- how trees function at the urban environment and what can we learn from it.
To address this, Yakir, alongside Daniel Johnson, initiated the formation of the Urban Trees Ecophysiology Network (UTEN).
During the inaugural workshop in the University of Georgia, the UTEN members and other participants developed a framework for the network, establish data gathering methods, and foster collaboration among various stakeholders.
UTEN leverages IoT sensors to compile a comprehensive database, facilitating in-depth investigations that benefit public engagement and inform management decision-making.
Utilizing IoT sensors, the network compiles a comprehensive database for thorough investigations, benefiting public engagement and management decision-making.
What Do We Measure?
Around each city, in multiple tree species (chosen according the GUTI database and local arborist knowledge), we measure:
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Tree growth
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Tree water use
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Local and ambient temperature, relative humidity (RH), radiation, wind speed and direction outside the tree area to assess ambient conditions.
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Seasonal campaigns of tree physiology and leaf functional traits
How Do We Measure?
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Each tree undergoes measurements for height, Diameter at Breast Height (DBH), canopy area, pit area, and local characteristics.
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We monitor tree growth, daily expansion and shrinkage using EMS Brno Ltd.'s band dendrometers.
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Tree sap flow is measured, and temperature and relative humidity are monitored at the tree stem area outside the tree's vicinity.
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Seasonal water potential, leaf-scale stomatal conductance, and leaf functional traits are recorded.
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Turgor Loss Point (TLP) for each tree is measured using the Bartlett 2012 protocol.
All data is communicated via Blues Wireless Notecards and Amazon Web Services cloud and data management. UTEN members have access to data from all sites, fostering collaboration and advancing our understanding of urban tree ecophysiology.
