FORESTS UNDER CLIMATE STRESS: MONITORING WITH DECENTLAB DENDROMETERS

Climate change is causing trees to leaf out earlier – yet the trunks of many species are growing more slowly.

A TreeNet study led by WSL shows that heat and drought limit the growth of spruce, fir, and beech, even during longer growing seasons. Each year, trees have only 40 to 110 effective growth days, and critical dry periods further reduce growth. This impacts carbon storage and timber yields, making it necessary to adapt forest management strategies locally and by species.

To analyze these effects, researchers are using DL-ZN1-001 | Dendrometer T-shape for LoRaWAN®. Mounted directly on the trunk, they measure micrometer-scale changes in tree diameter and provide hourly data on growth and water balance. This allows researchers to distinguish between actual wood formation and changes caused by water stress.

In total, 228 trees at 48 sites are being monitored. A clear demonstration of the method can be seen in the video “The Thing – Point Dendrometer”.

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