Project

Dynamics of the stem diameter variation as a diagnostic tool for the fundamental analysis of the plant-water relations and the carbon metabolism of woody plants

Code
3E003406
Duration
01 October 2007 → 30 September 2009
Funding
Regional and community funding: Special Research Fund, Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • General biology
    • Plant biology
  • Medical and health sciences
    • Biophysics
    • Biophysics
    • Biophysics
  • Engineering and technology
    • Control systems, robotics and automation
    • Design theories and methods
    • Mechatronics and robotics
    • Computer theory
Keywords
respiration Linear Variable Displacement Transducer carbon metabolism radial growth irrigation ecophysiology modelling plant-water relations sap flow photosynthesis LVDT-sensors
 
Project description

Biosensors (i.e. online plant sensors) can be succesfully used as diagnostic tools to evaluate the physiological plant health status and are, therefore, of practical importance for the development of advanced phytomonitoring systems. A promising sensor is the LVDT, which can be used to measure online and with great precision stem diamter variations, including radial stem growth. The LVDT measurement reveals useful information on both the plant-water relations and the carbon metabolism. The aim of this research is to develop a mechanistic model which allows to unambiguously interpret the LVDT-signal and, hence, the underlying physiological plant processes.