Microtensiometer-based stem water potential measurements reveal species and soil controls in temperate forests

Microtensiometer-based stem water potential measurements reveal species and soil controls in temperate forests | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 2 May 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Microtensiometer-based stem water potential measurements reveal species and soil controls in temperate forests Authors : Ruth-Kristina Magh 0000-0002-4695-0891 [email protected] , Sharath S. Paligi , Phillip Papastefanou , Anne Klosterhalfen 0000-0001-7999-8966 , Christian Ammer , Matthias Beyer , Maren Dubbert 0000-0002-2352-8516 , Simon Haberstroh 0000-0002-6097-6633 , Clara Rohde , Christiane Werner , and Anke Hildebrandt 0000-0001-8643-1634 Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174616928.83972901/v1 457 views 211 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Water potential gradients drive water fluxes, while plant hydraulic traits modulate them, shaping ecosystem function. Yet, traditional methods for measuring plant water potential (e.g., pressure chambers) are destructive and labour-intensive, yielding sparse data with low temporal resolution. This contrasts with high-resolution environmental data (e.g., soil moisture, climate), creating a mismatch that limits our understanding of plant water dynamics. We address this gap by evaluating a novel microtensiometer for continuous stem water potential (y stem ) monitoring. This collaborative study utilized data from 21 microtensiometers across three deciduous species ( Fagus sylvatica, Fraxinus excelsior, Carpinus betulus ) and 31 soil matric potential sensors over the course of several months during the vegetation period of 2023. We demonstrate that microtensiometers deliver reliable results for the tested deciduous tree species. The microtensiometer measurements agree with the classical pressure chamber method in Fagus sylvatica and Carpinus betulus . By integrating high-frequency soil matric potential (y soil ) data at multiple soil depths, meteorological variables, we further assessed the primary drivers of y stem across sites using boosted regression trees. The key driver of hourly y stem in this climatologically average summer, was species and y soil with upper soil layers exerting greater influence during the day and deeper layers becoming more important in the evening. These findings emphasize the potential of microtensiometers to advance plant hydraulics research by offering a continuous, cost-effective, and minimally invasive approach to monitoring water potential dynamics in forest ecosystems. Supplementary Material File (manuscript_pce.docx) Download 3.94 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 02 May 2025 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords microtensiometry soil matric potential stem water potential tree water relations water relations xylem transport Authors Affiliations Ruth-Kristina Magh 0000-0002-4695-0891 [email protected] Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat Jena View all articles by this author Sharath S. Paligi Georg-August-Universitat Gottingen Albrecht-von-Haller-Institut fur Pflanzenwissenschaften View all articles by this author Phillip Papastefanou Max-Planck-Institut fur Biogeochemie View all articles by this author Anne Klosterhalfen 0000-0001-7999-8966 Georg-August-Universitat Gottingen View all articles by this author Christian Ammer Georg-August-Universitat Gottingen Fakultat fur Forstwissenschaften und Waldokologie View all articles by this author Matthias Beyer Technische Universitat Braunschweig Institut fur Geookologie View all articles by this author Maren Dubbert 0000-0002-2352-8516 Leibniz-Zentrum fur Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e V View all articles by this author Simon Haberstroh 0000-0002-6097-6633 Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg View all articles by this author Clara Rohde Leibniz-Zentrum fur Agrarlandschaftsforschung (ZALF) e V View all articles by this author Christiane Werner Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg View all articles by this author Anke Hildebrandt 0000-0001-8643-1634 Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat Jena View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 457 views 211 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Ruth-Kristina Magh, Sharath S. Paligi, Phillip Papastefanou, et al. Microtensiometer-based stem water potential measurements reveal species and soil controls in temperate forests. Authorea . 02 May 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.174616928.83972901/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . 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