'Tweeting' tree grows its followers

THE HAGUE - A 30-year-old poplar on the campus of Wageningen University and Research has begun tweeting about its growth in relation to changes in soil-water conditions, temperature and air humidity.

The data will help researchers better chart the relation between tree growth and extreme weather conditions.

"Hi. Here I am! The first Dutch tweeting tree @WUR. I will start tweeting this Friday about my growth and sapflow!" read a message on the tree's Twitter account, which had attracted thousands of followers in just a few hours.

On its 95.8-cm-diameter trunk, the tree is connected to equipment which allows researchers to collect data on its sapflow and the variation in stem diameter. In addition, variables such as soil water, temperature and air humidity around the tree are recorded.

"Tweeting is a way to raise public awareness of the interaction between trees and their environment," said Dr Ute Sass-Klaassen, who is in charge of the project.

"The data we are collecting is extremely useful to develop a model that is essential to understand the information stored in tree-ring structure.

"Once we understand the effect of successive extreme events on tree vitality, we can advise foresters which tree species will perform best under different soil and (estimated future) climate conditions," she added.

The research team is now measuring the dynamics of the formation of the tree ring through 2017. They believe that just by recording measurements, they will be able to link annual growth dynamics to changing climate conditions.

In addition to this Dutch poplar, an oak, a maple and a beech in Belgium, as well as a Scots pine in Germany, have already been tweeting about their growth and environment. A larch in Switzerland and a pine in Spain will also join this European cooperation project.

Xinhua