plant physiology | Edaphic Scientific

Measuring transpiration of small plants

Continuous measurements of the water use, or transpiration, of small or herbaceous plants can be difficult. A small weighing lysimeter, also known as a balance or scale, can be used however these often require a researcher to manually read the LCD screen or to have the instrument connected to a PC or laptop. Data collection…

Flowers and transpiration

Surprisingly little research has been dedicated to flower water relations. This is despite the vast amount of research on water relations at the whole-plant level, stomatal conductance at the leaf level, and even the water relations of fruits. Flowers have been largely neglected probably due to the difficulty of accurately measuring transpiration rates with a…

Why your soil moisture measurements are not accurate

Manufacturers of soil water content sensors supply their product with an output registering volumetric water content (VWC), typically expressed as a percentage. But where does this number come from and what does it actually mean? In all likelihood, the output value from the sensor will not be equal to the actual VWC of your particular…

5 common mistakes when measuring soil moisture

Soil moisture, or soil volumetric water content, is easily measured with probes, sensors or handheld meters. These meters are as simple as pushing the probe or sensor into the soil, pressing read on the handheld meter, and you’re done. As easy as this appears, there are surprisingly many pitfalls and traps that can lead to wrong…

how plants communicate

can plants communicate with one another? This question is not as outrageous as it might at first seem. Certainly, plants are not like The Ents in the Lord of the Rings, coming to life and talking with one another. But scientists have amassed a large amount of evidence to suggest that plants do communicate with…