During summer, Gonzalo de Quesada collected samples and data to help us understand the forest carbon budget and the tree physiological response to thinning. The study sites were Hyytiälä forest research station, and Ränskälänkorpi drain peatland. The samples consisted of harvest residue, needle and root litterbags, aboveground understorey biomass, and moss. Additionally, he collected soil moisture content, tree water potential, and tree gas exchange data.
Currently, Gonzalo is in the middle of a greenhouse experiment to study the effects of different mycorrhiza strains on pine seedlings' water utilization under drought. The plants were inoculated in April and left to grow under controlled conditions. On the 1st of September, he cut the water supply, and the measurements began. The drought will go for ten days, and then watering will resume for a two-week recovery period.
In summer 2021, Magdalena Held collected wood samples from pine, spruce and birch at various distances from tree top (trunk and root) in the surroundings of the Hyytiälä field station. Magdalena will use these samples to measure anatomical traits of water conducting cells (conduits) and their connections (pits). Conduits widen with distance from tree top, and we want to find out how pit traits are coordinated with conduit size.