In vivo observation of tree drought response with low-field NMR and neutron imaging

• Main Authors: Michael W. Malone, Jacob eYoder, James F. Hunter, Michelle A. Espy, Lee Turin Dickman, Ron O. Nelson, Sven C. Vogel, Henrik eSandin, Sanna eSevanto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2016-05-01
• Series: Frontiers in Plant Science
• Subjects: Health; Water; drought; Flow; hydraulics; NMR
• Online Access: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpls.2016.00564/full

Using a simple low-field NMR system, we monitored water content in a livingtree in a greenhouse over two months. By continuously running thesystem, we observed changes in tree water content on a scale of halfan hour. The data showed a diurnal change in water content consistentboth with previous NMR and biological observations. Neutron imaging experiments showthat our NMR signal is primarily due to water being rapidly transported through the plant, and not to other sources of hydrogen, such as water in cytoplasm, or water in cell walls. After accountingfor the role of temperature in the observed NMR signal, we demonstratea change in the diurnal signal behavior due to simulated drought conditionsfor the tree. These results illustrate the utility of our system toperform noninvasive measurements of tree water content outside of a temperature controlled environment.