All - I've been googling and web searching for some "ooh-ah" statistics
on trees for a talk on the awe and wonder of trees that I'm giving as
part of a symposium on the Value of Trees that is being held at my
university later this month. I would like to provide the audience with
the best estimates of these that I can find and I am asking for some
help from this audience.
I have two statistics that I'm particularly interested in:
1. How many leaves or needles does a "typical" adult tree have? Anyone
know of any published studies on this? Gray literature? I'm wondering
if someone didn't just sit down and count all the needles or leaves?
Maybe if I had access to allometric data which included leaf mass, and
some average specific leaf mass (m2 area/Kg) for trees, I could derive a
crude estimate from those measures. But for now, I'd rather just find
some numbers to use, if they're out there.
2. How much water does a "typical" tree transpire in a day? I know all
the caveats for this: microclimate effects, tree size, self-shading,
season, etc. I just need a maximum rate for a few types of trees. Maybe
sequoias, oaks, pines. I have some guesses from the web, but none that
are particularly good from a science point of view. I've found estimates
of 100 gals/day for an oak, up to 40,000 gals/year. But there is no
explanation for where those numbers from from, or how valid they are. If
I could find either daily or annual water loss rates from forests, and
knew their density, I could make a crude calculation, although this
would include evaporation as well as transpiration.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Howie Neufeld
--
Dr. Howard S. Neufeld, Professor
Director, Southern Appalachian Environmental Research and Education Center
(SAEREC)
Chair, Appalachian Interdisciplinary Atmospheric Research Group (AppalAIR)
Mailing Address:
Department of Biology
572 Rivers St.
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
Tel: 828-262-2683; Fax 828-262-2127
Websites:
Academic: http://biology.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/104
Personal: http://www.appstate.edu/~neufeldhs/index.html
SAEREC: http://saerec.appstate.edu
AppalAIR: http://appalair.appstate.edu
Fall Colors:
Academic: http://biology.appstate.edu/fall-colors
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