Could be either permanently in situ, or for spot checking on a regular basis.
Fairly small logs, less than 10 cm diameter (so not truly CWD?).
In a temperate forest.
I'd love to also measure moisture content, but I know from looking into that in the past that it's a tricky one.
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
Martha
Hello Martha
For spot checking on a regular basis I would think of using a non-contact spot thermometer or a thermal camera.
For continuous monitoring you may use thermocouples that you insert into the wood pieces and connect to a data logger.
Bruno
Hi Martha, Contact Vaclav Pouska - [email protected]. He has a paper accepted in fungal Ecology (still not in early view) where he do exactly what you are asking for. Best Jacob
Thanks very much for all your useful answers and resources!
Jacob, did you mean that Vaclav Pouska is working on moisture content, or temperature? or both? Thanks!
Dear Martha, I kindly recommend you to contact Dr Hrvoje Marjanović ([email protected]) due to his experience in carbon stock, soil respiration and decomposition. I believe he might help you on your question. He also has a profile on Reserchgate.
Wish you all the best,
Željko Zgrablić
Dear Martha, the attached file do not describe methods for measuring temperatura, but it show the correlation between mean annual temperature and decomposition rates of CWD from 20 compiled studies around the globe. Best Gabriel Ribeiro
My lab has made extensive use of temperature loggers made by a company called logtag, including measurements in CWD and soil. Very accurate, nice user interface, and remarkably inexpensive for basic models (I see prices on line of ~$30, but one can do better by ordering in quantity). The logger plus sensor is about the size of a thick credit card. They are used mainly by the food shipping industry (and therefore cheap thanks to consumers of sushi...).
For field measurements we place the loggers in a heat-sealed plastic bag.
I know that Dr. R.L Gilbertson - somewhere in Montana US - have done research on temperatures in dead logs - but I do not have any reference to publications from his work - worth trying out to find him ?
Thanks so much for all the further answers to my question! I didn't seem to have received notifications of them, but all this info is much appreciated.
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