Strategies

Decagon Nodes at Willoway Nursery in Avon, OH.

In May of 2010, ten experimental macro-scale plots were established within a one hectare parcel at Willoway Nurseries.

Trees are grown pot-in-pot in 57-L containers. Plants within each plot were spaced 1.5 m center-to-center and irrigated twice daily to container capacity with spray stakes (Netafim Inc., Israel). Five to seven replicate trees (n = 5-7) per species were randomly selected for repeated sampling of substrate moisture and temperature within each plot.

Substrate volumetric water content and temperature were measured in replicate containers using Decagon 5TM sensors.   Sensors were inserted horizontally through the side of the pots through a circular cut of sensor width. Each container replicate had one sensor 20 cm below the soil surface and equidistant from the three container walls. One replicate per plot was randomly chosen and additional sensors were placed at depths of 10cm and 30cm to create a vertical soil moisture profile.