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Nondestructive detection of decay in living trees

Author

Summary, in English

We used a four-point resistivity method to detect wood decay in living trees. A low-frequency alternating current was applied to the stem and the induced voltage measured between two points along the stem. The effective resistivity of the stem was estimated based on stem cross-sectional area. A comparison within a group of trees showed that trees with butt rot had an effective resistivity that was at least a factor of two lower than that of healthy trees. In tests on several groups of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) comprising more than 300 trees in total, the method detected butt rot with high accuracy. We validated the method both by measurements and by finite element modeling and simulations.

Publishing year

2004

Language

English

Pages

853-858

Publication/Series

Tree Physiology

Volume

24

Issue

7

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Topic

  • Other Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering

Status

Published

Research group

  • Electromagnetic theory

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1758-4469