Dendrometer with continuous measurement – your trees' water stress live in the app
A dendrometer measures the microscopic shrinking and swelling of the trunk. That shows you the water stress of the tree itself, before leaves start to droop or fruit growth slows down.
The measurement runs day and night. If drying out becomes too severe, our algorithm sends a notification on the same day.
From measurement to action in the portal
In the PlantData.Live portal you follow up trees remotely, without having to go on site every time. The PlantData.Live Water barometer is an algorithm developed to combine data from different sensors, such as the trunk measurement, into one clear signal per tree or plot:
All OK, Attention needed or Critical situation.
Want to dig deeper? The raw measurement data remain available, so you can read the trends yourself. On top of your sensor data, you also get weather data for the measuring location.
That way you can make well-judged adjustments to the irrigation schedule.
What a trunk measurement tells you
Water stress of the tree itself
You measure the tree, not the soil. So you see stress, whether it comes from drought at the crown (heat, wind, evaporation) or from the roots.
Growth phases
You can see when the tree grows, stalls or goes dormant. In early summer, fruit growers reduce irrigation to stop shoot elongation. With the trunk measurement you see right away whether you are going too far.
A check on your soil moisture sensor
Does a soil moisture measurement fail silently, because the sensor is badly calibrated or sits beside the roots? Then the trunk measurement raises the alarm before damage is done. The portal also estimates the refill point for irrigation.
Unusual growth pattern
Does growth deviate without soil moisture explaining it? Then it is time to take a look: an early pest or disease, or soil or substrate that is running out. For a tree nursery, the trunk diameter literally is the value of the tree: every day of lost growth is gone for good.
What does a dendrometer measure?
A tree is a column of water. During the day the leaves evaporate more water than the roots can supply and the trunk shrinks by a few micrometers; at night it refills. That day-night cycle and the trend over weeks tell you how the tree is doing.
If the trunk stays below its previous maximum, the tree has a water deficit (TWD, tree water deficit). You measure that directly on the tree, not indirectly through the soil.
Why the trunk responds this way is explained in Why dendrometry reveals water stress: the structure of a tree. Which values we calculate from the measurement is covered in What is a dendrometer?.
Who uses water stress monitoring?
- Fruit grower – adjusting irrigation to the water stress of apple, pear and cherry trees, nut trees and citrus. Dendrometer for fruit growing
- Arborist – monitoring the condition of valuable trees and new plantings, so they establish and keep growing. Measuring tree water stress continuously
- Tree nursery – following up growth and water stress of trees whose trunk diameter determines your revenue in a few years.
- Cities and municipalities – watering young street trees at the moment they need it. Watering trees at the right moment
- Construction site – demonstrating that trees on or next to the site are not harmed by dewatering or excavation.
Honest advice: when should you choose a dendrometer?
PlantData.Live is brand-independent. We recommend the measurement that fits your situation.
Choose a dendrometer if you:
- want to know whether the tree itself is under stress, not just whether the soil is dry;
- want to protect valuable or old trees, or an expensive planting;
- want to check your soil moisture measurement and know the refill point for irrigation.
Choose something else, or combine, if:
- you only want to check whether irrigation is running properly;
- you want to know how much water is in the root zone and how deep irrigation reaches? Then we recommend a soil moisture sensor at multiple depths.
Do you already have sensors from another brand? The PlantData.Live portal reads them too. Discover the portal
Easy to install
You pre-drill a 3 mm hole in the trunk or branch. Apart from that, you need no tools to install the dendrometer. It fits trunks or branches from 25 mm thick.
The communication box runs on a battery. For outdoor use there is a version with a solar panel. We supply all components and help with the installation. For a first order, we are happy to come on site.
Technical specifications
| Measures | Trunk diameter variations in micrometers: day-night cycle, growth and water deficit |
| Dendrometer manufacturer | Ecomatik |
| Minimum trunk or branch diameter | 25 mm (ask about smaller diameters) |
| Installation | Pre-drill Ø 3 mm, no other tools |
| Communication | Cellular network (NB-IoT), no gateway needed |
| Power supply | Battery; solar version for outdoor use |
| Software | Portal with Water barometer, raw data, alerts and weather data for the measuring location |
What does a dendrometer cost?
One-time purchase starter kit: €695 per connected dendrometer (excl. VAT)
What you get: continuous measurement data in the app, the Water barometer algorithm, weather data for the measuring location, and the option to set up your own notifications.
Our portal is included in this offer.
Tailored project price
Tell us which trees you want to follow up: species, number, location and desired start date. You will receive a concrete proposal.
PlantData.Live is a Belgian company of three engineers in biology, software and electrical engineering, each with at least 15 years of experience.
Prefer to talk it over first? Send us a message on WhatsApp