PIXE helps visualize the cavitation mechanism in tree seedlings
Screenshot of WSL video "Pressured to transpire: drought, heat and forests" © 2021 WSL
A video edited by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL shows the formation of air bubbles in the wood vessels of young tree seedlings, thanks to high-resolution and in vivo imaging carried out on these seedlings by the PIXE CT-scanner.
The WSL video “Pressured to transpire: drought, heat and forests" presents the phenomenon of tree transpiration, its role on tree growth and its link with climate change. The PIXE platform collaborated with EPFL's PERL lab (Plant Ecology Research Laboratory), led by Prof. Charlotte Grossiord, in a scientific project carrying out high-resolution and in vivo imaging on young tree seedlings of different species to study the cavitation mechanism where the formation of air bubbles in the wood vessels (embolism) can reduce the tree's water supply and alter its development.