Mostafa’s paper, “Scaling Individual Tree Transpiration With Thermal Cameras Reveals Interspecies Differences to Drought Vulnerability,” was published this week in the AGU journal, Geophysical Research Letters (GRL). Using canopy temperature data from thermal cameras, Mostafa estimated the transpiration rates of individual trees at Harvard Forest and Niwot Ridge with the PT-JPL model. Tree-level analysis revealed species-specific responses to drought, with lodgepole pine exhibiting greater tolerance than Engelmann spruce at Niwot and red oak showing greater tolerance than red maple at Harvard. These findings show how ecophysiological differences between species result in varying responses to drought and demonstrate that these responses can be characterized by deriving transpiration from crown temperature measurements.
Great work, Mostafa!