CAVITATION AND WATER TRANSPORT IN TREES

The health of trees depends on a sufficient flow of water from the soil to the topmost leaves. The conduction route is via vessels and tubes in the xylem and if cavitation occurs in these the flow is restricted: if it is severe the tree will suffer and many die. Knowledge of the extent and cause of cavitation is therefore very important, and in recent years considerable progress has been made by the development of acoustic techniques.