The detailed diagnosis of growth increases as well as changes in the water household of the trees allows recognizing states of stress quickly. Growth and mortality reaction can appear spontaneously, but also be belated by weeks or months or even years. However, the mortality risk can be identified by the short- and long-term growth patterns– information with early warning potential.
Continuous extension of the "Twittering Tree" network would open up the possibility for a European wide early warning system. This would make the dangers of extreme weather conditions immediately recognizable.
The “Twittering Trees“ and many other exciting results of European-wide studies on the effect of extreme weather conditions on forests are presented in the afternoon of Thursday, 14th of April, 2016, in an interactive science-society event featuring the motto "shaping future forests" in Joachimsthal near Berlin. A press conference takes place on Friday 15th of April, 2016, from 10 to 11am in the Bundespresseamt Berlin.
More information on the project and event can be found here.