Research highlight: detecting water stress in Kauri

In an exciting advancement towards proactive water management for forests, new research shows that early signs of water stress in Kauri can be detected as early as two weeks from the start of drought conditions, and two weeks before signs of stress are usually detected using a conventional approach. These results were published in the Remote Sensing Journal in January.

This is the first time that hyperspectral remote sensing has been used to detect water stress in kauri. Lead author, Jayson Felix, and the team used hyperspectral spectroscopy combined with machine learning to measure water content and compared this with conventional, plant physiological measurements. Different plant traits (chlorophyll, water content, carotenoids) were included in the modelling to further improve detection.