SFMx Sap Flow Meter with IoT connectivity
Research quality tree and plant water use measurement instrument
The SFMx Sap Flow Meter is a powerful sap flow sensor for measuring tree and plant water use. Measuring the movement of water through the xylem within the sapwood area, sap flow measurement allows the quantification of the water requirements of the plant or tree.
- Continuous plant water use measurement (in litres), for crops and trees
- Robust sensor and standalone meter with onboard calculations and intelligent power management
- Available with LoRaWAN or Cat-M1/NB-IoT communication
- Exchangeable needles for different crop and plant applications
- Applications include irrigation scheduling, species selection, plant eophysiological studies, climate change and forest carbon stock estimation
SFMx Sap Flow Meter with IoT connectivity
Applying the Heat Ratio Method to measure tree and plant water use, the SFMx Sap Flow Meter (Cellular and LoRaWAN versions) is a fully integrated Internet of Things device with full internet connectivity. The use of the Heat Ratio Method provides accurate measurement of the full range of sap flow, from low and reverse flow, to flow rates experienced in high water use species. This is all captured by a device featuring advanced electronics that provide optimum power management, along with in-built calculations and storage of data including diagnostics.
The embedded IoT functionality enables remote monitoring of data and better tree water use insight through visualisation dashboards such as Eratos, where further data processing can be undertaken along with integration with other data streams to provide comprehensive measurements of the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, where the plant can act as the ultimate status signal of the whole continuum.
The ICT International Sap Flow Meter range has a proven research background, with the publication list available here.
Measurement Details for the SFMx Sap Flow Meter
| Needle Diameter/Length | 1.3 mm / 35mm |
| 2 Measurement Spacings per Needle | 7.5 mm and 22.5 mm from the needle tip |
| Output Options | Raw Temperatures: °C Heat Pulse Velocity: cm hr-1 Sap Velocity: cm hr-1 Sap Flow: Litres hr-1 |
| Measurement Range Approx | -70 ~ +70 cm hr-1 |
| Resolution / Accuracy | 0.01 cm hr-1 / 0.5 cm hr-1 |
| Measurement Duration | 120 seconds |
| Heat Pulse Default (User Adjustable) | 20 Joules typical Equivalent to 2.5 second heat pulse duration, auto scaling |
| Adjustable Logging | Interval Minimum: 10 mins |
Communication Options for the SFMx Sap Flow Meter
- SFMx-C: CATM1/NB-IoT
- SFMx-L: LoRaWAN Frequency Options:
- SFMx-AS923
- SFMx-AU915
- SFMx-CN470
- SFMx-EU868
- SFMx-IN865
- SFMx-US915
- SFMx-UB: Bluetooth and USB only
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