Rhythm of trees

Fig.1. An ultrasonic acoustic emission sensor on a stem of a young pine tree

Trees respond to its environment in various ways. Some of the responses to e.g. the microclimate can be detected with ecophysiological methods like dendrometers, sap flow sensors, ultrasonic acoustic emission detectors and some others. The project 'trees' led by the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology (ICST) links the ecophysiological records to an audible output. We let the trees sing in the way that we turn physiological responses into music. The main focus is on ultrasonic acoustic emisions from tree stems, recognized as a sound with a physiological origin (see current research about ultrasonic acoustic emission of trees).

'Rhythm of trees' is the ecophysiological partner of the ICST project 'trees' which provides the technical infrastructure on the ecological side and thus the relevant data which is turned into an audible sound. 

Exhibitions and Events

'Trees: Downy Oak' was an exhibition at Swissnex San Francisco in July 2012 sonifying ecophysiological data from Quercus pubescens (downy oak) trees at Salgesch with an ambisonic system developed by the ICST Zürich.

'Trees in the wild' was a workshop organised by Swissnex in the Muir Woods near San Francisco in July 2012. We listed to ultra sonic acoustic emissions in 1000 year old redwoods.

WSL Contact

Roman Zweifel

Partner Institute

Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology, Zürich (ICST) Marcus Maeder, Jan Schacher, Daniel Bisig, Beat Frei and Clemens Kuhn-Rahloff

Linked projects

Downy Oak (Swissnex San Francisco)

trees (ICST)

Tree response to climate change (WSL)

Seehornwald Davos research site (WSL)

Downloads

• Zweifel R., Maeder M. 2012. Flyer 'Rhythm of Trees - Ultraschalsignale in Bäumen'

• Zweifel R., Etzold S., Zielis S., Häni M., Steppe K., Sterck F. 2012. Flyer 'Der Baumwasserhaushalt - Link zum physiologischen Verständnis von Wachstum'

• Zweifel R. and Zeugin F. 2008. Ultrasonic acoustic emissions in drought-stressed trees – more than signals from cavitation?. New Phytologist, 179, 1070-1079. (PDF 352KB).
• Zweifel R., Steppe K. and Sterck FJ. 2007. Stomatal regulation by microclimate and tree water relations: interpreting ecophysiological field data with a hydraulic plant model. Journal of Experimental Botany, 58, 2113-2131. (PDF 1437KB).