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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 2, 2025

An Experimental Approach to Investigating Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Free-Ranging Animals: Implementation, Results, and Directions for Future Research

An Experimental Approach to Investigating Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Free-Ranging Animals: Implementation, Results, and Directions for Future Research

Published on: February 2, 2022

Why trees grow at night.

Roman Zweifel¹, Frank Sterck², Sabine Braun³

¹Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland.

The New Phytologist

|June 12, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Forest trees primarily grow at night, especially after midnight when humidity is highest. High vapor pressure deficit (VPD) limits growth during the day, but some growth occurs even in dry soil if VPD is low.

Keywords:

cell turgor threshold climate change day-night radial stem growth dendrometer ecophysiology photoperiod wood and bark formation xylogenesis

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Last Updated: Nov 2, 2025

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Area of Science:

Forestry
Plant Physiology
Ecology

Background:

Diel stem growth patterns in mature forest trees remain poorly understood due to a lack of high-resolution empirical data.
The influence of diurnal environmental conditions on tree growth has been uncertain.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the hourly dynamics of radial stem growth in seven temperate tree species.
To determine the impact of environmental factors, particularly vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and soil moisture, on diel tree growth.

Main Methods:

Conducted a comprehensive field study over up to 8 years, collecting over 57 million data points.
Utilized high-temporal resolution measurements of radial stem growth for seven temperate tree species.

Main Results:

Trees exhibit a distinct diel growth pattern, with the majority of growth occurring nocturnally, peaking after midnight.
High vapor pressure deficit (VPD) significantly restricts radial stem growth during daylight hours, with limited growth only in the early morning.
Trees demonstrated growth even in moderately dry soil conditions when VPD was low.
Species-specific differences in growth timing were observed, with earlier nocturnal growth correlating with more annual growth hours and larger increments.

Conclusions:

Nocturnal growth is dominant in temperate trees, primarily influenced by low vapor pressure deficit (VPD).
VPD is a critical limiting factor for radial stem growth, more so than for carbon uptake, as growth ceases before stomatal closure.
The capacity to manage daily water deficits influences a species' overall growth potential, highlighting the importance of nocturnal growth dynamics.