Monitoring, Characterization, and Modeling of Stomatal Dynamic Behavior Under Climate Change

Global warming is a significant impact of rising carbon dioxide emissions, and it is imperative to study how micro-scale biological activities in living organisms are influenced. In particular, the behavior of plant stomata can be highly affected. This project aimed to identify how rising carbon dioxide concentrations impact stomatal behavior by measuring the amount of transpired water vapor within a closed chamber. A measurement stage, a tube, and two humidity sensors were placed inside of the chamber. An Arduino circuit received and transferred data from the carbon dioxide and humidity sensors to a microSD card for data storage. Data from several trials revealed that when exposed to higher concentrations of carbon dioxide, higher amounts of water vapor were released from the plant stomata which led to water loss. Findings from this study provide insight for the growth of more resilient plants in the face of extreme climate conditions throughout the world.