This project aims to investigate the physical and biological processes that initiate sap flow in maple trees during early spring when maple sap is harvested.
Postdoctoral fellow: Dr. Maurizio Ceseri, Mathematics, Simon Fraser University
Lead faculty member: Dr. John Stockie, Mathematics, Simon Fraser University
This project aims to investigate the physical and biological processes that initiate sap flow in maple trees during early spring when maple sap is harvested. Our study will be centered around developing a mathematical model that captures both sap flow and heat transport in the porous wood tissue, and then investigating solutions using a combination of analytical and numerical techniques. The results will be useful to our partner organization NAMSC (a consortium of maple syrup producers) not only in terms of optimizing sap yields but also in understanding the potential impact of recent climate changes on sap harvests. These results have the potential to have significant impact on the maple syrup industry, in which Canada is unmistakably the world leader.