Electrical resistance of trees and soil in Ankasa forest, Ghana, 2019

Tree resistance to ground was measured using a Digital Earth Tester DET2/2 (Megger, AVO Ltd., Dover, England) and adapting the “Fall of Potential” method to trees. Measurements were conducted at 1.40 m and 0.70 m heights above ground level. The differences between these measurements heights were used to calculate the electrical properties of each tree stem. Soil resistance was measured using a Digital Earth Tester DET2/2 (Megger, AVO Ltd., Dover, England) using a Wenner array configuration of spikes with “line traverse method”. Surface soil moisture was measured using a SM150T sensor (Delta-T Devices Ltd, Cambridge, UK) for both dry and wet seasons at 5 cm depth.