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Based on the validation of Granier's empirical formula for calculating tree stem sap flux density, a comparative study was conducted on the measurement of Bambusa chungi sap flow by using different lengths of thermal dissipation probe (TDP), aimed to approach the applicability of TDP in measuring the sap flow of B. chungii. The difference in the daily change of the sap flow between B. chungii and nearby growing Schima superb was also analyzed. Because of the thinner bamboo wall and the heterogeneous anatomy, the sap flux density of B. chungii measured by 10 mm long probe could be underestimated, but that measured by 8 and 5 mm long probes could be relatively accurate. The comparison of the sap flow between B. chungii and nearby growing S. superba revealed that both the mean sap flux density and its daily change pattern' s skewness of B. chungii were higher than those of S. superba, but the nighttime sap flow of B. chungii was less than that of S. superba, indicating that the water recharge of B. chungii during nighttime was less active than that of S. superba. It was suggested that using TDP to investigate the sap flow of bamboo would be feasible, but careful calibration would be required before the TDP was put into application on different bamboo species.

The eigenvalues of continuous sap flow pattern, i. e. , skewness and kurtosis, were used to investigate the water usage of Schima superba with different diameter at breast height (DBH), and the method of normalization was firstly applied to eliminate the effects of strong affecting factor (photosynthetic active radiation, PAR) to explore the possible relationship between weak affecting factor (soil moisture) and sap flow. Generally, the trees with larger DBH had smaller skewness of sap flux density and later-appeared but larger peak values, suggesting that much more water was transpired, and the larger trees showed smaller skewness and later-appeared larger peak values in wet season than in dry season, suggesting that more water was transpired in wet season. On the other hand, smaller trees had lesser differences in the skewness between dry and wet seasons, suggesting that there was no significant difference in the transpiration between the two seasons. The relationship between individual tree's transpiration and soil moisture was significant and positive after the two parameters being normalized with PAR peak values. When the soil moisture content was higher, the transpiration of the trees with larger DBH was steadily increasing with soil moisture, while that of the trees with moderate or smaller DBH had opposite trend, presumably due to their transpiration and water absorption were approached to the limit.