'Tweeting' tree grows its followers

THE HAGUE - A 30-year-old poplar on the campus of Wageningen University and Research has begun tweeting about its growth in relation to changes in soil-water conditions, temperature and air humidity.

The data will help researchers better chart the relation between tree growth and extreme weather conditions.

"Hi. Here I am! The first Dutch tweeting tree @WUR. I will start tweeting this Friday about my growth and sapflow!" read a message on the tree's Twitter account, which had attracted thousands of followers in just a few hours.