Continuous monitoring of plant water potential: sensor-based approaches and best practices

Plant water potential is a central integrator of plant water status, linking hydraulic function with physiological performance and ecosystem water dynamics across species and systems. This review is motivated by the need to capture these dynamics under rapidly changing environmental conditions, which are often missed by discrete measurements. We evaluate the main approaches for continuous monitoring of plant water potential, including direct in situ sensors, indirect methods based on plant water content, and remote-sensing proxies. We discuss the principles, measurement mechanisms, practical constraints, and environmental sensitivities of each approach. Relative to traditional methods, such as pressure chambers, continuous measurements offer major advantages by resolving rapid variation in water status and strengthening inference on plant–soil–atmosphere interactions. These approaches are especially valuable under dynamic field conditions, where temporal variability in vapor pressure deficit, soil moisture, temperature, and radiation strongly shapes hydraulic behavior. We conclude that continuous monitoring has substantial potential to advance plant and ecosystem science, but wider application will depend on careful interpretation and greater harmonization across comparable methodologies. By synthesizing core principles, methodological challenges and best practices, this review provides a practical framework for researchers and practitioners applying continuous water potential measurements.