LI-6400 Operational Tip – A Sticky Solution for a Tricky Problem

It can often be difficult to align small blades of grass or needles into position for gas exchange measurements on the LI-6400 standard leaf chamber.

We have found that a simple solution is to use some excess gasket material and cut two small pieces, approximately 0.4 cm wide by 2.0 cm long, and apply them on either side of the lower leaf chamber gasket, as shown below. Apply double-sided tape to these pieces of gasket material. The extra gasket pieces are out of the way of the upper leaf chamber gasket, so the leaf chamber can be opened and closed normally, but the small leaves or needles will stick to the tape and will stay in place during the measurement. Leaves that are naturally folded can also be made to stay flat with this method.

For other difficult plant materials, you can also use the needle holders (p/n 6400-34) available from LI-COR.

Needles like these can be difficult to keep in position... So try double-sided tape on some spare pieces of gasket material, as shown.