scholarly journals Drought-induced mortality selectively affects Scots pine trees that show limited intrinsic water-use efficiency responsiveness to raising atmospheric CO2

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana-Maria Hereş ◽  
Jordi Voltas ◽  
Bernat Claramunt López ◽  
Jordi Martínez-Vilalta
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Intercellular Co2 Concentration ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Growth Enhancement ◽  
Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
The Impact

Widespread drought-induced tree mortality has been documented around the world, and could increase in frequency and intensity under warmer and drier conditions. Ecophysiological differences between dying and surviving trees might underlie predispositions to mortality, but are poorly documented. Here we report a study of Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) from two sites located in north-eastern Iberian Peninsula where drought-associated mortality episodes were registered during the last few decades. Time trends of discrimination against 13C (Δ13C) and intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi) in tree rings at an annual resolution and for a 34 year period were used to compare co-occurring now-dead and surviving pines. Results indicate that both surviving and now-dead pines significantly increased their WUEi over time, although this increase was significantly lower for now-dead individuals. These differential WUEi trends corresponded to different scenarios describing how plant gas exchange responds to increasing atmospheric CO2 (Ca): the estimated intercellular CO2 concentration was nearly constant in surviving pines but tended to increase proportionally to Ca in now-dead trees. Concurrently, the WUEi increase was not paralleled by a growth enhancement, regardless of tree state, suggesting that in water-limited areas like the Mediterranean, it cannot overcome the impact of an increasingly warmer and drier climate on tree growth.

The effect of long-term atmospheric CO2 enrichment on the intrinsic water-use efficiency of sour orange trees

Chemosphere ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.W. Leavitt ◽  
S.B. Idso ◽  
B.A. Kimball ◽  
J.M. Burns ◽  
A. Sinha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Co2 Enrichment ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Sour Orange ◽  
Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Orange Trees

scholarly journals Disentangling Contributions of CO2 Concentration and Climate to Changes in Intrinsic Water-Use Efficiency in the Arid Boreal Forest in China’s Altay Mountains

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guobao Xu ◽  
Xiaohong Liu ◽  
Soumaya Belmecheri ◽  
Tuo Chen ◽  
Guoju Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Optimization Approach ◽  
The Past ◽  
Altay Mountains ◽  
Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Use Efficiency

Intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) is affected by the balance of photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and climate, along with many other exogenous factors, such as the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere (CO2atm), nutrients, and water holding capacity of the soil. The relative contributions of CO2atm and climate to iWUE are still incompletely understood, particularly for boreal forests where the climate is undergoing unprecedented warming. We combined δ13C and δ18O in tree rings from the Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) in Northwestern China’s Altay Mountains, which receives 190 mm in annual precipitation, to detect the drivers of long-term iWUE changes and their time-varying contributions over the past 222 years. A climate optimization approach was used to isolate the influence of climate from CO2atm influence on iWUE. We found that iWUE increased about 33.6% from 1790 to 2011, and rising CO2atm contributed 48.8% to this iWUE increase. The contributions of CO2atm and climate (drought conditions) varied during the study period 1790–2011. From 1790 to 1876, the climate was the most important factor contributing to the changes in iWUE. From 1877 to 1972, CO2atm was the main contributor; however, after 1973, the climate was again the dominant contributor to the increase in iWUE, especially during 1996–2011. During the period 1996–2011, climate substantially (83%) contributed to the iWUE increase. Our findings imply that, in the boreal forest in Northwestern China’s arid region, iWUE experienced three changes: (1) the climate dominating from 1790 to 1876; (2) CO2atm dominating from 1877 to 1972, and (3) climate dominating again during the past four decades. We observed that the relationships between iWUE and tree-ring width shifted from positive to negative from 1996 onwards. These relationship changes indicate that CO2atm-mediated effects of increasing iWUE on tree growth are counteracted by climatic drought stress and iWUE increase cannot counter the stress from drought on tree growth in China’s arid boreal forest.

scholarly journals Elevated CO<sub>2</sub>, increased leaf-level productivity, and water-use efficiency during the early Miocene

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1509-1521
Author(s):  
Tammo Reichgelt ◽  
William J. D'Andrea ◽  
Ailín del C. Valdivia-McCarthy ◽  
Bethany R. S. Fox ◽  
Jennifer M. Bannister ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Exchange ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Leaf Gas Exchange ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Early Miocene ◽  
Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Leaf Level ◽  
Fertilization Effect ◽  
Use Efficiency

Abstract. Rising atmospheric CO2 is expected to increase global temperatures, plant water-use efficiency, and carbon storage in the terrestrial biosphere. A CO2 fertilization effect on terrestrial vegetation is predicted to cause global greening as the potential ecospace for forests expands. However, leaf-level fertilization effects, such as increased productivity and water-use efficiency, have not been documented from fossil leaves in periods of heightened atmospheric CO2. Here, we use leaf gas-exchange modeling on a well-preserved fossil flora from early Miocene New Zealand, as well as two previously published tropical floras from the same time period, to reconstruct atmospheric CO2, leaf-level productivity, and intrinsic water-use efficiency. Leaf gas-exchange rates reconstructed from early Miocene fossils, which grew at southern temperate and tropical latitudes when global average temperatures were 5–6 ∘C higher than today, reveal that atmospheric CO2 was ∼450–550 ppm. Early Miocene CO2 was similar to projected values for 2040 CE and is consistent with an Earth system sensitivity of 3–7 ∘C to a doubling of CO2. The Southern Hemisphere temperate leaves had higher reconstructed productivity than modern analogs, likely due to a longer growing season. This higher productivity was presumably mirrored at northern temperate latitudes as well, where a greater availability of landmass would have led to increased carbon storage in forest biomass relative to today. Intrinsic water-use efficiency of both temperate and tropical forest trees was high, toward the upper limit of the range for modern trees, which likely expanded the habitable range in regions that could not support forests with high moisture demands under lower atmospheric CO2. Overall, early Miocene elevated atmospheric CO2 sustained globally higher temperatures, and our results provide the first empirical evidence of concomitant enhanced intrinsic water-use efficiency, indicating a forest fertilization effect.

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