scholarly journals A Model to Assess Eastern Cottonwood Water Flow Using Adjusted Vapor Pressure Deficit Associated with a Climate Change Impact Application

Climate ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Ying Ouyang ◽  
Theodor D. Leininger ◽  
Heidi Renninger ◽  
Emile S. Gardiner ◽  
Lisa Samuelson

Short-rotation woody crops have maintained global prominence as biomass feedstocks for bioenergy, in part due to their fast growth and coppicing ability. However, the water usage efficiency of some woody biomass crops suggests potential adverse hydrological impacts. Monitoring tree water use in large-scale plantations would be very time-consuming and cost-prohibitive because it would typically require the installation and maintenance of sap flux sensors and dataloggers or other instruments. We developed a model to estimate the sap flux of eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides. Bartr. ex Marsh.)) grown in bioenergy plantations. This model is based on adjusted vapor pressure deficit (VPD) using Structural Thinking and Experiential Learning Laboratory with Animation (STELLA) software (Architect Version 1.8.2), and is validated using the sap flux data collected from a 4-year-old eastern cottonwood biomass production plantation. With R2 values greater than 0.79 and Nash Sutcliffe coefficients greater than 0.69 and p values < 0.001, a strong agreement was obtained between measured and predicted diurnal sap flux patterns and annual sap flux cycles. We further validated the model using eastern cottonwood sap flux data from Aiken, South Carolina, USA with a good agreement between method predictions and field measurements. The model was able to predict a typical diurnal pattern, with sap flux density increasing during the day and decreasing at night for a 5-year-old cottonwood plantation. We found that a 10% increase in VPD due to climate change increased the sap flux of eastern cottonwood by about 5%. Our model also forecasted annual sap flux characteristics of measured cycles that increased in the spring, reached a maximum in the summer, and decreased in the fall. The model developed here can be adapted to estimate sap flux of other trees species in a time- and cost-effective manner.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Ondier ◽  
Dennis Otieno ◽  
Daniel Okach ◽  
John Onyango

Abstract The Kenyan savanna, which is dominated by Acacia ancistroclada and Comberatum molle, has experienced notable changes in rainfall patterns and increased livestock grazing. A significant decrease in trees spread from 5 % to less than 1 % has been documented for the ecosystem and could be linked to the increased livestock grazing and changes in rainfall patterns, however, scientific evidence is lacking. We utilized sap flow to analyze the hydraulic responses of the prevailing trees to livestock grazing and seasonal changes in soil moisture. Environmental factors including precipitation, air temperature, soil moisture at - 0.3 m, and vapor pressure deficit were simultaneously measured. The results showed that the diurnal variation in sap flux density exhibited a single peak curve at around midday and correlated strongly with vapor pressure deficit and air temperature. Sap flux density was higher in the grazed (27.47 ± 8.65 g m-2s-1) than the fenced plots (20.17 ± 7.27 g m-2s-1). In all the plots, sap flux density followed seasonality in rainfall patterns, increasing and decreasing in wet and dry seasons respectively. The higher crown projected area was responsible for higher sap flow in the grazed plots. The diurnal variation in sap flux density showed that sap flow was coupled to the atmosphere with relatively low boundary layer resistance and the seasonal variation in sap flow was controlled by stomatal regulation. These findings point to the possibility that the dominant tree species in Lambwe are isohydric species. However, additional measurements need to be conducted on the eligibility of the species to confirm the conclusion.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 9209-9242 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Röll ◽  
F. Niu ◽  
A. Meijide ◽  
A. Hardanto ◽  
A. Knohl ◽  
...  

Abstract. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) plantations cover large and continuously increasing areas of humid tropical lowlands. Landscapes dominated by oil palms usually consist of a mosaic of mono-cultural, homogeneous stands of varying age, which may be heterogeneous in their water use characteristics. However, studies on the water use characteristics of oil palms are still at an early stage and there is a lack of knowledge on how oil palm expansion will affect the major components of the hydrological cycle. To provide first insights into hydrological landscape-level consequences of oil palm cultivation, we derived transpiration rates of oil palms in stands of varying age, estimated the contribution of palm transpiration to evapotranspiration, and analyzed the influence of fluctuations in environmental variables on oil palm water use. We studied 15 two- to 25 year old stands in the lowlands of Jambi, Indonesia. A sap flux technique with an oil palm specific calibration and sampling scheme was used to derive leaf-, palm- and stand-level water use rates in all stands under comparable environmental conditions. Additionally, in a two- and a 12 year old stand, eddy covariance measurements were conducted to derive evapotranspiration rates. Water use rates per leaf and palm increased 5-fold from an age of two years to a stand age of approx. 10 years and then remained relatively constant. A similar trend was visible, but less pronounced, for estimated stand transpiration rates of oil palms; they varied 12-fold, from 0.2 mm day−1 in a 2 year old to 2.5 mm day−1 in a 12 year old stand, showing particularly high variability in transpiration rates among medium-aged stands. Confronting sap flux and eddy-covariance derived water fluxes suggests that transpiration contributed 8 % to evapotranspiration in the 2 year old stand and 53 % in the 12 year old stand, indicating variable and substantial additional sources of evaporation, e.g. from the soil, the ground vegetation and from trunk epiphytes. Diurnally, oil palm transpiration rates were characterized by an early peak between 10 and 11 a.m.; there was a pronounced hysteresis in the leaf water use response to changes in vapor pressure deficit for all palms of advanced age. On the day-to-day basis this resulted in a relatively low variability of oil palm water use regardless of fluctuations in vapor pressure deficit and radiation. We conclude, that oil palm dominated landscapes show some spatial variations in (evapo)transpiration rates, e.g. due to varying age-structures, but that the temporal variability of oil palm transpiration is rather low. Stand transpiration rates of some studied oil palm stands compared to or even exceed values reported for different tropical forests, indicating a high water use of oil palms under certain site or management conditions. Our study provides first insights into the eco-hydrological characteristics of oil palms as well as a first estimate of oil palm water use across a gradient of plantation age. It sheds first light on some of the hydrological consequences of the continuing expansion of oil palm plantations.


Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 187
Author(s):  
Don A. White ◽  
Richard P. Silberstein ◽  
Francisco Balocchi-Contreras ◽  
Juan Jose Quiroga ◽  
Pablo Ramírez de Arellano

The transpiration of Nothofagus glauca (Phil.) Krasser and advanced Pinus radiata D. Don. regeneration was measured in a fragment of native N. glauca forest. Over the eight months of this study, P. radiata contributed approximately 60% of the total stand transpiration. This was out of proportion with the approximately 34% of the stand sapwood area contributed by P. radiata. This was due to the significantly greater sap flux density of the P. radiata compared to the N. glauca between May and October. Though the results are from a small study conducted as part of a larger experiment, it is argued that they suggest that invasion by P. radiata may substantially increase the risk from climate change to reserves of N. glauca forest in the Maule region of central Chile. In some reserves of N. glauca forest, Forestal Arauco S.A. manually removed P. radiata that regenerated after the wildfire of January 2017. This was a costly operation and there is a need for indices to assess competition. The ratio of sapwood area to leaf area is suggested as a potential index for assessing competition to identify stands at risk.


HortScience ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 890D-890
Author(s):  
Anthony V. LeBude* ◽  
Barry Goldfarb ◽  
Frank A. Blazich

Producing high quality rooted stem cuttings on a large scale requires precise management of the rooting environment. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the rooting environment on adventitious root formation of stem cuttings of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). Hardwood stem cuttings of loblolly pine were collected in Feb. 2002 from hedged stock plants and stored at 4 °C until setting in Apr. 2002. One hundred stem cuttings per plot in each of two replications received 45, 61, 73, 102, 147, or 310 mL·m-2 of mist delivered intermittently by a traveling gantry (boom) system. Mist frequency was similar for all treatments and was related inversely to relative humidity (RH) within the polyethylene covered greenhouse. Rooting tubs in each plot were filled with a substrate of fine silica sand, and substrate water potential was held constant using soil tensiometers that activated a subirrigation system. Cutting water potential was measured destructively on two cuttings per plot beginning at 0500 hr every 3 hh until 2300 hr (seven measurements) 7, 14, 21, or 28 days after setting. During rooting, leaf temperature and RH were recorded in each plot to calculate vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Cutting water potential and VPD were strongly related to mist application. Cutting water potential was also related to VPD. Rooting percentage had a linear and quadratic relationship with mean cutting water potential and VPD averaged between 1000 and 1800 HR. Eighty percent rooting occurred within a range of values for VPD. Data suggest that VPD can be used to manage the water deficit of stem cuttings of loblolly pine to increase rooting percentage. These results may be applicable to other species and to other rooting environments.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelius Senf ◽  
Allan Buras ◽  
Christian Zang ◽  
Anja Rammig ◽  
Rupert Seidl

&lt;p&gt;Drought has been suggested as major driver of large-scale forest diebacks, but quantitative evidence covering large spatial and long temporal scales is rare for Europe. Combining spatially explicit maps of canopy mortality (i.e., partial or full loss of the dominant tree canopy) generated from Landsat satellite data for the period 1986-2016 and gridded drought indices (0.5&amp;#176; resolution; including vapor pressure deficit, climatic water balance, and precipitation deficit), we report a consistent link between pulses of above-average tree mortality and drought conditions as measured in all three drought indices. As such, we deliver first quantitative evidence that drought conditions can trigger large-scale forest diebacks across Europe&amp;#8217;s forests. A future increase in the severity and intensity of droughts as predicted for Europe might thus have unforeseen consequences for Europe&amp;#8217;s forests, with large-scale forest diebacks likely becoming more common in the future.&lt;/p&gt;


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 5619-5633 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Röll ◽  
F. Niu ◽  
A. Meijide ◽  
A. Hardanto ◽  
A. Knohl ◽  
...  

Abstract. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) plantations cover large and continuously increasing areas of humid tropical lowlands. Landscapes dominated by oil palms usually consist of a mosaic of mono-cultural, homogeneous stands of varying age, which may be heterogeneous in their water use characteristics. However, studies on the water use characteristics of oil palms are still at an early stage and there is a lack of knowledge on how oil palm expansion will affect the major components of the hydrological cycle. To provide first insights into hydrological landscape-level consequences of oil palm cultivation, we derived transpiration rates of oil palms in stands of varying age, estimated the contribution of palm transpiration to evapotranspiration, and analyzed the influence of fluctuations in environmental variables on oil palm water use. We studied 15 two- to 25-year old stands in the lowlands of Jambi, Indonesia. A sap flux technique with an oil palm specific calibration and sampling scheme was used to derive leaf-, palm- and stand-level water use rates in all stands under comparable environmental conditions. Additionally, in a two- and a 12-year old stand, eddy covariance measurements were conducted to derive evapotranspiration rates. Water use rates per leaf and palm increased 5-fold from an age of 2 years to a stand age of approx. 10 years and then remained relatively constant. A similar trend was visible, but less pronounced, for estimated stand transpiration rates of oil palms; they varied 12-fold, from 0.2 mm day−1 in a 2-year old to 2.5 mm day−1 in a 12-year old stand, showing particularly high variability in transpiration rates among medium-aged stands. Comparing sap flux and eddy-covariance derived water fluxes suggests that transpiration contributed 8 % to evapotranspiration in the 2-year old stand and 53 % in the 12-year old stand, indicating variable and substantial additional sources of evaporation, e.g., from the soil, the ground vegetation and from trunk epiphytes. Diurnally, oil palm transpiration rates were characterized by an early peak between 10 and 11 a.m.; there was a pronounced hysteresis in the leaf water use response to changes in vapor pressure deficit for all palms of advanced age. On the day-to-day basis this resulted in a relatively low variability of oil palm water use regardless of fluctuations in vapor pressure deficit and radiation. We conclude that oil palm dominated landscapes show some spatial variations in (evapo)transpiration rates, e.g., due to varying age-structures, but that the temporal variability of oil palm transpiration is rather low. The stand transpiration of some of the studied oil palm stands was as high or even higher than values reported for different tropical forests, indicating a high water use of oil palms under yet to be explained site or management conditions. Our study provides first insights into the eco-hydrological characteristics of oil palms as well as a first estimate of oil palm water use across a gradient of plantation age. It sheds first light on some of the hydrological consequences of the continuing expansion of oil palm plantations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor L. Barradas ◽  
Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez

Urban forests play an important role in regulating urban climate while providing multiple environmental services. These forests, however, are threatened by changes in climate, as plants are exposed not only to global climate change but also to urban climate, having an impact on physiological functions. Here, we selected two physiological variables (stomatal conductance and leaf water potential) and four environmental variables (air temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, vapor pressure deficit, and water availability) to compare and evaluate the ecophysiological vulnerability to climate change of 15 dominant tree species from Mexico City’s urban forest. The stomatal conductance response was evaluated using the boundary-line analysis, which allowed us to compare the stomatal response to changes in the environment among species. Our results showed differential species responses to the environmental variables and identified Buddleja cordata and Populus deltoides as the least and most vulnerable species, respectively. Air temperatures above 33°C and vapor pressure deficit above 3.5 kPa limited the stomatal function of all species. Stomatal conductance was more sensitive to changes in leaf water potential, followed by vapor pressure deficit, indicating that water is a key factor for tree species performance in Mexico City’s urban forest. Our findings can help to optimize species selection considering future climate change by identifying vulnerable and resilient species.


HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 501c-501
Author(s):  
Andrés A. Estrada-Luna ◽  
Jonathan N. Egilla ◽  
Fred T. Davies

The effect of mycorrhizal fungi on gas exchange of micropropagated guava plantlets (Psidium guajava L.) during acclimatization and plant establishment was determined. Guava plantlets (Psidium guajava L. cv. `Media China') were asexually propagated through tissue culture and acclimatized in a glasshouse for eighteen weeks. Half of the plantlets were inoculated with ZAC-19, which is a mixed isolate containing Glomus etunicatum and an unknown Glomus spp. Plantlets were fertilized with modified Long Ashton nutrient solution containing 11 (g P/ml. Gas exchange measurements included photosynthetic rate (A), stomatal conductance (gs), internal CO2 concentration (Ci), transpiration rate (E), water use efficiency (WUE), and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Measurements were taken at 2, 4, 8 and 18 weeks after inoculation using a LI-6200 portable photosynthesis system (LI-COR Inc. Lincoln, Neb., USA). Two weeks after inoculation, noninoculated plantlets had greater A compared to mycorrhizal plantlets. However, 4 and 8 weeks after inoculation, mycorrhizal plantlets had greater A, gs, Ci and WUE. At the end of the experiment gas exchange was comparable between noninoculated and mycorrhizal plantlets.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8369
Author(s):  
Mohammad Rahimi

In this Opinion, the importance of public awareness to design solutions to mitigate climate change issues is highlighted. A large-scale acknowledgment of the climate change consequences has great potential to build social momentum. Momentum, in turn, builds motivation and demand, which can be leveraged to develop a multi-scale strategy to tackle the issue. The pursuit of public awareness is a valuable addition to the scientific approach to addressing climate change issues. The Opinion is concluded by providing strategies on how to effectively raise public awareness on climate change-related topics through an integrated, well-connected network of mavens (e.g., scientists) and connectors (e.g., social media influencers).


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