Forest age-induced changes in evapotranspiration and water yield in a eucalypt forest

Cornish, P. M.; Vertessy, Rob

doi:10.1016/s0022-1694(00)00384-x

Cited by 133 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Wood et al offered no alternative explanation for why stream flows declined by as much as 50% in areas where oldgrowth E. regnans forest was converted to regrowth. Such declines have been reported in several paired catchment studies in this forest type (Bren et al 2010) and in other wet eucalypt forests (Cornish and Vertessy 2001;Lane and Mackay 2001).…”

Section: Additional Comments On Wood Et Alsupporting

confidence: 78%

Comment on Wood et al. 2008, 'Impacts of fire on forest age and runoff in mountain ash forests'

Benyon

Haydon

Vertessy

et al. 2010

Functional Plant Biol.

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Abstract. Wood et al. (2008; FPB 35) concluded their measurements of evapotranspiration (ET) in Eucalyptus regnans F.Muell. forest at Wallaby Creek, Victoria showed that ET differs only slightly between regrowth and oldgrowth, contrary to the findings of previous research. We assert that the conclusions of Wood et al. are invalid and argue that Wood et al. substantially overestimated annual transpiration and rainfall. Monthly whole-forest ET measured by Wood et al. using eddy covariance in a 296-year-old stand sum to~700 mm year -1 ; consistent with rainfall of 721 mm year -1 recorded nearby by the Bureau of Meteorology. However, the Wood et al. conclusions were based on 1077 mm annual transpiration at this site, which appears to be estimated from a few months of heat pulse velocity measurements. Transpiration alone cannot be 54% higher than whole-forest ET because the latter includes transpiration, rainfall interception and evaporation from the forest floor. We believe Wood et al. made errors in scaling heat pulse velocities to whole-stand annual transpiration. Their rainfall of 1175 mm year -1 averages 62% higher than at three Bureau of Meteorology and Melbourne Water sites nearby. The paper also contains inaccuracies in reporting of the literature and numerous other errors.

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Section: Additional Comments On Wood Et Alsupporting

confidence: 78%

Comment on Wood et al. 2008, 'Impacts of fire on forest age and runoff in mountain ash forests'

Benyon

Haydon

Vertessy

et al. 2010

Functional Plant Biol.

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“…This decline suggests a change in stomatal function for greater control that extends beyond the scope of the influence of falling LAI to conserve soil water. A similar argument has been mounted from Karuah, New South Wales, where a phase of pronounced streamflow reduction has occurred in the aftermath of forest clearing of experimental forested catchments with average rainfall ranging between 1475 and 1750 mm (Cornish and Vertessy, 2001). These communities are dominated by E. saligna and E. laevopinea; the rapid water use in the regrowth phase resembles E. regnans with a phase of reduced streamflow in the early stages of forest succession.…”

Section: Forest Managementsupporting

confidence: 61%

Hydrological change: reaping prosperity and pain in Australia

Dunin¹,

Smith²,

Denmead³

2007

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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The adage: There is no such thing as a free lunch, is relevant to land-use hydrology in Australia. Changes in land use to achieve greater productivity of food and fibre may have an adverse effect on the water balance and hence on the natural resource capital of a catchment. An altered regime of catchment outflow accompanies those land-use changes which, together with land degradation, impairs available water resources in quantity and quality and threatens enterprise sustainability, notwithstanding the initial improvement in productivity. Central to any hydrological change is an altered pattern of seasonal and annual water use by vegetation that has become modified in function with an amended transpiration fraction of daily evapotranspiration. In Australia, since measurement of evapotranspiration became feasible, the hydrological consequences of changes in land use have been determined, allowing the benefits in terms of plant productivity achieved through enhanced water use efficiency to be weighed against changed catchment outflows, diminished in either quantity or quality. Four case studies are presented as examples of ecological and hydrological changes: two deal with the upland forest environment and two with arable lowlands. In an upland eucalypt forest, following wildfire with subsequent regeneration from natural seedling establishment, substantial reduction in water yield occurred throughout a 50-year period of succession in the even-aged stand. In comparison, the effect of converting eucalypt forest to pine plantations was less detrimental to the yield of water from the catchments, with substantial growth increases over 30 years. In the lowlands, agricultural productivity, both as annual pasture and as crop, far exceeds that of natural perennial grassland and woodland. This increase in productivity comes not so much from any change to the yield of total water outflow but at the expense of water quality, compromised with increased material transport in suspension and solution resulting from accelerated erosion in association with outbreaks of soil salinity and acidity. The present study is aimed at optimising management to give plant production outcomes that ensure environmental protection through resource conservation. In the uplands, harvesting of water is the dominant consideration so that conservative management with limited plant productivity is sought. In the lowlands, the objective is to devise novel ecosystems with profitable plant production that exercises due control on outflow in maintaining the chemical and physical integrity of the edaphic environment..

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“…With long-term fire data from 1949 to 1994 in southern California, Loaiciga et al (2001) also found the signal of annual streamflow increase up to 20-30% in fire-impacted water years (with 3 year carryover effect) relative to non-fire years. A group from Melbourne, Australia (Langford, 1976;Kuczera, 1987;Cornish and Vertessy, 2001;Watson et al, 2001) showed that fire in Eucalyptus forest was followed by a 2-3 year increase in streamflow, then decreases in streamflow over the following one to two decades when re-growth was established. They pointed out that a difference in transpiration is the most likely cause in the mature forest consuming less water than the re-growth forest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When the control and treated parts of the catchment are calibrated against each other using several years of data before and following fire, the catchment response to the fire can be evaluated. There are many documented studies using this method (e.g., Langford, 1976;Helvey, 1980;Homes and Wronski, 1982;Kuczera, 1987;Cornish and Vertessy, 2001;Loaiciga et al, 2001;Roberts et al, 2001;Townsend and Douglas, 2000;Watson et al, 2001) employing techniques of analysis such as double-mass curve, flow duration curve, statistical regression and others. On the other hand, paired-catchment analysis must be used with discretion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of bushfires on hydrological processes using a paired-catchment analysis

Liu

Leslie

Speer

et al. 2004

Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics

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Forest age-induced changes in evapotranspiration and water yield in a eucalypt forest

Cited by 133 publications

References 21 publications

Comment on Wood et al. 2008, 'Impacts of fire on forest age and runoff in mountain ash forests'

Comment on Wood et al. 2008, 'Impacts of fire on forest age and runoff in mountain ash forests'

Hydrological change: reaping prosperity and pain in Australia

The effects of bushfires on hydrological processes using a paired-catchment analysis

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