Hydraulic Capacitance: Biophysics and Functional Significance of Internal Water Sources in Relation to Tree Size

Scholz, Fabián Gustavo; Phillips, Nathan; Bucci, Sandra Janet; Meinzer, Frederick C.; Goldstein, Guillermo

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-1242-3_13

Cited by 136 publications

(137 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…In contrast, the red oak used stored water primarily during times when moisture was limiting, and exhibited a strategy indicating the use of stored water to supplement the transpiration stream in order to reduce xylem tension during periods that would otherwise leave it vulnerable to cavitation. Although our study was limited to two trees of two hardwood species and designed principally as a test case of this new measurement methodology, these differences in storage reliance and water use dynamics are consistent with the observed behaviors of these species in this forest , Matheny et al 2014b) and with the behaviors characteristic of their hydraulic strategy and wood density (Wullschleger et al 1996, Pratt et al 2007, Kumagai et al 2009, Scholz et al 2011, Kocher et al 2013.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 66%

“…We did not attempt to perform a mass balance using storage and sap flux due to our lack of knowledge of water storage in the whole tree. It is well known that storage in roots, branches, and leaves contributes significantly to the volume of water available for transpiration (Scholz et al 2011). Future research regarding the scaling of storage in the bottom portion of the trunk to the whole tree would permit this type of analysis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water storage within the hydraulic systems of trees provides a buffer for the daily demands of transpiration (Cermak and Nadezhdina 2011, Scholz et al 2011, Kocher et al 2013. Stored v www.esajournals.org water within leaves, branches, stems, and roots plays an integral role in the regulation of xylem tension and cavitation avoidance (Waring and Running 1978).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Observations of stem water storage in trees of opposing hydraulic strategies

Matheny

Bohrer

Garrity³

et al. 2015

Ecosphere

111

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Abstract. Hydraulic capacitance and water storage form a critical buffer against cavitation and loss of conductivity within the xylem system. Withdrawal from water storage in leaves, branches, stems, and roots significantly impacts sap flow, stomatal conductance, and transpiration. Storage quantities differ based on soil water availability, tree size, wood anatomy and density, drought tolerance, and hydraulic strategy (anisohydric or isohydric). However, the majority of studies focus on the measurement of storage in conifers or tropical tree species. We demonstrate a novel methodology using frequency domain reflectometry (FDR) to make continuous, direct measurements of wood water content in two hardwood species in a forest in Michigan. We present results of a two month study comparing the water storage dynamics between a mature red oak and red maple, two species with differing wood densities, hydraulic architecture, and hydraulic strategy. We also include results pertaining to the use of different probe lengths to sample water content only within the active sapwood and over the entire conductive sapwood and the outer portion of heartwood in red oak. Both species studied exhibited diurnal cycles of storage that aligned well with the dynamics of sap flux. Red maple, a diffuse porous, relatively isohydric species showed a strong dependence on stored water during both wet and dry periods. Red oak, a ring porous relatively anisohydric species, was less reliant on storage, and did not demonstrate a dependence on soil water potential. Comparison between long and short FDR probes in the oak revealed that oaks may utilize water stored in the innermost layers of the xylem when soil moisture conditions are limiting. We found the FDR probes to be a reliable, functional means for continuous automated measurement of wood water content in hardwoods at a fast time scale. Application of FDR technology for the measurement of tree water storage will benefit forest ecologists as well as the modeling community as we improve our understanding and simulations of plant hydrodynamic processes on a large scale.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Observations of stem water storage in trees of opposing hydraulic strategies

Matheny

Bohrer

Garrity³

et al. 2015

Ecosphere

111

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“…This includes riparian and ground-water-dependent vegetation 10 , and drought-deciduous trees in tropical dry forests 27 . These species avoid very negative Y x by some combination of predictable access to ground water (deep roots), internal water storage and reduced leaf area or other shifts in biomass allocation 10,23,28 . Although these adjustments decouple Y 50 and Y min from MAP, it seems that the majority of species operate close to their functional limits.…”

Section: Letter Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global convergence in the vulnerability of forests to drought

Choat

Jansen

Brodribb

et al. 2012

Nature

Self Cite

2,110

105

2,036

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Shifts in rainfall patterns and increasing temperatures associated with climate change are likely to cause widespread forest decline in regions where droughts are predicted to increase in duration and severity. One primary cause of productivity loss and plant mortality during drought is hydraulic failure. Drought stress creates trapped gas emboli in the water transport system, which reduces the ability of plants to supply water to leaves for photosynthetic gas exchange and can ultimately result in desiccation and mortality. At present we lack a clear picture of how thresholds to hydraulic failure vary across a broad range of species and environments, despite many individual experiments. Here we draw together published and unpublished data on the vulnerability of the transport system to drought-induced embolism for a large number of woody species, with a view to examining the likely consequences of climate change for forest biomes. We show that 70% of 226 forest species from 81 sites worldwide operate with narrow hydraulic safety margins against injurious levels of drought stress and therefore potentially face long-term reductions in productivity and survival if temperature and aridity increase as predicted for many regions across the globe. Safety margins are largely independent of mean annual precipitation, showing that there is global convergence in the vulnerability of forests to drought, with all forest biomes equally vulnerable to hydraulic failure regardless of their current rainfall environment. These findings provide insight into why drought-induced forest decline is occurring not only in arid regions but also in wet forests not normally considered at drought risk

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“…Root water uptake was limited, resulting in the closure of leaf stomata [45]. The effects of these conditions may lead to the use of tree storage water for transpiration [34,46], and a further increase in ∆W.…”

Section: Seasonal Course Of Sap Flow Density and Tree Water Deficitmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growing Season Stem Water Status Assessment of Qinghai Spruce through the Sap Flow and Stem Radial Variations in the Qilian Mountains of China

Tian

Xiao

et al. 2017

Forests

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Global climate change is likely to change precipitation patterns with consequences for tree water use and growth in semi-arid areas. However, little is known about the effects of variability in precipitation on growth-and water-related physiological processes of native trees in dry areas of northwestern China. In this study, sap flow and stem radial variability in four Qinghai spruce trees (Picea crassifolia) were monitored in the Qilian Mountains, China. Tree water deficit (∆W) and basal area increment (BAI) were calculated using stem radial variation; water-use efficiency (WUE) was then estimated as the ratio of BAI and sap flow (Jt). The results showed that sap flow density (Js) increased logarithmically with increasing ∆W when ∆W < 50 µm, and then gradually stabilized. Multiple factor generalized additive models (GAM) showed that Js was closely related to all measured environmental variables except for daily mean temperature and relative air humidity. ∆W was related to the minimum daily temperature and soil water content. WUE exhibited higher values in early July. Low WUE was observed under conditions of prolonged dry weather, but it quickly increased during rainy days. WUE decreased after precipitation events due to high transpiration. We concluded that, in these semi-arid areas, precipitation is the most important controlling factor in tree growth and transpiration.

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Hydraulic Capacitance: Biophysics and Functional Significance of Internal Water Sources in Relation to Tree Size

Cited by 136 publications

References 93 publications

Observations of stem water storage in trees of opposing hydraulic strategies

Observations of stem water storage in trees of opposing hydraulic strategies

Global convergence in the vulnerability of forests to drought

Growing Season Stem Water Status Assessment of Qinghai Spruce through the Sap Flow and Stem Radial Variations in the Qilian Mountains of China

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