Transpiration of four common understorey plant species according to drought intensity in temperate forests

Gobin, Rémy; Korboulewsky, Nathalie; Dumas, Yann; Balandier, Philippe

doi:10.1007/s13595-015-0510-9

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Significant understory–atmosphere coupling was also previously found (Black & Kelliher, ; Gobin, Korboulewsky, Dumas, & Balandier, ; Iida et al, ; Jung et al, ; Wilson, Hanson, & Baldocchi, ). Coupling of the understory to the air above the canopy is due to gusting phenomena.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

How afforestation affects the water cycle in drylands: A process‐based comparative analysis

Schwärzel

Zhang

Montanarella

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

146

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The world's largest afforestation programs implemented by China made a great contribution to the global “greening up.” These programs have received worldwide attention due to its contribution toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. However, emerging studies have suggested that these campaigns, when not properly implemented, resulted in unintended ecological and water security concerns at the regional scale. While mounting evidence shows that afforestation causes substantial reduction in water yield at the watershed scale, process‐based studies on how forest plantations alter the partitioning of rainwater and affect water balance components in natural vegetation are still lacking at the plot scale. This lack of science‐based data prevents a comprehensive understanding of forest‐related ecosystem services such as soil conservation and water supply under climate change. The present study represents the first “Paired Plot” study of the water balance of afforestation on the Loess Plateau. We investigate the effects of forest structure and environmental factors on the full water cycle in a typical multilayer plantation forest composed of black locust, one of the most popular tree species for plantations worldwide. We measure the ecohydrological components of a black locust versus natural grassland on adjacent sites. The startling finding of this study is that, contrary to the general belief, the understory—instead of the overstory—was the main water consumer in this plantation. Moreover, there is a strict physiological regulation of forest transpiration. In contrast to grassland, annual seepage under the forest was minor in years with an average rainfall. We conclude that global long‐term greening efforts in drylands require careful ecohydrologic evaluation so that green and blue water trade‐offs are properly addressed. This is especially important for reforestation‐based watershed land management, that aims at carbon sequestration in mitigating climate change while maintaining regional water security, to be effective on a large scale.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

How afforestation affects the water cycle in drylands: A process‐based comparative analysis

Schwärzel

Zhang

Montanarella

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

146

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“…Recent and past warming of (especially maximum air) temperatures and recent extreme droughts probably drove the observed thermophilization under ambient conditions, as there were numerous seasons within the last decade were record warm and record dry in the study area (Zamani et al., 2016). Changes in temperature and droughts can drive rapid shifts in plant distribution (Kelly & Goulden, 2008) via species‐specific stress for plants (Gobin et al., 2015), and can thus drive changes in community composition and competitive interactions. This could explain the strong thermophilization signal of the control plots if warm‐tolerant species in our study community are also more drought‐resistant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid thermophilization of understorey plant communities in a 9 year‐long temperate forest experiment

et al. 2021

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The vast majority of plant biodiversity associated with temperate forests is harboured by the understorey layer. This layer also plays crucial roles in ecosystem functions such as tree regeneration, nutrient cycling and carbon dynamics. Research using space‐for‐time substitutions and resurveys of vegetation plots has shown that climate warming, changes in forest management and resource availability are key determinants of forest understorey biodiversity change and functioning. However, long‐term experiments are needed to better unravel their complex interactive effects. Here we study the influence of nearly a decade of experimental warming, light addition using fluorescent tubes (as a proxy for management‐driven changes in forest‐floor light levels) and nitrogen input on understorey plant communities of temperate broadleaved forest. Plant communities shifted towards a higher dominance of warm‐adapted species, a process referred to as thermophilization. We detected a marked community shift in all treatments including the control plots, reflecting ongoing ambient environmental changes. This reordering over time was greater than the shift induced by the treatments. Thermophilization was, however, greatest when temperature and/or light availability were enhanced. Communities were also taller in response to warming and increased light availability. Synthesis. Our experiment provides important insights into 9 years of vegetation changes in a temperate forest and how canopy density and forest management can be adapted to limit thermophilization of forest understorey biodiversity under climate change. [Correction added on 27 April 2021, after first online publication: The Synthesis section in the abstract has been updated to reflect the original text supplied.]

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“…Transpiration is controlled by stomatal conductance, which is modulated in a species‐specific way by the above‐mentioned micrometeorological variables and by soil water availability (Black & Kelliher, ). For instance, Gobin et al () found that Calluna vulgaris showed little or no regulation of transpiration in response to soil water depletion or air VPD, whereas Pteridium aquilinum showed a low transpiration rate regardless of the conditions. Rubus sect.…”

Section: Quantification Of the Functional Importance Of The Understoreymentioning

confidence: 99%

The functional role of temperate forest understorey vegetation in a changing world

Landuyt

Lombaerde

Perring

et al. 2019

Global Change Biology

195

129

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Temperate forests cover 16% of the global forest area. Within these forests, the understorey is an important biodiversity reservoir that can influence ecosystem processes and functions in multiple ways. However, we still lack a thorough understanding of the relative importance of the understorey for temperate forest functioning. As a result, understoreys are often ignored during assessments of forest functioning and changes thereof under global change. We here compiled studies that quantify the relative importance of the understorey for temperate forest functioning, focussing on litter production, nutrient cycling, evapotranspiration, tree regeneration, pollination and pathogen dynamics. We describe the mechanisms driving understorey functioning and develop a conceptual framework synthesizing possible effects of multiple global change drivers on understorey‐mediated forest ecosystem functioning. Our review illustrates that the understorey's contribution to temperate forest functioning is significant but varies depending on the ecosystem function and the environmental context, and more importantly, the characteristics of the overstorey. To predict changes in understorey functioning and its relative importance for temperate forest functioning under global change, we argue that a simultaneous investigation of both overstorey and understorey functional responses to global change will be crucial. Our review shows that such studies are still very scarce, only available for a limited set of ecosystem functions and limited to quantification, providing little data to forecast functional responses to global change.

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Transpiration of four common understorey plant species according to drought intensity in temperate forests

Cited by 15 publications

References 58 publications

How afforestation affects the water cycle in drylands: A process‐based comparative analysis

How afforestation affects the water cycle in drylands: A process‐based comparative analysis

Rapid thermophilization of understorey plant communities in a 9 year‐long temperate forest experiment

The functional role of temperate forest understorey vegetation in a changing world

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