ALBERT

Description: Canopy CO2 uptake (FCO2) of a subtropical mature extit{A. mangium} plantation was estimated by combining sap flow measurements and stable carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) in Southern China from 2004 to 2007. The mechanistic relationship linking FCO2, Δ in leaf sap, and sap flow based canopy stomatal conductance (Gs) was applied in our study. No significant seasonal variations were observed in Δ or in the ratio of the intercellular and ambient CO2 concentrations (Ci/Ca), although diurnal Ci/Ca varied between sunlit and shaded leaves. A sensitivity analysis showed that estimates of FCO2 were more sensitive to dynamics in Gs than in Ca and Δ. By using seasonally and canopy averaged Ci/Ca values, an acceptable estimate of FCO2 was obtained. FCO2 exhibited similar diurnal variation to that of Gs. Large seasonal variation in FCO2 was attributed to the responsiveness of Gs to vapour pressure deficit, photosynthetically active radiation, and soil moisture deficit. Our estimate of FCO2 for a mature A. mangium plantation (2.13 ± 0.40 g C m−2 day−1) approached the lower range of values for subtropical mixed forest, probably due to lower mean canopy stomatal conductance, higher Ci/Ca, and greater tree height than other measured forests. Our estimate was also lower than values determined by satellite-based modeling or component carbon analysis, suggesting the necessity of stand level flux data for verification. Qualitatively, the sap flux/stable isotope results compared well with gas exchange results. Differences in results between the two approaches reflected variability due to leaf position and age, which could be reduced for sap flux/stable isotope, which uses canopy average values of Gs and Ci/Ca.

Description: To depict the wet (April with a soil water content, SWC, of 37 %) and dry (October with a SWC of 24.8 %) seasonal changes in the water use and physiological response of a Eucalyptus urophylla plantation in subtropical South China characterized by monsoon climate, the whole-year (June 2012 to May 2013) transpiration of E. urophylla was monitored using the TDP method. Daily transpiration (ET) in October averaged 5.7 ± 2.9 kg d−1 and was 58.0 % higher than that in April (3.6 ± 2.3 kg d−1). The difference is consistent with that of the radiation and evaporative demand of the two months, while the nocturnal transpiration (ET-NOC) in the wet season (0.18 ± 0.021 kg d−1) was almost twice that in the dry season (0.11 ± 0.01 kg d−1). Trees displayed a higher stomatal conductance (GS) (53.4–144.5 mmol m−2 s−1) in the wet season and a lower GS (45.7–89.5 mmol m−2 s−1) in the dry season. The leaf-soil water potentials (ΨL) of the two months (April and October) were −0.62 ± 0.66 and −1.22 ± 0.10 MPa, respectively. A boundary line analysis demonstrated that the slight improvement in the GS by SWC in wet season was offset by a significant decrease in D, and the slope of GS sensitivity to D (dGS/dlnD) in response to GSref (references GS at D = 1 kPa) was affected by the variance of radiation instead of SWC. Specific hydraulic conductivity (ks) of trees of different sizes decreased by 45.3–65.6 % from the wet to the dry season. Combining the decreased maximum reference GS at D = 1 kPa (GSref-max) by 22.4 % with the constant max GS (GSmax) when ΨL 〈 −1.2 MPa, we shed some light on the mechanism underlying the high water-use efficiency (WUE) of this Eucalyptus specie. With a slight change in GSref-max and high sensitivity of ks to decreasing ΨL, large trees used water more efficiently than small ones did. In addition, the −m in the dry season (0.53 ± 0.007) was lower than that in the wet season (0.58 ± 0.01) due to the difference in the ratio of GS to the boundary layer conductance (gb) in the two months. The negative relationship between −m (except when light is limited) and Q proved to be a plastic response to environmental changes for E. urophylla but did not change with decreased ks as expected.

Description: A simple, nondestructive method for the estimation of canopy CO2 uptake is important for understanding the CO2 exchange between forest and atmosphere. Canopy CO2 uptake (FCO2) of a subtropical mature extit{A. mangium} plantation was estimated by combining sap flow measurements and stable carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) in Southern China from 2004 to 2007. The mechanistic relationship linking FCO2, Δ in leaf sap, and sap flow-based canopy stomatal conductance (Gs) was applied in our study. No significant seasonal variations were observed in Δ or in the ratio of the intercellular and ambient CO2 concentrations (Ci/Ca), although diurnal Ci/Ca varied between sunlit and shaded leaves. A sensitivity analysis showed that estimates of FCO2 were more sensitive to dynamics in Gs than in Ca and Δ. By using seasonally and canopy averaged Ci/Ca values, we obtained an acceptable estimate of FCO2 compared to other estimates. FCO2 exhibited similar diurnal variation to that of Gs. Large seasonal variation in FCO2 was attributed to the responsiveness of Gs to vapor pressure deficit, photosynthetically active radiation, and soil moisture deficit. Our estimate of FCO2 for a mature A. mangium plantation (2.13 ± 0.40 gC m−2 d−1) approached the lower range of values for subtropical mixed forests, probably due to lower mean canopy stomatal conductance, higher Ci/Ca, and greater tree height than other measured forests. Our estimate was also lower than values determined by satellite-based modeling or carbon allocation studies, suggesting the necessity of stand level flux data for verification. Qualitatively, the sap flux/stable isotope results compared well with gas exchange results. Differences in results between the two approaches likely reflected variability due to leaf position and age, which should be reduced for the combined sap flux and isotope technique, as it uses canopy average values of Gs and Ci/Ca.