Search Results - (Author, Cooperation:G. Katul)

2018-02-10

Wiley-Blackwell

0094-8276

1944-8007

Geosciences

Physics

2011-11-19

Nature Publishing Group (NPG)

0028-0836

1476-4687

Biology

Chemistry and Pharmacology

Medicine

Natural Sciences in General

Physics

Air/analysis ; *Altitude ; Atmosphere/analysis ; Biophysical Processes ; Canada ; Climate ; Conservation of Natural Resources ; Forestry ; Seasons ; *Temperature ; Trees/*growth & development ; United States

1365-3040

Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005

Biology

There is growing evidence that plant stomata have evolved physiological controls to satisfy the demand for CO2 by photosynthesis while regulating water losses by leaves in a manner that does not cause cavitation in the soil–root–xylem hydraulic system. Whether the hydraulic and biochemical properties of plants evolve independently or whether they are linked at a time scale relevant to plant stand development remains uncertain. To address this question, a steady-state analytical model was developed in which supply of CO2 via the stomata and biochemical demand for CO2 are constrained by the balance between loss of water vapour from the leaf to the atmosphere and supply of water from the soil to the leaf. The model predicts the intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) for which the maximum demand for CO2 is in equilibrium with the maximum hydraulically permissible supply of water through the soil–root–xylem system. The model was then tested at two forest stands in which simultaneous hydraulic, ecophysiological, and long-term carbon isotope discrimination measurements were available. The model formulation reproduces analytically recent findings on the sensitivity of bulk stomatal conductance (gs) to vapour pressure deficit (D); namely, gs = gref(1 − m × lnD), where m is a sensitivity parameter and gref is a reference conductance defined at D = 1 kPa. An immediate outcome of the model is an explicit relationship between maximum carboxylation capacity (Vcmax) and soil–plant hydraulic properties. It is shown that this relationship is consistent with measurements reported for conifer and rain forest angiosperm species. The analytical model predicts a decline in Vcmax as the hydraulic capacity of the soil–root–xylem decreases with stand development or age.

Electronic Resource

1365-3040

Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005

Biology

A spectrum of models that estimate assimilation rate A from intercellular carbon dioxide concentration (Ci) and measured stomatal conductance to CO2 (gc) were investigated using leaf-level gas exchange measurements. The gas exchange measurements were performed in a uniform loblolly pine stand (Pinus taeda L.) using the Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) facility under ambient and elevated atmospheric CO2 for 3 years. These measurements were also used to test a newly proposed framework that combines basic properties of the A–Ci curve with a Fickian diffusion transport model to predict the relationship between Ci/Ca and gc, where Ca is atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. The widely used Ball–Berry model and five other models as well as the biochemical model proposed by Farquhar et al. (1980) were also reformulated to express variations in Ci/Ca as a function of their corresponding driving mechanisms. To assess the predictive capabilities of these approaches, their respective parameters were estimated from independent measurements of long-term stable carbon isotope determinations (δ13C), meteorological variables, and ensemble A–Ci curves. All eight approaches reproduced the measured A reasonably well, in an ensemble sense, from measured water vapour conductance and modeled Ci/Ca. However, the scatter in the instantaneous A estimates was sufficiently large for both ambient and elevated Ca to suggest that other transient processes were not explicitly resolved by all eight parameterizations. An important finding from our analysis is that added physiological complexity in modeling Ci/Ca (when gc is known) need not always translate to increased accuracy in predicting A. Finally, the broader utility of these approaches to estimate assimilation and net ecosystem exchange is discussed in relation to elevated atmospheric CO2.

Electronic Resource

1365-3040

Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005

Biology

Using a combination of model simulations and detailed measurements at a hierarchy of scales conducted at a sandhills forest site, the effect of fertilization on net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and its components in 6-year-old Pinus taeda stands was quantified. The detailed measurements, collected over a 20-d period in September and October, included gas exchange and eddy covariance fluxes, sampled for a 10-d period each at the fertilized stand and at the control stand. Respiration from the forest floor and above-ground biomass was measured using chambers during the experiment. Fertilization doubled leaf area index (LAI) and increased leaf carboxylation capacity by 20%. However, this increase in total LAI translated into an increase of only 25% in modelled sunlit LAI and in canopy photosynthesis. It is shown that the same climatic and environmental conditions that enhance photosynthesis in the September and October periods also cause an increase in respiration The increases in respiration counterbalanced photosynthesis and resulted in negligible NEE differences between fertilized and control stands. The fact that total biomass of the fertilized stand exceeded 2·5 times that of the control, suggests that the counteracting effects cannot persist throughout the year. In fact, modelled annual carbon balance showed that gross primary productivity (GPP) increased by about 50% and that the largest enhancement in NEE occurred in the spring and autumn, during which cooler temperatures reduced respiration more than photosynthesis. The modelled difference in annual NEE between fertilized  and  control  stands  (approximately  200 1;g 2;C 3;m−2 y−1)  suggest that the effect of fertilization was sufficiently large to transform the stand from a net terrestrial carbon source to a net sink.

Electronic Resource

1365-3040

Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005

Biology

Responses of stomatal conductance (gs) to increasing vapour pressure deficit (D) generally follow an exponential decrease described equally well by several empirical functions. However, the magnitude of the decrease – the stomatal sensitivity – varies considerably both within and between species. Here we analysed data from a variety of sources employing both porometric and sap flux estimates of gs to evaluate the hypothesis that stomatal sensitivity is proportional to the magnitude of gs at low D (≤ 1 kPa). To test this relationship we used the function gs=gsref–m· lnD where m is the stomatal sensitivity and gsref=gs at D= 1 kPa. Regardless of species or methodology, m was highly correlated with gsref (average r2= 0·75) with a slope of approximately 0·6. We demonstrate that this empirical slope is consistent with the theoretical slope derived from a simple hydraulic model that assumes stomatal regulation of leaf water potential. The theoretical slope is robust to deviations from underlying assumptions and variation in model parameters. The relationships within and among species are close to theoretical predictions, regardless of whether the analysis is based on porometric measurements of gs in relation to leaf-surface D (Ds), or on sap flux-based stomatal conductance of whole trees (GSi), or stand-level stomatal conductance (GS) in relation to D. Thus, individuals, species, and stands with high stomatal conductance at low D show a greater sensitivity to D, as required by the role of stomata in regulating leaf water potential.

Electronic Resource

1365-2486

Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005

Biology

Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering

Geography

Forest floor CO2 efflux (Fff) depends on vegetation type, climate, and soil physical properties. We assessed the effects of biological factors on Fff by comparing a maturing pine plantation (PP) and a nearby mature Oak-Hickory-type hardwood forest (HW). Fff was measured continuously with soil chambers connected to an IRGA during 2001–2002. At both sites, Fff depended on soil temperature at 5 cm (T5) when soil was moist (soil moisture, θ〉0.20 m3 m−3), and on both T5 and θ when soil was drier. A model (Fff (T5, θ)) explained 〈inlineGraphic alt="geqslant R: gt-or-equal, slanted" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:13541013:GCB915:ges" location="ges.gif"/〉92% of the variation in the daily mean Fff at both sites. Higher radiation reaching the ground during the leafless period, and a thinner litter layer because of faster decomposition, probably caused higher soil temperature at HW compared with PP. The annual Fff was estimated at 1330 and 1464 g C m−2 yr−1 for a year with mild drought (2001) at PP and HW, respectively, and 1231 and 1557 g C m−2 yr−1 for a year with severe drought (2002). In the wetter year, higher soil temperature and moisture at HW compared with PP compensated for the negative effect on Fff of the response to these variables resulting in similar annual Fff at both stands. In the drier year, however, the response to soil temperature and moisture was more similar at the two stands causing the difference in the state variables to impel a higher Fff at HW. A simple mass balance indicated that in the wetter year, C in the litter–soil system was at steady state at HW, and was accruing at PP. However, HW was probably losing C from the mineral soil during the severe drought year of 2002, while PP was accumulating C at a lower rate because of a loss of C from the litter layer. Such contrasting behavior of two forest types in close proximity might frustrate attempts to estimate regional carbon (C) fluxes and net C exchange.

Electronic Resource