skip to main content
Explore Scholarly Publications and Datasets in the NSF-PAR

Title: Tree hydrodynamic modelling of the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum using FETCH3
Abstract. Modelling the water transport along the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum is fundamental to estimating and predicting transpiration fluxes. A Finite-difference Ecosystem-scale Tree Crown Hydrodynamics model (FETCH3) for the water fluxes across the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum is presented here. The model combines the water transport pathways into one vertical dimension, and assumes that the water flow through the soil, roots, and above-ground xylem can be approximated as flow in porous media. This results in a system of three partial differential equations, resembling the Richardson–Richards equation, describing the transport of water through the plant system and with additional terms representing sinks and sources for the transfer of water from the soil to the roots and from the leaves to the atmosphere. The numerical scheme, developed in Python 3, was tested against exact analytical solutions for steady state and transient conditions using simplified but realistic model parameterizations. The model was also used to simulate a previously published case study, where observed transpiration rates were available, to evaluate model performance. With the same model setup as the published case study, FETCH3 results were in agreement with observations. Through a rigorous coupling of soil, root xylem, and stem xylem, FETCH3 can account for variable water capacitance, while more » conserving mass and the continuity of the water potential between these three layers. FETCH3 provides a ready-to-use open access numerical model for the simulation of water fluxes across the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum. « less
Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ;
Award ID(s):
2046768
Publication Date:
NSF-PAR ID:
10392904
Journal Name:
Geoscientific Model Development
Volume:
15
Issue:
6
Page Range or eLocation-ID:
2619 to 2634
ISSN:
1991-9603
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ( , Frontiers in Plant Science)
    Leaf hydraulic networks play an important role not only in fluid transport but also in maintaining whole-plant water status through transient environmental changes in soil-based water supply or air humidity. Both water potential and hydraulic resistance vary spatially throughout the leaf transport network, consisting of xylem, stomata and water-storage cells, and portions of the leaf areas far from the leaf base can be disproportionately disadvantaged under water stress. Besides the suppression of transpiration and reduction of water loss caused by stomatal closure, the leaf capacitance of water storage, which can also vary locally, is thought to be crucial for the maintenance of leaf water status. In order to study the fluid dynamics in these networks, we develop a spatially explicit, capacitive model which is able to capture the local spatiotemporal changes of water potential and flow rate in monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous leaves. In electrical-circuit analogs described by Ohm's law, we implement linear capacitors imitating water storage, and we present both analytical calculations of a uniform one-dimensional model and numerical simulation methods for general spatially explicit network models, and their relation to conventional lumped-element models. Calculation and simulation results are shown for the uniform model, which mimics key properties of amore »monocotyledonous grass leaf. We illustrate water status of a well-watered leaf, and the lowering of water potential and transpiration rate caused by excised water source or reduced air humidity. We show that the time scales of these changes under water stress are hugely affected by leaf capacitance and resistances to capacitors, in addition to stomatal resistance. Through this modeling of a grass leaf, we confirm the presence of uneven water distribution over leaf area, and also discuss the importance of considering the spatial variation of leaf hydraulic traits in plant biology.« less
  2. ; ; ; ; ( , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
    The fluxes of energy, water, and carbon from terrestrial ecosystems influence the atmosphere. Land–atmosphere feedbacks can intensify extreme climate events like severe droughts and heatwaves because low soil moisture decreases both evaporation and plant transpiration and increases local temperature. Here, we combine data from a network of temperate and boreal eddy covariance towers, satellite data, plant trait datasets, and a mechanistic vegetation model to diagnose the controls of soil moisture feedbacks to drought. We find that climate and plant functional traits, particularly those related to maximum leaf gas exchange rate and water transport through the plant hydraulic continuum, jointly affect drought intensification. Our results reveal that plant physiological traits directly affect drought intensification and indicate that inclusion of plant hydraulic transport mechanisms in models may be critical for accurately simulating land–atmosphere feedbacks and climate extremes under climate change.
  3. ; ; ; ( , Tree Physiology)
    Mencuccini, Maurizio (Ed.)
    Abstract Plant hydraulics is key for plant survival and growth because it is linked to gas exchange and drought resistance. Although the environment influences plant hydraulics, there is no clear consensus on the effect of nitrogen (N) supply, which may be, in part, due to different hydraulic conductance normalization criteria and studied species. The objective of this study was to compare the variation of root hydraulic properties using several normalization criteria in four pine species in response to three contrasting N fertilization regimes. We studied four closely related, yet ecologically distinct species: Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold, Pinus pinaster Ait., Pinus pinea L. and Pinus halepensis Mill. Root hydraulic conductance (Kh) was measured with a high-pressure flow meter, and values were normalized by total leaf area (leaf specific conductance, Kl), xylem cross-section area (xylem specific conductance, Ks), total root area (root specific conductance, Kr) and the area of fine roots (fine root specific conductance, Kfr). Controlling for organ size differences allowed comparison of the hydraulic efficiency of roots to supply or absorb water among fertilization treatments and species. The effect of N on the root hydraulic efficiency depended on the normalization criteria. Increasing N availability reduced Kl and Ks, but increasedmore »Kh, Kr and especially Kfr. The positive effect of N on Kr and Kfr was positively related to seedling relative growth rate and was also consistent with published results at the interspecific level, whereby plant hydraulics is positively linked to photosynthesis and transpiration rate and fast growth. In contrast, normalization by leaf area and xylem cross-sectional area (Kl and Ks) reflected opposite responses to Kr and Kfr. This indicates that the normalization criteria determine the interpretation of the effect of N on plant hydraulics, which can limit species and treatment comparisons.« less
  4. ; ; ; ; ( , Biogeosciences)
    null (Ed.)
    Abstract. Carbonate weathering is essential in regulating atmosphericCO2 and carbon cycle at the century timescale. Plant roots accelerateweathering by elevating soil CO2 via respiration. It however remainspoorly understood how and how much rooting characteristics (e.g., depth anddensity distribution) modify flow paths and weathering. We address thisknowledge gap using field data from and reactive transport numericalexperiments at the Konza Prairie Biological Station (Konza), Kansas (USA), asite where woody encroachment into grasslands is surmised to deepen roots. Results indicate that deepening roots can enhance weathering in two ways.First, deepening roots can control thermodynamic limits of carbonatedissolution by regulating how much CO2 transports vertical downward tothe deeper carbonate-rich zone. The base-case data and model from Konzareveal that concentrations of Ca and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) areregulated by soil pCO2 driven by the seasonal soil respiration. Thisrelationship can be encapsulated in equations derived in this workdescribing the dependence of Ca and DIC on temperature and soil CO2. The relationship can explain spring water Ca and DIC concentrations from multiple carbonate-dominated catchments. Second, numericalexperiments show that roots control weathering rates by regulating recharge(or vertical water fluxes) into the deeper carbonate zone and exportreaction products at dissolution equilibrium. The numerical experimentsexplored the potential effects of partitioningmore »40 % of infiltrated waterto depth in woodlands compared to 5 % in grasslands. Soil CO2 datasuggest relatively similar soil CO2distribution over depth, which in woodlands and grasslands leads only to 1 % to∼ 12 % difference inweathering rates if flow partitioning was kept the same between the two landcovers. In contrast, deepening roots can enhance weathering by ∼ 17 % to200 % as infiltration rates increased from 3.7 × 10−2 to 3.7 m/a. Weathering rates in these cases however are more than an order of magnitude higher than a case without roots atall, underscoring the essential role of roots in general. Numericalexperiments also indicate that weathering fronts in woodlands propagated> 2 times deeper compared to grasslands after 300 years at aninfiltration rate of 0.37 m/a. These differences in weathering fronts areultimately caused by the differences in the contact times of CO2-charged water with carbonate in the deep subsurface. Within the limitation of modeling exercises, these data and numerical experiments prompt the hypothesis that (1) deepening roots in woodlands can enhance carbonate weathering by promotingrecharge and CO2–carbonate contact in the deepsubsurface and (2) the hydrological impacts of rooting characteristics canbe more influential than those of soil CO2 distribution in modulatingweathering rates. We call for colocated characterizations of roots,subsurface structure, and soil CO2 levels, as well as their linkage to waterand water chemistry. These measurements will be essential to illuminatefeedback mechanisms of land cover changes, chemical weathering, globalcarbon cycle, and climate.« less
  5. ; ( )
    Abstract
    Climate models predict that water limited regions around the world will become drier and warmer in the near future, including southwestern North America. We developed a large-scale experimental system that allows testing of the ecosystem impacts of precipitation changes. Four treatments were applied to 1600 m2 plots (40 m × 40 m), each with three replicates in a piñon pine (Pinus edulis) and juniper (Juniper monosperma) ecosystem. These species have extensive root systems, requiring large-scale manipulation to effectively alter soil water availability.  Treatments consisted of: 1) irrigation plots that receive supplemental water additions, 2) drought plots that receive 55% of ambient rainfall, 3) cover-control plots that receive ambient precipitation, but allow determination of treatment infrastructure artifacts, and 4) ambient control plots. Our drought structures effectively reduced soil water potential and volumetric water content compared to the ambient, cover-control, and water addition plots. Drought and cover control plots experienced an average increase in maximum soil and air temperature at ground level of 1-4° C during the growing season compared to ambient plots, and concurrent short-term diurnal increases in maximum air temperature were also observed directly above and below plastic structures. Our drought and irrigation treatments significantly influenced tree predawn waterMore>>
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email