Search for: All records

Abstract Hydraulic stress in plants occurs under conditions of low water availability (soil moisture; θ) and/or high atmospheric demand for water (vapor pressure deficit; D). Different species are adapted to respond to hydraulic stress by functioning along a continuum where, on one hand, they close stomata to maintain a constant leaf water potential (ΨL) (isohydric species), and on the other hand, they allow ΨL to decline (anisohydric species). Differences in water-use along this continuum are most notable during hydrologic stress, often characterized by low θ and high D; however, θ and D are often, but not necessarily, coupled at time scales of weeks or longer, and uncertainty remains about the sensitivity of different water-use strategies to these variables. We quantified the effects of both θ and D on canopy conductance (Gc) among widely distributed canopy-dominant species along the isohydric–anisohydric spectrum growing along a hydroclimatological gradient. Tree-level Gc was estimated using hourly sap flow observations from three sites in the eastern United States: a mesic forest in western North Carolina and two xeric forests in southern Indiana and Missouri. Each site experienced at least 1 year of substantial drought conditions. Our results suggest that sensitivity of Gc to θ varies across sites and species, with Gc sensitivity being greater in dry than in wet sites, and greater for isohydric compared with anisohydric species. However, once θ limitations are accounted for, sensitivity of Gc to D remains relatively constant across sites and species. While D limitations to Gc were similar across sites and species, ranging from 16 to 34% reductions, θ limitations to Gc ranged from 0 to 40%. The similarity in species sensitivity to D is encouraging from a modeling perspective, though it implies that substantial reduction to Gc will be experienced by all species in a future characterized by higher D. 

Many currently forested areas in the southern Appalachians were harvested in the early 1900s and cleared for agriculture or pasture, but have since been abandoned and reverted to forest (old-field succession). Land-use and land-cover changes such as these may have altered the timing and quantity of water yield (Q). We examined 80 years of streamflow and vegetation data in an experimental watershed that underwent forest–grass–forest conversion (i.e., old-field succession treatment). We hypothesized that changes in forest species composition and water use would largely explain long-term changes in Q. Aboveground biomass was comparable among watersheds before the treatment (208.3 Mg ha⁻¹), and again after 45 years of forest regeneration (217.9 Mg ha⁻¹). However, management practices in the treatment watershed altered resulting species composition compared to the reference watershed. Evapotranspiration (ET) and Q in the treatment watershed recovered to pretreatment levels after 9 years of abandonment, then Q became less (averaging 5.4 % less) and ET more (averaging 4.5 % more) than expected after the 10th year up to the present day. We demonstrate that the decline in Q and corresponding increase in ET could be explained by the shift in major forest species from predominantly Quercus and Carya before treatment to predominantly Liriodendron and Acer through old-field succession. The annual change in Q can be attributed to changes in seasonal Q. The greatest management effect on monthly Q occurred during the wettest (i.e., above median Q) growing-season months, when Q was significantly lower than expected. In the dormant season, monthly Q was higher than expected during the wettest months.