Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Contrasting strategies of hydraulic control in two codominant temperate tree species

Journal Article · · Ecohydrology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1815· OSTI ID:1418515
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [3];  [3];  [5];  [6]
  1. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States). Dept of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering; DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI)
  2. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences; Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States). Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
  3. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States). Dept of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering
  4. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences
  5. Univ. of Michigan, Pellston, MI (United States). Biological Station
  6. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States). Dept of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology
Biophysical controls on plant water status exist at the leaf, stem, and root levels. Therefore, we pose that hydraulic strategy is a combination of traits governing water use at each of these three levels. Here, we studied sap flux, stem water storage, stomatal conductance, photosynthesis, and growth of red oaks (Quercus rubra) and red maples (Acer rubrum). These species differ in stomatal hydraulic strategy and xylem architecture and may root at different depths. Stable isotope analysis of xylem water was used to identify root water uptake depth. Oaks were shown to access a deeper water source than maples. During non-limiting soil moisture conditions, transpiration was greater in maples than in oaks. However, during a soil dry down, transpiration and stem water storage decreased by more than 80% and 28% in maples but only by 31% and 1% in oaks. We suggest that the preferential use of deep water by red oaks allows the species to continue transpiration and growth during soil water limitations. In this case, deeper roots may provide a buffer against drought-induced mortality. Using 14 years of growth data, we show that maple growth correlates with mean annual soil moisture at 30 cm but oak growth does not. The observed responses of oak and maple to drought were not able to be explained by leaf and xylem physiology alone. Finally, we employed the Finite-difference Ecosystem-scale Tree Crown Hydrodynamics model version 2 plant hydrodynamics model to demonstrate the influence of root, stem, and leaf controls on tree-level transpiration. We conclude that all three levels of hydraulic traits are required to define hydraulic strategy.
Research Organization:
Rutgers Univ., Newark, NJ (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation; USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0007041
OSTI ID:
1418515
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1401886
Journal Information:
Ecohydrology, Journal Name: Ecohydrology Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 10; ISSN 1936-0584
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (101)

AmeriFlux US-UMB Univ. of Mich. Biological Station dataset January 1999
The hysteretic evapotranspiration-Vapor pressure deficit relation: ET-VPD hysteresis journal February 2014
Species differences in the seasonality of evergreen tree transpiration in a Mediterranean climate: Analysis of multiyear, half-hourly sap flow observations journal March 2014
Characterizing the diurnal patterns of errors in the prediction of evapotranspiration by several land-surface models: An NACP analysis: Error patterns in modeled transpiration journal July 2014
Species‐specific transpiration responses to intermediate disturbance in a northern hardwood forest journal December 2014
Optimal plant water-use strategies under stochastic rainfall journal July 2014
Benchmarking historical CMIP5 plant functional types across the Upper Midwest and Northeastern United States journal February 2016
Tree level hydrodynamic approach for resolving aboveground water storage and stomatal conductance and modeling the effects of tree hydraulic strategy: Stomatal Conductance Parameterization journal July 2016
Quantifying structural and physiological controls on variation in canopy transpiration among planted pine and hardwood species in the southern Appalachians journal July 2010
Vegetation induced changes in the stable isotope composition of near surface humidity: VEGETATION INDUCED CHANGES IN HUMIDITY journal August 2013
An allometry-based model of the survival strategies of hydraulic failure and carbon starvation: Survival Strategies of Hydraulic Failure and Carbon Starvation journal July 2015
Transpiration in Quercus suber trees under shallow water table conditions: the role of soil and groundwater journal November 2013
The nocturnal water cycle in an open-canopy forest: NOCTURNAL FOREST WATER journal September 2013
Demonstration of high-precision continuous measurements of water vapor isotopologues in laboratory and remote field deployments using wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy (WS-CRDS) technology journal August 2009
Spectral analysis software improves confidence in plant and soil water stable isotope analyses performed by isotope ratio infrared spectroscopy (IRIS): Plant and soil water stable isotope analyses performed by IRIS journal July 2011
Measurements of water vapor isotope ratios with wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy technology: new insights and important caveats for deuterium excess measurements in tropical areas in comparison with isotope-ratio mass spectrometry: Measuring tropical water vapor isotope ratios using WS-CRDS journal November 2011
Terrestrial Ecosystems in a Changing World book January 2007
Water Relations in the Mycorrhizosphere book January 2009
Hydraulic lift and water use by plants: implications for water balance, performance and plant-plant interactions journal October 1993
A global analysis of root distributions for terrestrial biomes journal November 1996
Limited uptake of summer precipitation by bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum Nutt) and Gambel's oak (Quereus gambelii Nutt) journal April 1995
Maximum rooting depth of vegetation types at the global scale journal December 1996
The blind men and the elephant: the impact of context and scale in evaluating conflicts between plant hydraulic safety and efficiency journal July 2010
The role of isohydric and anisohydric species in determining ecosystem-scale response to severe drought journal July 2015
Transpiration in response to variation in microclimate and soil moisture in southeastern deciduous forests journal May 2001
Partitioning of soil water among canopy trees in a seasonally dry tropical forest journal January 1999
Contrasting whole-tree water use, hydraulics, and growth in a co-dominant diffuse-porous vs. ring-porous species pair journal December 2014
Reduced Winter Snowpack and Greater Soil Frost Reduce Live Root Biomass and Stimulate Radial Growth and Stem Respiration of Red Maple (Acer rubrum) Trees in a Mixed-Hardwood Forest journal October 2015
Response of Quercus pyrenaica (melojo oak) to soil water deficit: a case study in Spain journal May 2008
Seasonal variation of water uptake of a Quercus suber tree in Central Portugal journal September 2007
A one-dimensional model of water flow in soil-plant systems based on plant architecture journal November 2010
New guidelines for reporting stable hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen isotope-ratio data journal September 1996
Tracing of water movement in the unsaturated zone using stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen journal July 1988
Isotopic Exchange in Soil Water book January 1998
The use of stable isotopes of water in characterising the source of water in vegetation journal December 1991
What limits evaporation from Mediterranean oak woodlands – The supply of moisture in the soil, physiological control by plants or the demand by the atmosphere? journal October 2007
Estimating components of forest evapotranspiration: A footprint approach for scaling sap flux measurements journal October 2008
Canopy-structure effects on surface roughness parameters: Observations in a Great Lakes mixed-deciduous forest journal August 2013
Temporal dynamics of soil moisture in a northern temperate mixed successional forest after a prescribed intermediate disturbance journal October 2013
Inferring the contribution of advection to total ecosystem scalar fluxes over a tall forest in complex terrain journal February 2014
Biophysical limits to responses of water flux to vapor pressure deficit in seven tree species with contrasting land use regimes journal January 2015
Wood net primary production resilience in an unmanaged forest transitioning from early to middle succession journal June 2010
The imprint of plants on ecosystem functioning: A data-driven approach journal December 2015
Trait-based representation of hydrological functional properties of plants in weather and ecosystem models journal February 2017
A stable isotope study of soil water: evidence for mixing and preferential flow paths journal March 2004
Hydraulic lift: a potentially important ecosystem process journal June 1998
Stable isotope composition of waters in the Great Basin, United States 1. Air-mass trajectories journal January 2002
Finite element tree crown hydrodynamics model (FETCH) using porous media flow within branching elements: A new representation of tree hydrodynamics: FETCH MODEL-A REPRESENTATION OF TREE HYDRODYNAMICS journal November 2005
Groundwater uptake by woody vegetation in a semiarid oak savanna journal October 2010
Disturbance and the resilience of coupled carbon and nitrogen cycling in a north temperate forest journal January 2011
Use of Precipitation and Groundwater Isotopes to Interpret Regional Hydrology on a Tropical Volcanic Island: Kilauea Volcano Area, Hawaii journal December 1996
Global convergence in the vulnerability of forests to drought journal November 2012
Ecohydrologic separation of water between trees and streams in a Mediterranean climate journal December 2009
Limitation of plant water use by rhizosphere and xylem conductance: results from a model journal April 1998
Vulnerability of xylem to embolism in relation to plant hydraulic resistance in Quercus pubescens and Quercus ilex co-occurring in a Mediterranean coppice stand in central Italy journal July 1998
Une nouvelle méthode pour la mesure du flux de sève brute dans le tronc des arbres journal January 1985
Vulnerability to air embolism of three European oak species (Quercus petraea (Matt) Liebl, Q pubescens Willd, Q robur L) journal January 1992
Predicting plant vulnerability to drought in biodiverse regions using functional traits journal April 2015
Growth and physiological responses of isohydric and anisohydric poplars to drought journal May 2015
Determining water use by trees and forests from isotopic, energy balance and transpiration analyses: the roles of tree size and hydraulic lift journal January 1996
Measuring stem water content in four deciduous hardwoods with a time-domain reflectometer journal October 1996
A review of whole-plant water use studies in tree journal August 1998
Potential errors in measurement of nonuniform sap flow using heat dissipation probes journal August 1999
Environmental controls on sap flow in a northern hardwood forest journal January 2005
Evaluation of transpiration in a Douglas-fir stand by means of sap flow measurements journal December 1987
Adaptations and responses to drought in Quercus species of North America journal December 1990
Above- and belowground controls on water use by trees of different wood types in an eastern US deciduous forest journal March 2013
Stem water storage in five coexisting temperate broad-leaved tree species: significance, temporal dynamics and dependence on tree functional traits journal August 2013
Integrating plant hydraulics and gas exchange along the drought-response trait spectrum journal October 2014
Reliance on shallow soil water in a mixed-hardwood forest in central Pennsylvania journal November 2015
TRY - a global database of plant traits: TRY - A GLOBAL DATABASE OF PLANT TRAITS journal June 2011
Water uptake by plants: perspectives from stable isotope composition journal December 1992
Functional coordination between leaf gas exchange and vulnerability to xylem cavitation in temperate forest trees journal April 2006
Hydraulic architecture of two species differing in wood density: opposing strategies in co-occurring tropical pioneer trees: Hydraulic architecture of two tropical pioneer species journal October 2011
Mechanisms of plant survival and mortality during drought: why do some plants survive while others succumb to drought? journal June 2008
Diverse functional responses to drought in a Mediterranean-type shrubland in South Africa journal May 2012
Stable isotopes in precipitation journal November 1964
Hydraulic limits on maximum plant transpiration and the emergence of the safety-efficiency trade-off journal January 2013
A new look at water transport regulation in plants journal July 2014
Weak tradeoff between xylem safety and xylem-specific hydraulic efficiency across the world's woody plant species journal September 2015
Diversity in plant hydraulic traits explains seasonal and inter-annual variations of vegetation dynamics in seasonally dry tropical forests journal May 2016
Dynamics of leaf water relations components in co-occurring iso- and anisohydric conifer species: Dynamics of leaf water relations components journal April 2014
Stem and leaf hydraulic properties are finely coordinated in three tropical rain forest tree species: Hydraulic coordination in rain forest trees journal July 2015
Drought limitations to leaf-level gas exchange: results from a model linking stomatal optimization and cohesion-tension theory: Drought limitations to gas exchange journal January 2016
Standard for Reporting Concentrations of Deuterium and Oxygen-18 in Natural Waters journal June 1961
Seasonal bias in the formation and stable isotopic composition of pedogenic carbonate in modern soils from central New Mexico, USA journal February 2009
Toward dynamic global vegetation models for simulating vegetation–climate interactions and feedbacks: recent developments, limitations, and future challenges journal December 2010
Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotopes in the Hydrologic Cycle journal May 1996
From plant functional types to plant functional traits: A new paradigm in modelling global vegetation dynamics journal May 2015
Estimation of Soil Water Properties journal January 1982
AmeriFlux US-UMB Univ. of Mich. Biological Station dataset January 1999
Sustained carbon uptake and storage following moderate disturbance in a Great Lakes forest journal July 2013
Observations of stem water storage in trees of opposing hydraulic strategies journal September 2015
A Closed-form Equation for Predicting the Hydraulic Conductivity of Unsaturated Soils1 journal January 1980
Radial Growth of Forest Trees in the Georgia Piedmont journal July 1952
Xylem Embolism in Ring-Porous, Diffuse-Porous, and Coniferous Trees of Northern Utah and Interior Alaska journal September 1994
Vulnerability to xylem cavitation and the distribution of Sonoran Desert vegetation journal September 2000
Contrasting Hydraulic Strategies during Dry Soil Conditions in Quercus rubra and Acer rubrum in a Sandy Site in Michigan journal December 2013
Stable isotopes in precipitation journal January 1964
Drought-influenced mortality of tree species with different predawn leaf water dynamics in a decade-long study of a central US forest journal January 2015
Plant functional type mapping for earth system models journal January 2011

Figures / Tables (11)