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Upscaling transpiration in diverse forests: Insights from a tropical premontane site

Journal Article · · Ecohydrology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1920· OSTI ID:1467894
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Ecosystem Science and Management; Texas A&M University, Civil Engineering
  2. Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Ecosystem Science and Management; INVISTA S.à r.l., Orange, TX (United States)
  3. Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Ecosystem Science and Management
  4. Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Civil Engineering

Upscaling water use of individual trees to stands using sap flux techniques is a common method for partitioning site water balance, but few such studies have occurred in the tropics. Increasing interests in the role of tropical forests in global cycles have spurred upscaling studies in natural tropical forests, which present challenges from greater tree species and functional diversity, and potential factors that would reduce transpiration, such as frequent cloud cover and wet canopy conditions. In a premontane wet tropical forest in central Costa Rica, sap flow was measured in 15 trees stratified into 5 size classes based on tree diameters. None of the trees belonged to the same species, genus, or even family. Here, we also accounted for potential radial variation in sap flux density. Data were scaled to estimate transpiration within a small 2.2-ha watershed using stand surveys of sapwood area. Stand transpiration averaged only 1.4 ± 0.7 mm day-1 within this forested watershed due to persistent low radiation, evaporative demand, and frequent wet canopy conditions. Our systematic approach used tree size attributes to scale water use to the stand, given difficulties to quantify species differences in such a diverse ecosystem. Contrary to previous evidence on temperate trees, the large trees sampled did not exhibit flow reductions in deeper sapwood, which warrants further study. Finally, these results highlight some unique aspects of measuring transpiration in wet tropical forests that are important to consider for future studies in diverse stands.

Research Organization:
Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Engineering Experiment Station
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23). Climate and Environmental Sciences Division; National Science Foundation (NSF)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0010654
OSTI ID:
1467894
Journal Information:
Ecohydrology, Journal Name: Ecohydrology Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 11; ISSN 1936-0584
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (4)

Drone‐based photogrammetry‐derived crown metrics for predicting tree and oil palm water use journal June 2019
Precipitation mediates sap flux sensitivity to evaporative demand in the neotropics journal September 2019
Plant water use responses along secondary forest succession during the 2015-2016 El Niño drought in Panama journal March 2018
Contribution of understory evaporation in a tropical wet forest during the dry season journal January 2020

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