Partitioning tree water usage into storage and transpiration in a mixed forest

Ziqiang Liu; Qianqian Liu; Zijun Wei; Xinxiao Yu; Guodong Jia; Jiang Jiang

doi:10.1186/s40663-021-00353-5

Forest Ecosystems 2021, 8(4): 72 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-021-00353-5

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Open Access | Issue | Published: 18 November 2021

Partitioning tree water usage into storage and transpiration in a mixed forest

Show Author's Information Hide Author's Information Ziqiang Liu^¹, Qianqian Liu^¹, Zijun Wei^¹, Xinxiao Yu^²(

), Guodong Jia^², Jiang Jiang^¹

Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China

Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Combating of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China

Keywords:

Transpiration, Water migration, Water uptake, Nocturnal sap flow

Cite this article:

Liu Z, Liu Q, Wei Z, et al. Partitioning tree water usage into storage and transpiration in a mixed forest. Forest Ecosystems, 2021, 8(4): 72. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40663-021-00353-5

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Abstract Full text About this article

Abstract

Background

Water migration and use are important processes in trees. However, it is possible to overestimate transpiration by equating the water absorbed through the plant roots to that diffused back to the atmosphere through stomatal transpiration. Therefore, it is necessary to quantify the water transpired and stored in plants.

Method

The δ²H/δ¹⁸O technique and heat ratio method were used to explore the water usage of coniferous and broad-leaved tree species, including the proportions of water used for transpiration and water storage.

Results

Platycladus orientalis and Quercus variabilis had strong plasticity in their water usage from different sources. Platycladus orientalis primarily used groundwater (30.5%) and the 60–100-cm soil layer (21.6%) throughout the experimental period and was sensitive to precipitation, absorbing water from the 0–20-cm layer (26.6%) during the rainy season. Quercus variabilis absorbed water from all sources (15.7%–36.5%) except from the 40–60-cm soil layer during the dry season. In addition, it did not change its water source but increased its groundwater uptake during the rainy season. The annual mean water fluxes of P. orientalis and Q. variabilis were 374.69 and 469.50?mm·year^??1, with 93.49% and 93.91% of the water used for transpiration, respectively. However, nocturnal sap flow in P. orientalis and Q. variabilis was mainly used for water storage in the trunk rather than transpiration, which effectively alleviated drought stress and facilitated the transport of nutrients.

Conclusions

The water stored in both species comprised 6%–7% of the total water fluxes and, therefore, should be considered in water balance models.

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Abstract

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About this article

Partitioning tree water usage into storage and transpiration in a mixed forest

Show Author's information Hide Author's Information Ziqiang Liu^¹, Qianqian Liu^¹, Zijun Wei^¹, Xinxiao Yu^²(

), Guodong Jia^², Jiang Jiang^¹

Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China

Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Combating of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China

Abstract

Background

Method

Results

Conclusions

The water stored in both species comprised 6%–7% of the total water fluxes and, therefore, should be considered in water balance models.

Keywords: Transpiration, Water migration, Water uptake, Nocturnal sap flow

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Acknowledgements

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Publication history

Received: 16 July 2021

Accepted: 20 October 2021

Published: 18 November 2021

Issue date: December 2021

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Acknowledgements

We thank Huan Zhang and Weiwei Lu for their help with fieldwork.

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