scholarly journals Sap flow through petioles and petioles reveals leaf-level responses to light and vapor pressure deficit in the tropical tree Tabebuia rosea (Bignoniaceae)

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Roddy ◽  
Klaus Winter ◽  
Todd Dawson

Continuous measurements of sap flow have been widely used to measure water flux through tree stems and branches. However, these measurements lack the resolution necessary for determining fine-scale, leaf-level responses to environmental variables. We used the heat ratio method to measure sap flow rates through leaf petioles and leaflet petiolules of saplings of the tropical tree Tabebuia rosea (Bignoniaceae) to determine how leaf and leaflet sap flow responds to variation in light and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). We found that in the morning sap flow rates to east-facing leaves increased 26 minutes before adjacent west-facing leaves. Although leaves had higher integrated sap flow than their largest leaflet, this difference was not proportional to the difference in leaf area, which could be due to lower conduit area in petiolules than in petioles. In contrast to measurements on main stems, integrated daily sap flow was negatively correlated with daily mean VPD. Furthermore, leaves exhibited previously undescribed patterns of hysteresis in the sap flow-VPD and sap flow-PAR relationships. When hysteresis in the sap flow-PAR relationship was clockwise, the sap flow-VPD relationship was also clockwise; however, when hysteresis in the sap flow-PAR relationship was counterclockwise, the sap flow-VPD relationship displayed an intersected loop. These pattern differences highlight how substantially leaf-level processes may vary within a canopy and how leaf-level processes may not scale predictably to the stem level.

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Roddy ◽  
Klaus Winter ◽  
Todd Dawson

Continuous measurements of sap flow have been widely used to estimate water flux through tree stems and branches. However, stem-level measurements lack the resolution necessary for accurately determining fine-scale, leaf-level responses to environmental variables. We used the heat ratio method to measure sap flow rates through leaf petioles and leaflet petiolules of saplings of the tropical tree Tabebuia rosea (Bignoniaceae) to determine how leaf and leaflet sap flow responds to variation in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). In the morning sap flow rates to east-facing leaves increased 26 minutes before adjacent west-facing leaves. Integrated daily sap flow was negatively correlated with daily mean VPD, and sap flow declined when VPD exceeded 2.2 kPa whether this occurred in the morning or afternoon, consistent with a feedforward response to humidity. Indeed, changes in VPD lagged behind changes in sap flow. In contrast, changes in PAR often preceded changes in sap flow. The sap flow-VPD relationship was characterized by two distinct patterns of hysteresis, while the sap flow-PAR relationship displayed three types of hysteresis, and the type of VPD hysteresis that occurred on a given day was correlated with the type of PAR hysteresis occurring on that day. These patterns highlight how multiple environmental drivers interact to control leaf sap flux and that the development of sap flow sensors capable of measuring individual leaves could drastically influence the amount of data recordable for these structures.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Roddy ◽  
Klaus Winter ◽  
Todd Dawson

Continuous measurements of sap flow have been widely used to estimate water flux through tree stems and branches. However, stem-level measurements lack the resolution necessary for accurately determining fine-scale, leaf-level responses to environmental variables. We used the heat ratio method to measure sap flow rates through leaf petioles and leaflet petiolules of saplings of the tropical tree Tabebuia rosea (Bignoniaceae) to determine how leaf and leaflet sap flow responds to variation in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). In the morning sap flow rates to east-facing leaves increased 26 minutes before adjacent west-facing leaves. Integrated daily sap flow was negatively correlated with daily mean VPD, and sap flow declined when VPD exceeded 2.2 kPa whether this occurred in the morning or afternoon, consistent with a feedforward response to humidity. Indeed, changes in VPD lagged behind changes in sap flow. In contrast, changes in PAR often preceded changes in sap flow. The sap flow-VPD relationship was characterized by two distinct patterns of hysteresis, while the sap flow-PAR relationship displayed three types of hysteresis, and the type of VPD hysteresis that occurred on a given day was correlated with the type of PAR hysteresis occurring on that day. These patterns highlight how multiple environmental drivers interact to control leaf sap flux and that the development of sap flow sensors capable of measuring individual leaves could drastically influence the amount of data recordable for these structures.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rémy Schoppach ◽  
Daniella Ekwalla Hangue ◽  
Julian Klaus

<p>Evapotranspiration (ET) is a major water flux of ecosystems and represents globally 60-80% of the incoming precipitation lost by terrestrial environments. In forested lands, tree transpiration (TR) is the dominant component of ET, yet remains challenging to measure. Over the years, sap-flow sensors have become the standard tool for quantifying tree TR and different methods based on thermal approaches have been developed. Heat ratio methods (HRM) are considered as the most reliable and accurate method to quantify absolute flows. Leading commercial brands ensure an accurate measurement of positive flows up to 100 cm hr<sup>-1</sup> but different studies have highlighted a saturation effect at high flows with threshold for accuracy remaining elusive[RS1] . Due to climate change, the occurrence, the severity and the duration of extreme events like heat waves and dry periods are expected to increase in future, so the potential for high TR rate periods will also increase. Therefore, it is crucial to determine the species-specific environmental conditions allowing a reliable measurement of TR in order to improve or understanding of eco-hydrological and physiological processes during high potential TR periods that can be crucial for vegetation survival. In this study, we tested the accuracy of HRM sap-flow sensors for beech (Fagus sylvatica) and oak (Quercus robur) tree species under extreme vapor pressure deficit (VPD) conditions in order to determine threshold for reliable measurements. In greenhouse conditions, we collected a complete and dense series of TR response to VPD between 0.7 to 8.3 kPa for potted beech and oak trees using three different methods: infrared gas analyser, gravimetric method, and HRM sap-flow sensors. Responses shown a linear trend at the low-canopy leaf level (41.5 and 45.1 mg H<sub>2</sub>O m<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup> kPa<sup>-1</sup> respectively for beech and oak) but a bi-linear conformation at the whole plant level (1<sup>st</sup> slope = 12.04 ± 0.7 mg H<sub>2</sub>O m<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup> kPa<sup>-1</sup> and break-point at 3.9 ± 0.07 kPa for beech trees). Sap-flow sensors using the HRM method displayed a clear inability to reliably measure flows under high VPD conditions. Thresholds of 2.25 ± 0.04 and 2.87 ± 0.14 kPa were identified as the maximum limit of method reliability for beech and oak respectively. In highly demanding environments, we suggest a bi-linear extrapolation beyond VPD threshold for better quantifying tree TR. Further experiments aiming at characterizing TR responses to VPD for a broad range of species and in different water deficit conditions are certainly needed for better understanding tree transpiration at the whole stand level.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 4729
Author(s):  
Davide Amato ◽  
Giuseppe Montanaro ◽  
Filippo Vurro ◽  
Nicola Coppedé ◽  
Nunzio Briglia ◽  
...  

Research on organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) based sensors to monitor in vivo plant traits such as xylem sap concentration is attracting attention for their potential application in precision agriculture. Fabrication and electronic aspects of OECT have been the subject of extensive research while its characterization within the plant water relation context deserves further efforts. This study tested the hypothesis that the response (R) of an OECT (bioristor) implanted in the trunk of olive trees is inversely proportional to the water flux density flowing through the plant (Jw). This study also examined the influence on R of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) as coupled/uncoupled with light. R was hourly recorded in potted olive trees for a 10-day period concomitantly with Jw (weight loss method). A subgroup of trees was bagged in order to reduce VPD and in turn Jw, and other trees were located in a walk-in chamber where VPD and light were independently managed. R was tightly sensitive to diurnal oscillation of Jw and at negligible values of Jw (late afternoon and night) R increased. The bioristor was not sensitive to the VPD per se unless a light source was coupled to trigger Jw. This study preliminarily examined the suitability of bioristor to estimate the mean daily nutrients accumulation rate (Ca, K) in leaves comparing chemical and sensor-based procedures showing a good agreement between them opening new perspective towards the application of OECT sensor in precision agricultural cropping systems.


Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magh ◽  
Bonn ◽  
Grote ◽  
Burzlaff ◽  
Pfautsch ◽  
...  

Research Highlights: Investigations of evapotranspiration in a mature mixed beech-fir forest stand do not indicate higher resilience towards intensified drying-wetting cycles as compared with pure beech stands. Background and Objectives: Forest management seeks to implement adaptive measures, for example, the introduction of more drought resistant species into prevailing monospecific stands to minimize forest mortality and monetary losses. In Central Europe this includes the introduction of native silver fir (Abies alba) into monospecific beech (Fagus sylvatica) stands. In order to determine, if the introduction of fir would improve the resilience against drier conditions, this study investigates water relations of a mature pure beech and a mature mixed beech-fir stand under natural as well as reduced water availability. Materials and Methods: Sap flow rates and densities were measured in two consecutive years using the heat ratio method and scaled using stand inventory data and modeling. Results: Transpiration rates estimated from sap flow were significantly higher for beech trees as compared with silver fir which was attributed to the more anisohydric water-use strategy of the beech trees. We estimate that stand evapotranspiration was slightly higher for mixed stands due to higher interception losses from the mixed stand during times of above average water supply. When precipitation was restricted, beech was not able to support its transpiration demands, and therefore there was reduced sap flow rates in the mixed, as well as in the pure stand, whereas transpiration of fir was largely unaffected, likely due to its more isohydric behavior toward water use and access to moister soil layers. Thus, we found the rates of evapotranspiration in the mixed beech-fir stand to be smaller during times with no precipitation as compared with the pure beech stand, which was accountable to the severely reduced transpiration of beech in the mixed stand. Conclusions: We conclude that smaller evapotranspiration rates in the mixed beech-fir stand might not be the result of increased water use efficiency but rather caused by restricted hydraulic conductivity of the root system of beech, making mixed beech-fir stands at this site less resilient towards drought.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristihian Jarri Bayona-Rodríguez ◽  
Hernán Mauricio Romero

Sap flow sensors were installed on the leaf petioles of 5-year-old oil palms (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) to measure the xylem water flow for 12 days based on the heat ratio method (HRM). It was found that young leaves have higher sap flow rates, reaching values of over 250 cm3 h-1, and that sap flow fluctuations are directly related to weather conditions, particularly the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) component. It was observed that the sap flow rates remained constant and very close to 0 cm3 h-1 between 18:00 and 6:00 h and that the upward and downward movement of sap was faster during the day, with peak levels between 9:00 and 16:00 h. Under the evaluation conditions, the oil palm crop transpiration was estimated to be 1.15 mm H2O/ha-day. The HRM is a highly repeatable method and an useful tool to quantify the total oil palm transpiration. It could potentially be applied to irrigation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgane Merlin ◽  
Simon M. Landhäusser ◽  
Sean K. Carey

<p>Soil water availability is a key factor in determining tree’s transpiration and sap flow rates, and varies with topography and soil depth. Reclaimed landscapes provide us with the unique opportunity to address the effects of those two variables independently on trees’ water uptake, and their relationship to climatic variation. We explored the relationship between individual tree water uptake and atmospheric variables for trembling aspen (<em>Populus tremuloides</em>) and white spruce (<em>Picea glauca</em>), and assessed how this relationship changed across different hillslope positions and rooting space. Growing season (May to September) sap and transpiration fluxes were monitored using heat ratio method sap flow sensors on trembling aspen and white spruce trees in 2014 and 2015 on a reclaimed hillslope in northern Alberta, Canada, with two different soil cover depths providing different rooting spaces. Both species’ sap flow rates and transpiration rates were strongly correlated to climatic variables such as vapor pressure deficit, precipitation events, air temperature, with slight differences in the relationship between topographical positions and soil depths. Site-level atmospheric water fluxes were obtained through eddy covariance measurements at the top of the hillslope. This allowed for a direct linkage of individual tree water uptake measurement to water flux measurements taken at the landscape-level. Understanding how distinct rooting and physiological characteristics of tree species and their growing conditions can be extrapolated to different scales, is crucial to our understanding of both atmospheric and edaphic water fluxes.</p>


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