scholarly journals 20th century changes in carbon isotopes and water-use efficiency: tree-ring-based evaluation of the CLM4.5 and LPX-Bern models

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2641-2673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin M. Keller ◽  
Sebastian Lienert ◽  
Anil Bozbiyik ◽  
Thomas F. Stocker ◽  
Olga V. Churakova (Sidorova) ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stomatal Conductance ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Dynamic Global Vegetation Model ◽  
Isotopic Discrimination ◽  
Tree Ring Data ◽  
Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Use Efficiency

Abstract. Measurements of the stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) on annual tree rings offer new opportunities to evaluate mechanisms of variations in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance under changing CO2 and climate conditions, especially in conjunction with process-based biogeochemical model simulations. The isotopic discrimination is indicative of the ratio between the CO2 partial pressure in the intercellular cavities and the atmosphere (ci∕ca) and of the ratio of assimilation to stomatal conductance, termed intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE). We performed isotope-enabled simulations over the industrial period with the land biosphere module (CLM4.5) of the Community Earth System Model and the Land Surface Processes and Exchanges (LPX-Bern) dynamic global vegetation model. Results for C3 tree species show good agreement with a global compilation of δ13C measurements on leaves, though modeled 13C discrimination by C3 trees is smaller in arid regions than measured. A compilation of 76 tree-ring records, mainly from Europe, boreal Asia, and western North America, suggests on average small 20th century changes in isotopic discrimination and in ci∕ca and an increase in iWUE of about 27 % since 1900. LPX-Bern results match these century-scale reconstructions, supporting the idea that the physiology of stomata has evolved to optimize trade-offs between carbon gain by assimilation and water loss by transpiration. In contrast, CLM4.5 simulates an increase in discrimination and in turn a change in iWUE that is almost twice as large as that revealed by the tree-ring data. Factorial simulations show that these changes are mainly in response to rising atmospheric CO2. The results suggest that the downregulation of ci∕ca and of photosynthesis by nitrogen limitation is possibly too strong in the standard setup of CLM4.5 or that there may be problems associated with the implementation of conductance, assimilation, and related adjustment processes on long-term environmental changes.

scholarly journals 20th-century changes in carbon isotopes and water-use efficiency: Tree-ring based evaluation of the CLM4.5 and LPX-Bern models

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin M. Keller ◽  
Sebastian Lienert ◽  
Anil Bozbiyik ◽  
Thomas F. Stocker ◽  
Olga V. Churakova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stomatal Conductance ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Dynamic Global Vegetation Model ◽  
Isotopic Discrimination ◽  
Tree Ring Data ◽  
Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Use Efficiency

Abstract. Measurements of the stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) on annual tree rings offer new opportunities to evaluate mechanisms of variations in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance under changing CO2 and climate, especially in conjunction with process-based biogeochemical model simulations. The isotopic discrimination is indicative of the ratio between the CO2 partial pressure in the intercellular cavities and the atmosphere (ci / ca) and of the ratio of assimilation to stomatal conductance, termed intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE). We performed isotope-enabled simulations over the industrial period with the land biosphere module (CLM4.5) of the Community Earth System Model and the LPX-Bern dynamic global vegetation model. Results for C3 tree species show good agreement with a global compilation of δ13C measurements on leaves, though modeled 13C discrimination by C3 trees is smaller in arid regions than measured. A compilation of seventy-six tree-ring records, mainly from Europe, boreal Asia, and western North America, suggest on average small 20th-century changes in isotopic discrimination and an increase in iWUE of about 27 % since 1900. LPX-Bern results match these century-scale reconstructions, supporting the idea that the physiology of stomata has evolved to optimize trade-offs between carbon gain by assimilation and water loss. In contrast, CLM4.5 simulates an increase in discrimination and in turn a change in iWUE that is almost twice as large as revealed by the tree-ring data. Factorial simulations show that these changes are mainly in response to rising atmospheric CO2. The results suggest that the down-regulation of ci / ca and of photosynthesis by nitrogen limitation is possibly too strong in the standard setup of CLM4.5 or there may be more fundamental problems associated with the prescribed relationship between conductance and assimilation.

scholarly journals Apparent Tolerance of Low Water Availability in Temperate Asian Bamboos1

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-13
Author(s):  
Melissa C. Smith ◽  
Richard N. Mack
Keyword(s):  
Stomatal Conductance ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
North American ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Irrigation Treatment ◽  
Bamboo Species ◽  
Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Pleioblastus Chino

Abstract Suitable plant water dynamics and the ability to withstand periods of low moisture input facilitate plant establishment in seasonally arid regions. Temperate bamboos are a major constituent of mixed evergreen and deciduous forests throughout temperate East Asia but play only an incidental role in North American forests and are altogether absent in the Pacific Northwest forest. Many bamboo species are classified as mesic or riparian, but none are considered drought tolerant. To assess their ability to withstand low water, we subjected five Asian temperate and one North American temperate bamboo species to three irrigation treatments: 100%, 50%, and 10% replacement of water lost through evapotranspiration. Plants were irrigated every four days over a 31-day period. Plant response to treatments was measured with stomatal conductance, leaf xylem water potentials, and intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE). Pleioblastus distichus and Pseudosasa japonica showed significant reductions in conductance between high and low irrigation treatments. Sasa palmata had significantly lower stomatal conductance in all treatments. Pleioblastus chino displayed significantly higher iWUE in the mid irrigation treatment and Arunindaria gigantea displayed significantly lower iWUE than P. chino and S. palmata in the low irrigation treatment. The Asian bamboo species examined here tolerate low water availability and readily acclimate to different soil moisture conditions. Index words: Temperate bamboos, irrigation response, stomatal conductance, intrinsic water use efficiency. Species used in this study: Giant Cane [Arundinaria gigantea (Walt.) Muhl.]; Pleioblastus chino (Franchet & Savatier) Makino; Pleioblastus distichus (Mitford) Nakai; Pseudosasa japonica (Makino); Sasa palmata (Bean) Nakai.

Site-level soil moisture controls water-use efficiency improvement and climate response in sugar maple: a dual dendroisotopic study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
R. Dietrich ◽  
F.W. Bell ◽  
M. Anand
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Photosynthetic Capacity ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Tree Level ◽  
Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Use Efficiency

Given the large contribution of forests to terrestrial carbon storage, there is a need to resolve the environmental and physiological drivers of tree-level response to rising atmospheric CO2. This study examines how site-level soil moisture influences growth and intrinsic water-use efficiency in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.). We construct tree-ring, δ18O, and Δ13C chronologies for trees across a soil moisture gradient in Ontario, Canada, and employ a structural equation modelling approach to ascertain their climatic, ontogenetic, and environmental drivers. Our results support previous evidence for the presence of strong developmental effects in tree-ring isotopic chronologies — in the range of −4.7‰ for Δ13C and +0.8‰ for δ18O — across the tree life span. Additionally, we show that the physiological response of sugar maple to increasing atmospheric CO2 depends on site-level soil moisture variability, with trees only in relatively wet plots exhibiting temporal increases in intrinsic water-use efficiency. These results suggest that trees in wet and mesic plots have experienced temporal increases in stomatal conductance and photosynthetic capacity, whereas trees in dry plots have experienced decreases in photosynthetic capacity. This study is the first to examine sugar maple physiology using a dendroisotopic approach and broadens our understanding of carbon–water interactions in temperate forests.

Long tree-ring chronologies reveal 20th century increases in water-use efficiency but no enhancement of tree growth at five Iberian pine forests

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 2095-2112 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAIA ANDREU-HAYLES ◽  
OCTAVI PLANELLS ◽  
EMILIA GUTIÉRREZ ◽  
ELENA MUNTAN ◽  
GERHARD HELLE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Use Efficiency

Impact of Climate change on tropical terrestrial water use efficiency

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shweta Kumari ◽  
Mark A Adams
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Eddy Covariance ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
The North ◽  
Tree Ring Data ◽  
Use Efficiency

<p>Variability in precipitation and temperature are key markers of climate change. Extreme events like heat waves, droughts, frosts, wind storms, flooding rains and fires greatly affect ecosystem and terrestrial carbon balance. Tropical regions in particular make strong contributions to the global carbon cycle and are the focus of our research. Our initial analysis confirmed the long-known pattern of large variability in rainfall in the tropical southern hemisphere (i.e. between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Equator) w.r.t. the north, with less variation in temperature between the hemispheres. In the follow-up analysis, we focus on exchanges of carbon and water and water use efficiency, based on 39 eddy covariance flux sites which represent 25 years of data across the tropics. Our working hypothesis is that long-term increases in temperature and significant changes (+/-) in rainfall will be reflected in changes in water use efficiency and cropping period, albeit with greater spatial and temporal variation in the south than in the north. We are also investigating relationships between water use efficiency of tropical regions calculated using eddy covariance flux data, with that calculated using tree ring data. We seek to combine methodologies that can help drive our understanding of the impact of climate change on water use efficiency of tropical regions.</p><p><strong><span>Keywords: </span></strong><span>Eddy covariance, Tropics, Water use efficiency, Carbon cycle, Tree ring data</span></p>

scholarly journals Disentangling the role of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance on rising forest water-use efficiency

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (34) ◽  
pp. 16909-16914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rossella Guerrieri ◽  
Soumaya Belmecheri ◽  
Scott V. Ollinger ◽  
Heidi Asbjornsen ◽  
Katie Jennings ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stomatal Conductance ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Carbon Assimilation ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Atmospheric Measurements ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Carbon And Oxygen Isotope ◽  
Use Efficiency

Multiple lines of evidence suggest that plant water-use efficiency (WUE)—the ratio of carbon assimilation to water loss—has increased in recent decades. Although rising atmospheric CO2 has been proposed as the principal cause, the underlying physiological mechanisms are still being debated, and implications for the global water cycle remain uncertain. Here, we addressed this gap using 30-y tree ring records of carbon and oxygen isotope measurements and basal area increment from 12 species in 8 North American mature temperate forests. Our goal was to separate the contributions of enhanced photosynthesis and reduced stomatal conductance to WUE trends and to assess consistency between multiple commonly used methods for estimating WUE. Our results show that tree ring-derived estimates of increases in WUE are consistent with estimates from atmospheric measurements and predictions based on an optimal balancing of carbon gains and water costs, but are lower than those based on ecosystem-scale flux observations. Although both physiological mechanisms contributed to rising WUE, enhanced photosynthesis was widespread, while reductions in stomatal conductance were modest and restricted to species that experienced moisture limitations. This finding challenges the hypothesis that rising WUE in forests is primarily the result of widespread, CO2-induced reductions in stomatal conductance.

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