The importance of field-based drought experiments in the setting of a pluvial: transpiration dynamics of two dominant broad-leaved tree species in West Virginia.
Abstract
Forest species composition in the Eastern US is a consequence of historical management and environmental conditions - none of which is highly adaptable to an accelerated change in climatological patterns. Precipitation and air temperature have shown increasing trends in the North Eastern US and Appalachian region, a condition that is expected to intensify (including their variability) in the face of the future climate projections. This uncertainty calls for better understanding of the strategies forest tree species have to cope against extreme climatic conditions, e.g. intense summer droughts. In order to shed light on the possible impacts of summer droughts on the provision of ecosystems services of a typical West Virginia forest, a Drought Forcing Experiment was established in a temperate multispecies centennial forest near Morgantown, WV. During 2017-2019 growing seasons transpiration rates were studied in two forest stands, with high dominance of Acer saccharum and Quercus sp. respectively. Sap flux rates were measured through Heat Pulse Method using of low-cost Do-It-Yourself probes. Daily and hourly stand transpiration rates were then related to soil moisture and vapor pressure deficit calculated from relative humidity and air temperature sensors set under the forest canopy. Higher than average precipitations since 2017 hint on how "new normal" conditions in Appalachia could influence forest water use dynamics. Our results, suggest how an almost constant soil water availability, gives way to the dynamics of atmospheric water demand as the prime factor to limit tree water use.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFM.H51M1661Z
- Keywords:
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- 0476 Plant ecology;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES;
- 1812 Drought;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1813 Eco-hydrology;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1818 Evapotranspiration;
- HYDROLOGY