Characteristics of water use in Fagus crenata among 3 sites throughout Japan

Japanese beech is widely distributed throughout Japan, and investigating adaptation of Japanese beech to the variety of atmospheric and soil water conditions is important to understand gas exchange of forest ecosystems under climate exchange. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to clarify geographical variation in control transpiration of Japanese beech trees under various climate conditions. Toward this goal, canopy stomatal conductance at tree level and hydraulic conductivity of the trees were evaluated in 3 beech stands. Stomata of beech trees with high hydraulic conductivity have high gas exchange ability, and its stomata respond to D sensitively to avoid loss more water and cavitations at high D. On the other hand, beech trees in SH have smaller hydraulic conductivity with low sensitivity to D to keep stomata opened under high D condition. The relationship between transpiration characteristics and morphological differences among sites will be discussed.