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Hydraulic limitation on maximum height of Pinus strobus trees in northern Minnesota, USA

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Using comparisons within and between trees, the authors show evidence for hydraulic limitation of tree height in a humid-climate species that is far from the global maximum tree height.

Abstract

We measured water status and two indicators of drought stress as a function of height within the canopies of four tall (32–35 m) eastern white pines (Pinus strobus) at an old-growth site in northern Minnesota, USA. Pre-dawn and midday xylem pressure potential measured on terminal shoots (Ψ shoot), needle length, and foliar carbon isotope discrimination (δ 13C) all showed within-canopy gradients consistent with increasing drought stress with height. Midday Ψ shoot near tree tops was −1.8 MPa, close to values associated with stomatal closure for other temperate conifers. Pre-dawn Ψ shoot decreased with height at >2× the gradient in gravitational potential. δ 13C was strongly correlated with height and weakly correlated with light. Needles were 15–25 % shorter at canopy top compared to the bottom of the canopy. Midday Ψ shoot and needle length showed significant differences in regression model coefficients from tree to tree. The patterns are consistent with hydraulic constraints on height growth of white pine at this site.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Wendy Greenberg and Richard Koch for feedback during the study, Mark Morrissey for use of some of the climbing equipment, Melissa Johnson for access to Lost 40 tree abundance data, and the Bemidji State University Foundation for the purchase of the pressure bomb.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN, 56601, USA

    Mark R. Fulton, John C. Kamman & Matthew P. Coyle

  2. Ecology Project International, 315 S. 4th St. East, Missoula, MT, 59801, USA

    John C. Kamman

Authors
  1. Mark R. Fulton
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  2. John C. Kamman
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  3. Matthew P. Coyle
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mark R. Fulton.

Additional information

Communicated by A. Nardini.

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Fulton, M.R., Kamman, J.C. & Coyle, M.P. Hydraulic limitation on maximum height of Pinus strobus trees in northern Minnesota, USA. Trees 28, 841–848 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-014-0996-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-014-0996-z

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