Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Relating water use to morphology and environment of Nothofagus from the world’s most southern forests

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Trees Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Key message

This study is the first to quantify tree water use below 50°S. Tree morphology differs markedly among the two investigated species, reflecting adjustment to different environmental cues.

Abstract

A pronounced environmental gradient dictates the dominance of Nothofagus in the foothills on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains in Patagonia, Argentina. Below 50° southern latitude, open forests of Nothofagus antarctica (ñire) dominate the landscape towards the Patagonian steppe where annual rainfall is low. With increasing rates of annual rainfall, corresponding with an increase in elevation, closed forests of N. pumilio (lenga) replace those of ñire. During a short-term study we assessed differences in stand structure and examined environmental, structural and functional traits related to tree water use of ñire and lenga. Sap velocity reached similar maximum rates (95–100 L m−2 sapwood h−1), but whole-tree water use (Q) was significantly lower in ñire (8–13 L day−1 tree−1) compared to lenga (20–90 L day−1 tree−1) resulting in lower stand transpiration (ñire: 0.51 mm day−1; lenga: 3.42 mm day−1) despite similar tree densities. Related to this, wind speed had a particularly significant impact on Q of ñire, but not lenga. The ratio of leaf area to sapwood area (A L/A S) clearly identified ñire to be more structurally proficient at conserving water. While stem diameter (DBH) and crown area (A C) were well related in both species, only lenga exhibited relationships between variables related to tree allometry and physiology (A C/Q, DBH/Q). Our results provide the first ecophysiological characterization of the two Nothofagus species that define important and widespread ecosystems in southern Patagonia (not only below 50°S), and provide useful data to scale water use of both species from tree to stand.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barbour MM, Whitehead D (2003) A demonstration of the theoretical prediction that sap velocity is related to wood density in the conifer Dacrydium cupressinum. New Phytol 158:477–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrera MD, Frangi JL, Richter LL et al (2000) Structural and functional changes in Nothofagus pumilio forests along an altitudinal gradient in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. J Veg Sci 11:179–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bartelink HH (1997) Allometric relationships for biomass and leaf area of beech (Fagus sylvatic L.). Ann Sci For 54:39–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bates BC, Kundzewicz ZW, Wu S et al (2008) Climate Change and Water. Technical paper of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, IPCC Secretariat, Geneva

  • Berry JA, Beerling DJ, Franks PJ (2010) Stomata: key players in the earth system, past and present. Curr Opin Plant Biol 13:233–240

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bleby TM, Colquhoun IJ, Adams MA (2009) Architectural plasticity in young Eucalyptus marginata on restored bauxite mines and adjacent natural forest in south-western Australia. Tree Physiol 29:1033–1045

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bucci SJ, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC et al (2004) Functional convergence in hydraulic architecture and water relations of tropical savanna trees: from leaf to whole plant. Tree Physiol 24:891–899

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bucci SJ, Scholz FG, Campanello PI et al (2012) Hydraulic differences along the water transport system of South American Nothofagus species: do leaves protect the stem functionality? Tree Physiol 32:880–893

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess SSO, Adams MA, Turner NC et al (2001) An improved heat pulse method to measure low and reverse rates of sap flow in woody plants. Tree Physiol 21:589–598

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chave J, Coomes D, Jansen S et al (2009) Towards a worldwide wood economics spectrum. Ecol Lett 12:351–366

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Daniels LD, Veblen TT (2004) Spatiotemproal influences of climate on altitudinal treeline in northern Patagonia. Ecology 85:1284–1296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeLucia EH, Maherali H, Carey EV (2000) Climate-driven changes in biomass allocation in pines. Glob Change Biol 6:587–593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dettmann S, Pérez CA, Thomas FM (2013) Xylem anatomy and calculated hydraulic conductance of four Nothofagus species with contrasting distribution in South-Central Chile. Trees-Struct Func 27:685–696

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donoso C (1996) Ecology of Nothofagus forests of central Chile. In: Veblen TT, Hill R, Read J (eds) The ecology and biogeography of Nothofagus forests. Yale University Press, Connecticut, pp 271–292

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards EJ (2006) Correlated evolution of stem and leaf hydraulic traits in Pereskia (Cactaceae). New Phytol 172:479–489

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Enquist BJ (2002) Universal scaling in tree and vascular plant allometry: toward a general quantitative theory linking plant form and function from cells to ecosystems. Tree Physiol 22:1045–1064

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fajardo A, Piper FI, Cavieres LA (2011) Distinguishing local from global climate influences in the variation of carbon status with altitude in a tree line species. Global Ecol Biogeogr 20:307–318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farquhar GD, Richards RA (1984) Isotopic composition of plant carbon correlates with water-use efficiency of wheat genotypes. Aust J Plant Physiol 11:539–552

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández ME, Gyenge J, Schlichter J (2009) Water flux and canopy conductance of natural versus planted forests in Patagonia, South America. Trees-Struct Funct 23:415–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frangi JL, Barrera MD, Richter LL et al (2005) Nutrient cycling in Nothofagus pumilio forests along an altitudinal gradient in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. For Ecol Manag 217:80–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gargaglione V, Peri PL, Gerardo R (2010) Allometric relations for biomass partitioning of Nothofagus antarctica trees of different crown classes over a site quality gradient. For Ecol Manag 259:1118–1126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gebauer T, Horna V, Leuschner C (2008) Variability in radial sap flux density patterns and sapwood area among seven co-occurring temperate broad-leaved tree species. Tree Physiol 28:1821–1830

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Godagnone RE, Irisarri J (1990) Territorio nacional de la Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur. In: Atlas de suelos de la República Argentina, Volumen II. Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología, Agropecuaria-Centro de investigación de Recursos Naturales, Buenos Aires, pp 607–641

  • Gonzales P, Neilson RP, Lenihan JM et al (2010) Global patterns in the vulnerability of ecosystems to vegetation shifts due to climate change. Global Ecol Biogeogr 19:755–768

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granier A, Anfodillo T, Sabatti M et al (1994) Axial and radial water flow in the trunks of oak trees: a quantitative and qualitative analysis. Tree Physiol 14:1383–1396

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gyenge J, Fernández ME, Sarasola M et al (2011) Stand density and drought interaction on water relations of Nothofagus antarctica: contribution of forest management to climate change adaptability. Trees-Struct Funct 25:1111–1120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hertel D, Therburg A, Villalba R (2008) Above- and below-ground response by Nothofagus pumilio to climatic conditions at the transition from the steppe-forest boundary to the alpine treeline in southern Patagonia, Argentina. Plant Ecol Divers 1:21–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollinger DY, Kelliher FM, Schulze E-D et al (1994) Coupling of tree transpiration to atmospheric turbulence. Nature 371:60–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holtmeier F-K, Broll G (2010) Wind as an ecological agent at treelines in North America, in North America, the Alps, and the European Subarctic. Phys Geogr 31:203–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelliher F, Köstner BMM, Hollinger DY et al (1992) Evaporation, xylem sap flow, and tree transpiration in a New Zealand broad-leaved forest. Agr For Meteorol 62:53–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Köstner B, Falge E, Tenhunen JD (2002) Age-related effects on leaf area/sapwood area relationships, canopy transpiration and carbon gain of Norway spruce stands (Picea abies) in the Fichtelgebierge, Germany. Tree Physiol 22:567–574

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lines ER, Zavala MA, Purves DW et al (2012) Predictable changes in aboveground allometry of trees along gradients of temperature, aridity and competition. Global Ecol Biogrogr 21:1017–1028

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macfarlane C (2011) Classification method of mixed pixels does not affect canopy metrics from digital images of forest overstorey. Agr For Meteorol 151:833–884

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macfarlane C, Hoffmann M, Eamus D et al (2007) Estimation of leaf area index in eucalypt forest using digital photography. Agr For Meteorol 143:176–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mancini MV (2009) Holocene vegetation and climate changes from a pollen record of the forest: steppe ecotone, Southwest of Patagonia (Argentina). Quat Sci Rev 28:1490–1497

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez Pastur G, Cellini JM, Peri PL et al (2000) Timber production of Nothofagus pumilio forests by a shelterwood system in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). For Ecol Manage 134:153–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDowell N, Barnard H, Bond BJ et al (2002) The relationship between tree height and leaf area: sapwood area ratio. Oecologia 132:12–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meinzer FC, Campanello PI, Domec J-C et al (2008) Constraints on physiological function associated with branch architectureand wood density in tropical forest trees. Tree Physiol 28:1609–1617

    Google Scholar 

  • Moreno PI, François JP, Villa-Martínez RP et al (2009) Millenial-scale variability in Southern Hemisphere westerly wind activity over the last 5,000 years in SW Patagonia. Quat Sci Rev 28:25–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novenko EY, Glasko MP, Burova OV (2009) Landscape-and-climate dynamics and land use in Late Holocene forest–steppe ecotone of East European Plain (upper Don River Basin case study). Quat Int 203:113–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paruelo MJ, Beltrán A, Jobbágy E et al (1998) The climate of Patagonia: general patterns and controls on biotic processes. Ecol Aust 8:85–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Peri PL (2004) Bosque nativo. In: Gonzáles L, Rial P (eds) Guía Geográfica Interactiva de Santa Cruz. Editorial Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuria, Buenos Aires, pp 43–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Peri PL, Martínez Pastur G, Lencinas MV (2009) Photosynthetic response to different light intensities and water status of two main Nothofagus species of southern Patagonian forest, Argentina. J For Sci 55:101–111

    Google Scholar 

  • Peri PL, Ladd B, Pepper DA et al (2012) Carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope composition in plant and soil in Southern Patagonia’s native forests. Glob Change Biol 18:311–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfautsch S, Bleby TM, Rennenberg H et al (2010) Sap flow measurements reveal influence of temperature and stand structure on water use of Eucalyptus regnans forests. For Ecol Manag 259:1190–1199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfautsch S, Keitel C, Turnbull TL et al (2011) Diurnal patterns of water use in Eucalyptus victrix indicate pronounced desiccation–rehydration cycles despite unlimited water supply. Tree Physiol 31:1041–1051

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pfautsch S, Macfarlane C, Ebdon N et al (2012) Assessing sapwood depth and wood properties in Eucalyptus and Corymbia spp. Using visual methods and near infrared spectroscopy (NIR). Trees Struct Func 26:963–974

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips N, Oren R, Zimmermann R (1996) Radial patterns of xylem sap flow in non-, diffuse- and ring-porous tree species. Plant Cell Environ 19:983–990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pinheiro J, Bates D, DebRoy S, Sarkar D, R Development Core Team (2013) nlme: Linear and Nonlinear Mixed Effects Models. R package version 3.1-110

  • Poyatos R, Martínez-Vilalta J, Cermák J et al (2007) Plasticity in hydraulic architecture of Scots pine across Eurasia. Oecologia 153:245–259

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider C, Glaser M, Kilian R et al (2003) Weather observations across the southern Andes at 53°S. Phys Geogr 24:97–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schulze E-D, Mooney HA, Sala OE et al (1996) Rooting depth, water availability, and vegetation cover along an aridity gradient in Patagonia. Oecologia 108:503–511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder RL, Shaw RH (1984) Converting humidity expressions with computers and calculators. Leaflet 21372, Cooperative Extension, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California

  • Soto J (2004) Clima. In: Gonzáles L, Rial P (eds) Guía Geográfica Interactiva de Santa Cruz. Editorial Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuria, Buenos Aires, pp 25–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Sperry JS, Meinzer FC, McCulloh KA (2008) Safety and efficiency conflicts in hydraulic architecture: scaling from tissues to trees. Plant Cell Environ 31:632–645

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens GC, Fox JE (1991) The causes of treeline. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 22:177–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tateishi M, Kumagai T, Utsumi Y et al (2008) Spatial variations in xylem sap flux density in evergreen oak trees with radial-porous wood: comparisons with anatomical observations. Trees Struct Funct 22:23–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tateishi M, Kumagai T, Suyama Y et al (2010) Differences in transpiration characteristics in Japanese beech trees, Fagus crenata, in Japan. Tree Physiol 30:748–760

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thornley JHM (1972) A balanced quantitative model for root: shoot ratios in vegetative plants. Ann Bot London 36:431–441

    Google Scholar 

  • Tonello MS, Mancini MV, Seppä H (2009) Quantitative reconstruction of Holocene precipitation changes in southern Patagonia. Quat Res 72:410–420

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veblen TT, Donoso C, Kitzberger T et al (1996) Ecology of southern Chilean and Argentinean Nothofagus forests. In: Veblen TT, Hill R, Read J (eds) The ecology and biogeography of Nothofagus forests. Yale University Press, Connecticut, pp 293–353

    Google Scholar 

  • Veblen TT, Holz A, Paritis J et al (2011) Adapting to global environmental change in Patagonia: what role for disturbance ecology? Aust Ecol 36:891–903

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Villalba R, Lara A, Boninsegna JA, Masiokas M et al (2003) Large-scale temperature changes across the southern Andes: 20th-century variations in the context of the past 400 years. Clim Chang 59:177–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wullschleger SD, King AW (2000) Radial variation in sap velocity as a function of stem diameter and sapwood thickness in yellow-poplar trees. Tree Physiol 20:511–518

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Young KR, León B (2007) Tree-line changes along the Andes: implications of spatial patterns and dynamics. Phil Trans R Soc B 362:263–272

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Liu H (2010) How did climate drying reduce ecosystem carbon storage in the forest–steppe ecotone? A case study in Inner Mongolia, China. J Plant Res 123:543–549

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

SP would like to thank the Institute of Foresters of Australia for awarding the Maxwell Ralph Jacobs Grant to support this research project. Additional financial support was received from the Australian Research Council. All authors thank Hector Bahamonde, Lucas Monelos and Juan Ruíz for their committed help in the field.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Sebastian Pfautsch

    Present address: Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, University of Sydney, Eveleigh, NSW, Australia

    Sebastian Pfautsch, Floris van Ogtrop & Mark A. Adams

  2. INTA EEA-Santa Cruz, UNPA, CONICET, Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina

    Pablo L. Peri

  3. CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Wembley, WA, Australia

    Craig Macfarlane

Authors
  1. Sebastian Pfautsch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pablo L. Peri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Craig Macfarlane
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Floris van Ogtrop
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mark A. Adams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sebastian Pfautsch.

Additional information

Communicated by A. Franco.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pfautsch, S., Peri, P.L., Macfarlane, C. et al. Relating water use to morphology and environment of Nothofagus from the world’s most southern forests. Trees 28, 125–136 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-013-0935-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-013-0935-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation