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Water flux of Eucalyptus regnans: defying summer drought and a record heatwave in 2009

  • Physiological ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Making predictions as to how heatwaves will affect forests in the future is a major challenge in ecosystem science, not the least because we have few documented examples of how they respond now. We captured the effects of drought and a record-breaking heatwave on whole-tree water use (Q) in Eucalyptus regnans during the summer drought of 2008/2009 in southeastern Australia. While air temperatures steadily increased, average maximum sap flow (J Smax) declined with progression of the drought prior to the heatwave. In the period approaching the heatwave, Q during daytime (Q d) steadily declined, while nighttime Q (Q n) increased. This pattern was particularly pronounced during nights that followed hot days (>32 °C) where Q n was frequently 20–30 % of Q d. We found clear trends in the relation of Q d to Q n that point to the increasing importance of refilling depleted stem water stores following hot days. On the day the heatwave climaxed (7 February 2009), sap flow (J S) was dramatically low, and declined as weather conditions became increasingly arid (air temperature > 42 °C, vapor pressure deficit >7 kPa). Almost immediately after the heatwave passed J S resumed its common diurnal hysteresis, albeit at slightly slower rates. In the context of prognosticated effects of future climate, our data highlight that depletion and refill of stored water in E. regnans are likely important features for the tree to endure drought- and heat-related climatic extremes. We suggest that elucidating the peculiarity of capacitance and defining its threshold for keystone tree species, such as E. regnans, can add to our understanding of how climatic extremes may affect forests.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Michael Kemp and Chris Weston for practical help in the field and Tina Bell, Mark Tjoelker, Craig Macfarlane and several anonymous reviewers for valuable discussions on the draft manuscript.

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  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, Level 4, Biomedical Building, Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh, NSW, 2015, Australia

    Sebastian Pfautsch & Mark A. Adams

  2. Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre, 340 Albert Street, East Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia

    Mark A. Adams

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  1. Sebastian Pfautsch
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Correspondence to Sebastian Pfautsch.

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Communicated by Todd Dawson.

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Pfautsch, S., Adams, M.A. Water flux of Eucalyptus regnans: defying summer drought and a record heatwave in 2009. Oecologia 172, 317–326 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2494-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-012-2494-6

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