Abstract
Tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) are ecosystems particularly sensitive to climate change; however, the effects of warmer and drier conditions on TMCF ecohydrology remain poorly understood. To investigate functional responses of TMCF trees to reduced water availability, we conducted a study during the 2014 dry season in the lower altitudinal limit of TMCF in central Veracruz, Mexico. Temporal variations of transpiration, depth of water uptake and tree water sources were examined for three dominant, brevi-deciduous species using micrometeorological, sap flow and soil moisture measurements, in combination with oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope composition of rainfall, tree xylem, soil and stream water. Over the course of the dry season, reductions in crown conductance and transpiration were observed in canopy species (43 and 34%, respectively) and mid-story trees (23 and 8%), as atmospheric demand increased and soil moisture decreased. Canopy species consistently showed more depleted isotope values compared to mid-story trees. However, MixSIAR Bayesian model results showed that the evaporated (enriched) soil water pool was the main source for trees despite reduced soil moisture. Additionally, while increases in tree water uptake from deeper to shallower soil water sources occurred, concomitant decreases in transpiration were observed as the dry season progressed. A larger reduction in deep soil water use was observed for canopy species (from 79 ± 19 to 24 ± 20%) compared to mid-story trees (from 12 ± 17 to 10 ± 12%). The increase in shallower soil water sources may reflect a trade-off between water and nutrient requirements in this forest.
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Acknowledgements
We gratefully thank the Instituto de Ecología, A.C. (INECOL), Xalapa, Veracruz for the permission to conduct this research in the Santuario de Bosque de Niebla. We thank Wenbo Yang and Stefania Mambelli for analyzing the isotope samples and for providing the information about the spectrometers used. Chris Wong is thanked for his guidance with the cryogenic water extractions, Teresa González for constructing the sap flow sensors and help with data collection, Erika Mendoza for her assistance in the field and help in the root sampling and separation, Daniela Arreola for her work in developing the soil moisture calibration curves, and Greg Goldsmith for input and discussions about the study itself. Finally, we appreciate the comments of two anonymous reviewers and the Handling Editor Louis S. Santiago that helped to improve earlier versions of the manuscript. This research was supported by the PAPIIT-UNAM (IB100313 and IB100113) grants, respectively to LE Muñoz-Villers and F Holwerda, and by the INFRA-CONACyT-México (No. 187646) grant to F Holwerda. MS Alvarado-Barrientos was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from DGAPA-UNAM.
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LEMV developed the idea of this research and designed the study. LEMV, FH and DRG collected the field data. LEMV and MSAB performed the samplings and the cryogenic extractions for isotope analysis. MASB performed the Bayesian mixing model analysis. LEMV and FH analyzed and interpreted the results and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. DRG, MSAB and TED edited and commented on the manuscript. LEMV, FH and TED worked on the revisions and final version.
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Muñoz-Villers, L.E., Holwerda, F., Alvarado-Barrientos, M.S. et al. Reduced dry season transpiration is coupled with shallow soil water use in tropical montane forest trees. Oecologia 188, 303–317 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4209-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-018-4209-0