Abstract
Nighttime sap flow is a potentially important factor that affects whole-plant water balance and water-use efficiency (WUE). Its functions include predawn disequilibrium between plant and soil water potentials as well as between the increments of oxygen supply and nutrient uptake. However, main factors that drive nighttime sap flow remain unclear, and researches related to the relationship between nighttime sap flow velocity and environmental factors are limited. Accordingly, we investigated the variations in the nighttime sap flow of Populus euphratica in a desert riparian forest of an extremely arid region, Northwest China. Results indicated that P. euphratica sap flow occurred throughout the night during the growing season because of the partial stomata opening. Nighttime sap flow for the P. euphratica forest accounted for 31%–47% of its daily sap flow during the growing season. The high value of nighttime sap flow could be the result of high stomatal conductance and could have significant implications for water budgets. Throughout the whole growing season, nighttime sap flow velocity of P. euphratica was positively correlated with the vapor pressure deficit (VPD), air temperature and soil water content. We found that VPD and soil water content were the main driving factors for nighttime sap flow of P. euphratica.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barbour M M, Buckley T N. 2007. The stomatal response to evaporative demand persists at night in Ricinus communis plants with high nocturnal conductance. Plant, Cell & Environment, 30: 711–721.
Benyon R G. 1999. Nighttime water use in an irrigated Eucalyptus grandis plantation. Tree Physiology, 19: 853–859.
Bruno H P, Rosadoa R S, Oliveira C A, et al. 2012. Diversity in nighttime transpiration behavior of woody species of the Atlantic Rain Forest, Brazil. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 158–159: 13–20.
Burgess S S, Adams M A, Turner N C, et al. 2001. An improved heat pulse method to measure low and reverse rates of sap flow in woody plants. Tree Physiology, 21: 589–598.
Bucci S J, Scholz F G, Goldstein G, et al. 2004. Processes preventing nocturnal equilibration between leaf and soil water potential in tropical savanna woody species. Tree Physiology, 24: 1119–1127.
Caird M A, Richards J H, Donovan L A. 2007a. Nighttime stomatal conductance and transpiration in C3 and C4 plants. Plant Physiology, 143: 4–10.
Caird M A, Richards J H, Hsiao T C. 2007b. Significant transpiration and water loss occurs throughout the night in field-grown tomato. Functional Plant Biology, 34: 172–177.
Cao S K, Feng Q, Si J H, et al. 2012. Variations of foliar stable carbon isotope composition and water use efficiency in populous euphratica for different plots. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 34(1): 155–160. (in Chinese)
Dawson T E, Burgess S S O, Tu K P, et al. 2007. Nighttime transpiration in woody plants from contrasting ecosystems. Tree Physiology, 27: 561–575.
Donovan L A, Grise D J, West J B, et al. 1999. Predawn disequilibrium between plant and soil water potentials in two cold-desert shrubs. Oecologia, 120: 209–217.
Donovan L A, Linton M J, Richards J H. 2001. Predawn plant water potential does not necessarily equilibrate with soil water potential under well-watered conditions. Oecologia, 129: 328–335.
Donovan L A, Richards J H, Linton M J. 2003. Magnitude and mechanisms of disequilibrium between predawn plant and soil water potentials in desert shrubs. Ecology, 84: 463–470.
Daley M J, Philips N G. 2006. Interspecific variation in nighttime transpiration and stomatal conductance in a mixed New England deciduous forest. Tree Physiology, 26: 411–419.
Green S R, McNaughton K G, Clothier B E. 1989. Observations of nighttime water use in kiwifruit vines and apple trees. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 48: 251–261.
Herzog K, Thum R, Kronfub G, et al. 1998. Patterns and mechanisms of transpiration in a large subalpine Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). Ecological Research, 13: 105–116.
José M E, Sigfredo F, Magdalena T, et al. 2013. Responses of leaf night transpiration to drought stress in Vitis vinifera L. Agricultural Water Management, 118: 50–58.
Fisher J B, Baldocchi D D, Misson L, et al. 2007. What the towers don’t see at night: nocturnal sap flow in trees and shrubs at two America Flux sites in California. Tree Physiology, 27: 597–610.
Field T S, Holbrook N M. 2000. Xylem sap flow and stem hydraulics of the vesselless angiosperm Drymis granadensis (Winteraceae) in a Costa Rican elfin forest. Plant, Cell & Environment, 23: 1067–1077.
Kavanagh K L, Pangle R, Schotzko A D. 2007. Nocturnal transpiration causing disequilibrium between soil and stem predawn water potential in mixed conifer forests of Idaho. Tree Physiology, 27: 621–629.
Makiko T, Tomo’omi K, Yasuhiro U, et al. 2008. Spatial variations in xylem sap flux density in evergreen oak trees with radial-porous wood: comparisons with anatomical observations. Trees, 22: 23–30.
Meidner H, Mansfield T A. 1965. Stomatal responses to illumination. Biological Review, 40: 483–509.
Monteith J L. 1965. Evaporation and the environment. Symposia of the Society for Experimental Biology, 19: 205–234.
Musselman R C, Minnick T J. 2000. Nocturnal stomatal conductance and ambient air quality standards for ozone. Atmospheric Environment, 34: 719–733.
Oren R, Sperry J S, Ewers B E, et al. 2001. Sensitivity of mean canopy stomatal conductance to vapor pressure deficit in a flooded Taxodium distichum L. forest: hydraulic and non-hydraulic effects. Oecologia, 126: 21–29.
Phillips N G, Lewis J D, Logan B A, et al. 2010. Inter- and intra-specific variation in nocturnal water transport in Eucalyptus. Tree Physiology, 30: 586–596.
Rawson H M, Clarke J M. 1988. Nocturnal transpiration in wheat. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology, 15: 397–406.
Richie J T. 1974. Atmospheric and soil water influences on plant water balance. Journal of Agricultural Meteorology, 14: 183–198.
Snyder K A, Richards J H, Donovan L A. 2003. Nighttime conductance in C3 and C4 species: do plants lose water at night? Journal of Experimental Botany, 54: 861–865.
Scholz F G, Bucci S J, Goldstein G, et al. 2007. Removal of nutrient limitations by long-term fertilization decreases nighttime water loss in savanna trees. Tree Physiology, 27: 551–559.
Vilagrosa A, Bellot J, Vallejo V R, et al. 2003. Cavitation, stomatal conductance, and leaf dieback in seedlings of two co-occurring Mediterranean shrubs during an intense drought. Journal of Experimental Botany, 54: 2015–2024.
Xiao S C, Xiao H L, Peng X M. 2012. Study of seasonal stem radical growth of Popolus euphratica in the lower reaches of the Heihe River. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 34(3): 706–712. (in Chinese)
Yu T F, Feng Q, Si J H, et al. 2012. Simulating responses of leaf stomatal conductance to environmental factors for Tamarix ramosissma in an extreme arid region of China. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 36(6): 483–490. (in Chinese)
Yu T F, Feng Q, Si J H. et al., 2013. Hydraulic redistribution of soil water by roots of two desert riparian phreatophytes in northwest China’s extremely arid region. Plant and Soil, 372(1–2): 297–308.
Zeppel M J, Lewis J D, Chaszar B, et al. 2012. Nocturnal stomatal conductance responses to rising CO2, temperature and drought. New Phytologist, 193: 929–938.
Zhang X Y, Gong J D, Zhou M X, et al. 2003. A study on the stem sap flow of Populus euphrtaicr and Tamaris spp. by heat pulse technique. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 25(5): 585–590. (in Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Si, J., Feng, Q., Yu, T. et al. Nighttime sap flow and its driving forces for Populus euphratica in a desert riparian forest, Northwest China. J. Arid Land 7, 665–674 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-015-0009-0
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-015-0009-0