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Evidence of hydraulic lift in a young beech and oak mixed forest using 18O soil water labelling

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Abstract

Hydraulic lift (HL) by tree roots in a young, broad-leaved, mixed temperate European forest was investigated during the 2008 growing season by injecting 18O-enriched soil water at a depth of 75–90 cm under drought conditions experimentally imposed in a rain-exclusion system. Based on sap flow, leaf water potential, 2-D root distribution measurements, soil isotope profiles, and xylem water isotope composition, water acquisition and use by two tree species, beech (Fagus sylvatica) and oak (Quercus petraea) was compared. We showed that, unlike oak, beech experienced a marked decrease in sap flow and predawn leaf water potential with increasing soil drought. This behaviour was logical considering the shallower root system in beech than in oak. Six days after 18O-labelling, we observed isotopic enrichment in the shallower soil layers. Since the intermediate soil layers did not display any enrichment, our results clearly pointed to hydraulic lift by tree roots. The superficial enrichment that was observed in the vicinity of oak trunks and the increase in the isotopic signature of xylem sap in the oak trees but not in the beech trees confirmed the predominant role of oak in the hydraulic lift at our site. Even though facilitation for water acquisition among species was not observed here, our results suggest a potential positive contribution of species like oak toward maintaining species diversity in mixed forest ecosystems submitted to severe drought events.

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to Bernt Zeller and Oliver Brendel for intense discussions on isotopes before this experimentation. We are also grateful to Pascal Courtois, Bernard Clerc, Jean-Marie Gioria, Patrick Gross and Sylvia Pardonnet for their technical support in the field. The financial support of this research was provided by the French programme “Ecoger”. Marion Zapater was supported by a Doctoral Fellowship from the French Ministry of Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INRA, UMR 1137 INRA-UHP Forest Ecology and Ecophysiology Unit, 54280, Champenoux, France

    Marion Zapater, Christian Hossann, Nathalie Bréda, Claude Bréchet, Damien Bonal & André Granier

  2. INRA, UMR 1137 INRA-UHP Forest Ecology and Ecophysiology Unit, Technical Platform for Functional Ecology, 54280, Champenoux, France

    Christian Hossann & Claude Bréchet

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  1. Marion Zapater
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  2. Christian Hossann
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  3. Nathalie Bréda
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  5. Damien Bonal
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  6. André Granier
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Correspondence to André Granier.

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Communicated by A. Gessler.

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Zapater, M., Hossann, C., Bréda, N. et al. Evidence of hydraulic lift in a young beech and oak mixed forest using 18O soil water labelling. Trees 25, 885–894 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-011-0563-9

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