Abstract
Short interval sampling of precipitation inputs and stem flow-throughfall (SF-TF) outputs was conducted in a subalpine balsam fir forest to analyze the controls on canopy ion flux. A canopy hydrology model was used to separate the effects of abiotic and biotic processes. The time lag between precipitation inputs and SF-TF outputs caused by the storage of water in the canopy required that time-course patterns of SF-TF flux be examined graphically. The resulting trajectory analyses disclosed patterns from which we generalized about canopy processing of precipitation inputs. Changes in the ion concentration gradient across canopy tissue surfaces appeared to be an important factor in regulating the rate of flux of ions between canopy tissues and SF-TF. These changes were in turn determined by changes in such factors as apoplast ion concentrations and the residence time of water in the canopy. These generalizations permit qualitative predictions of SF-TF flux in other canopies over time based on only rudimentary knowledge of canopy structure and function.
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Olson, R.K., Reiners, W.A. & Lovett, G.M. Trajectory analysis of forest canopy effects on chemical flux in throughfall. Biogeochemistry 1, 361–373 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02187378
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02187378