*
 

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry

*

Use of δ13C as water stress indicator and potential silvicultural decision support tool in Pinus radiata stand management in South Africa

Phillip M Fischer (1-2), Ben du Toit (1)   

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 12, Issue 1, Pages 51-60 (2019)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor2628-011
Published: Jan 24, 2019 - Copyright © 2019 SISEF

Research Articles


In this study, the carbon isotope ratio in tree rings was investigated as a potential measure of water availability and drought stress in Pinus radiata stands in South Africa. An understanding of water availability and its variation in space is fundamental to the implementation of increasingly site-specific management regimes that have the potential to improve stand productivity. Fourteen plantation compartments, situated on water shedding (convex) terrain were identified where reliable weather data existed and a water balance model could be run. This output was used to derive water stress indicators: (a) relative canopy conductance (gc/gcmax) and (b) the ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration (ETa/ETp). The water stress indicators (calculated per year of growth) were related to δ13C values in five tree rings formed in the five years before mid-rotation thinning took place. The water balance model used adequately described soil water availability throughout each growing season and indicated that most severe stand water stress occurred during the summer months of the study period (November to April). The ETa/ETp ratio for this period as well as the relative canopy conductance proved to be good measures of water stress. The 5-year averages of the ETa/ETp ratios (taken over the driest 6 month period) ranged from 0.17 to 0.32 (winter rainfall zone) and 0.44 to 0.70 (all-year rainfall zone). The 5-year averages of ETa/ETp ratios could be accurately predicted (p< 0.0001; adjusted r2 = 0.83) with multiple regression using δ13C values in whole-wood samples (i.e., earlywood and latewood) and the site index of stands (where site index is the average height of the dominant 20% trees in the stand at base age 20). The δ13C values in tree rings across the planted range of P. radiata in South Africa can therefore be used to identify broad categories of water availability for purposes of increasingly site-specific silvicultural management.

  Keywords


Stable Carbon Isotope, Tree Rings, Water Availability, Drought Stress, Site-specific Forest Management, Monterey Pine

Authors’ address

(1)
Phillip M Fischer
Ben du Toit
Department of Forest and Wood Science, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch, 7602 (South Africa)
(2)
Phillip M Fischer
Sappi Forests (Pty) Ltd, P.O. Box 372, Ngodwana, 1209 (South Africa)

Corresponding author

 
Ben du Toit
ben@sun.ac.za

Citation

Fischer PM, du Toit B (2019). Use of δ13C as water stress indicator and potential silvicultural decision support tool in Pinus radiata stand management in South Africa. iForest 12: 51-60. - doi: 10.3832/ifor2628-011

Academic Editor

Tamir Klein

Paper history

Received: Sep 08, 2017
Accepted: Nov 15, 2018

First online: Jan 24, 2019
Publication Date: Feb 28, 2019
Publication Time: 2.33 months

Breakdown by View Type

(Waiting for server response...)

Article Usage

Total Article Views: 14817
(from publication date up to now)

Breakdown by View Type
HTML Page Views: 11342
Abstract Page Views: 1098
PDF Downloads: 1953
Citation/Reference Downloads: 1
XML Downloads: 423

Web Metrics
Days since publication: 1881
Overall contacts: 14817
Avg. contacts per week: 55.14

Article Citations

Article citations are based on data periodically collected from the Clarivate Web of Science web site
(last update: Nov 2020)

Total number of cites (since 2019): 4
Average cites per year: 2.00

 

Publication Metrics

by Dimensions ©

Articles citing this article

List of the papers citing this article based on CrossRef Cited-by.

 
(1)
Acutis M, Donatelli M (2003)
SOILPAR 2.00: software to estimate soil hydrological parameters and functions. European Journal of Agronomy 18: 373-377.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(2)
Ahmad MD, Bastiaanssen WGM, Feddes RA (2005)
A new technique to estimate net groundwater use across large irrigated areas by combining remote sensing and water balance approaches. Hydrogeology Journal 13: 653-664.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(3)
Allen RG, Pereira LS, Raes D, Smith M (1998)
Crop evapotranspiration: guidelines for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and drainage paper no. 56, FAO, Rome, Italy, pp. 300.
Gscholar
(4)
Axelsson E, Axelsson B (1986)
Changes in carbon allocation patterns in spruce and pine trees following irrigation and fertilization. Tree Physiology 2: 189-204.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(5)
Bréda N, Granier A, Barataud F, Monye C (1995)
Soil water dynamics in an oak stand. I. Soil moisture, water potentials and water uptake by roots. Plant and Soil 172: 17-27.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(6)
Chikumbu V (2011)
Growth responses to fertiliser application of thinned mid-rotation Pinus radiata stands across a soil water availability gradient in the Boland area of the Western Cape. MSc Thesis, Dept. of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa, pp. 100.
Gscholar
(7)
Costa E, Silva F, Shvaleva A, Maroco JP, Almeida MH, Chaves MM, Pereira JS (2004)
Responses to water stress in two Eucalyptus globulus clones differing in drought tolerance. Tree Physiology 24: 1165-1172.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(8)
Dittmar C, Pfaffelmoser K, Rötzer T, Elling W (2005)
Quantifying ozone uptake and its effects on the stand level pf common beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in Southern Germany. Environmental Pollution 134: 1-4.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(9)
Dittmar C, Elling W (2007)
Dendroecological investigation of the vitality of common beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in mixed mountain forests of the Northern Alps (South Bavaria). Dendrochronologia 25: 37-56.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(10)
Du Toit B (2006)
Information requirements to fertilize plantations with greater precision in a dry country. In: Proceedings of the Symposium “Precision Forestry in Plantations, Semi-Natural and Natural Forests” (Ackerman PA, Längin DW, Antonides MC eds)., Stellenbosch (South Africa) 5-10 March 2006. Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa, pp. 245-260.
Gscholar
(11)
Du Toit B (2012)
Matching site, species and silvicultural regime to optimise the productivity of commercial softwood species in Southern Africa. In: “South African Forestry Handbook (5th edn)” (Bredenkamp BV, Upfold S eds). Southern African Institute of Forestry, Pretoria, South Africa, pp. 43-49.
Gscholar
(12)
Du Toit B, Malherbe GF, Kunneke A, Seifert T, Wessels CB (2017)
Survival and long term growth results of Eucalypts on semi-arid sites in a Mediterranean climate, Western Cape. Southern Forests 79 (3): 235-249.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(13)
Farquhar GD, O’Leary MH, Berry JA (1982)
On the relationship between carbon isotope discrimination and the intercellular carbon dioxide concentration in leaves. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 9: 121-137.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(14)
Fernandes TJG, Del Campo AD, Herrera R, Molina AJ (2016)
Simultaneous assessment, through sap flow and stable isotopes, of water use efficiency (WUE) in thinned pines shows improvement in growth, tree-climate sensitivity and WUE, but not in WUEi. Forest Ecology and Management 361: 298-308.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(15)
Fischer PM (2011)
δ13C as indicator of soil water availability and drought stress in Pinus radiata stands in South Africa. MSc thesis, Dept. of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa, pp. 108.
Gscholar
(16)
Francey RJ, Farquhar GD (1982)
An explanation for the 13C/12C variations in tree rings. Nature 297: 28-31.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(17)
Granier A, Bréda N (1996)
Modelling canopy conductance and stand transpiration of an oak forest from sap flow measurements. Annals of Forest Science 53: 537-546.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(18)
Granier A, Bréda N, Biron P, Villette S (1999)
A lumped water balance model to evaluate duration and intensiy of drought constraints in forest stands. Ecological Modelling 116: 269-283.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(19)
Granier A, Loustau D, Bréda N (2000)
A generic model of forest canopy conductance dependent on climate, soil water availability and leaf area index. Annals of Forest Science 57: 755-765.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(20)
Klein T, Hemming D, Lin T, Grünzweig JM, Maseyk K, Rotenberg E, Yakir D (2005)
Association between tree ting and needle δ13C and leaf gas exchange in Pinus halapensis under semi-arid conditions. Oecologia 144: 45-54.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(21)
Leavitt SW, Long A (1984)
Sampling strategy for stable carbon isotope analysis of tree rings in pine. Nature 311: 145-147.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(22)
Linder S, Benson ML, Myers BJ, Raison RJ (1987)
Canopy dynamics and growth of Pinus radiata. I. Effects of irrigation and fertilisation during a drought. Canadian Journal of Forestry Research 17: 1157-1165.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(23)
Lipp J, Trimborn P, Fritz P, Moser H, Becker B, Frenzel B (1991)
Stable isotopes in tree ring cellulose and climatic change. Tellus B 43: 322-330.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(24)
Macfarlane C, Warren CR, White DA, Adams MA (1999)
A rapid and simple method for processing wood to crude cellulose for analysis of stable carbon isotopes in tree rings. Tree Physiology 19: 831-835.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(25)
Martín-Benito D, Del Río M, Heinrich I, Helle G, Cañellas I (2010)
Response of climate-growth relationships and water use efficiency to thinning in a Pinus nigra afforestation. Forest Ecology and Management 259 (5): 967-75.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(26)
McCarroll D, Pawellek F (1998)
Stable carbon isotope ratios of latewood cellulose in Pinus sylvestris from northern Finland: variability and signal-strength. The Holocene 8: 675-684.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(27)
NA-SAWC (1990)
Handbook of standard soil testing methods for advisory purposes. Non-Affiliated Soil Analyses Work Committee (NA-SAWC), Soil Science Society of South Africa, Sunnyside, Pretoria, South Africa, pp. 160.
Gscholar
(28)
O’Leary MH (1988)
Carbon isotopes in photosynthesis. Bioscience 38: 328-336.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(29)
Poyatos R, Llorens P, Gallart F (2005)
Transpiration of montane Pinus sylvestris L. and Quercus pubescens Willd. forest stands measured with sap flow sensors in NE Spain. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 9: 493-505.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(30)
Pretzsch H (2009)
Forest dynamics, growth and yield. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany, pp. 664.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(31)
Rötzer T, Dittmar C, Elling W (2004)
A model for site specific estimation of the available soil water content and the evapotranspiration in forest ecosystems. Journal of Environmental Hydrology 11 (7): 1-14.
Gscholar
(32)
Rötzer T, Grote R, Pretzsch H (2005)
Effects of environmental changes on the vitality of forest stands. European Journal of Forest Research 124: 349-362.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(33)
Running SW, Coughlan JC (1988)
A general model of forest ecosystem processes for regional applications. I. Hydrological balance, canopy gas exchange and primary production processes. Ecological Modelling 42: 125-154.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(34)
Smith CW, Johnston MA, Lorentz S (1997)
Assessing the compaction susceptibility of South African forestry soils. I. The effect of soil type, water content and applied pressure on uni-axial compaction. Soil and Tillage Research 41: 53-73.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(35)
Stephenson NL (1998)
Actual evapotranspiration and deficit: biologically meaningful correlates of vegetation distribution across spatial scales. Journal of Biogeography 25: 855-870.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(36)
Walcroft AS, Silvester WB, Whitehead D, Kelliher FM (1997)
Seasonal changes in stable carbon isotope ratios within annual rings in Pinus radiata reflect environmental regulation of growth processes. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 24: 57-68.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(37)
Warren CR, McGrath JF, Adams MA (2001)
Water availability and carbon isotope discrimination in conifers. Oecologia 127: 476-486.
CrossRef | Gscholar
(38)
Zhang JW, Feng Z, Cregg BM, Schumann CM (1996)
Carbon isotopic composition, gas exchange and growth of three populations of ponderosa pine differing in drought tolerance. Tree Physiology 17: 461-466.
CrossRef | Gscholar
 

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. More info