Skip to main content

Ecosystem productivity and evapotranspiration are tightly coupled in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda l.) plantations along the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Aguilos, M; Sun, G; Noormets, A; Domec, JC; McNulty, S; Gavazzi, M; Prajapati, P; Minick, KJ; Mitra, B; King, J
Published in: Forests
August 1, 2021

Forest water use efficiency (WUE), the ratio of gross primary productivity (GPP) to evapotranspiration (ET), is an important variable to understand the coupling between water and carbon cycles, and to assess resource use, ecosystem resilience, and commodity production. Here, we determined WUE for managed loblolly pine plantations over the course of a rotation on the coastal plain of North Carolina in the eastern U.S. We found that the forest annual GPP, ET, and WUE increased until age ten, which stabilized thereafter. WUE varied annually (2–44%), being higher at young plantation (YP, 3.12 ± 1.20 g C kg−1 H2O d−1) compared to a mature plantation (MP, 2.92 ± 0.45 g C kg−1 H2O d−1), with no distinct seasonal patterns. Stand age was strongly correlated with ET (R2 = 0.71) and GPP (R2 = 0.64). ET and GPP were tightly coupled (R2 = 0.86). Radiation and air temperature significantly affected GPP and ET (R2 = 0.71 − R2 = 0.82) at a monthly scale, but not WUE. Drought affected WUE (R2 = 0.35) more than ET (R2 = 0.25) or GPP (R2 = 0.07). A drought enhanced GPP in MP (19%) and YP (11%), but reduced ET 7% and 19% in MP and YP, respectively, resulting in a higher WUE (27–32%). Minor seasonal and interannual variation in forest WUE of MP (age > 10) suggested that forest functioning became stable as stands matured. We conclude that carbon and water cycles in loblolly pine plantations are tightly coupled, with different characteristics in different ages and hydrologic regimes. A stable WUE suggests that the pine ecosystem productivity can be readily predicted from ET and vice versa. The tradeoffs between water and carbon cycling should be recognized in forest management to achieve multiple ecosystem services (i.e., water supply and carbon sequestration).

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Forests

DOI

EISSN

1999-4907

Publication Date

August 1, 2021

Volume

12

Issue

8

Related Subject Headings

  • 3103 Ecology
  • 3007 Forestry sciences
  • 0705 Forestry Sciences
  • 0607 Plant Biology
  • 0602 Ecology
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Aguilos, M., Sun, G., Noormets, A., Domec, J. C., McNulty, S., Gavazzi, M., … King, J. (2021). Ecosystem productivity and evapotranspiration are tightly coupled in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda l.) plantations along the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S. Forests, 12(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/f12081123
Aguilos, M., G. Sun, A. Noormets, J. C. Domec, S. McNulty, M. Gavazzi, P. Prajapati, K. J. Minick, B. Mitra, and J. King. “Ecosystem productivity and evapotranspiration are tightly coupled in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda l.) plantations along the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S.Forests 12, no. 8 (August 1, 2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/f12081123.
Aguilos M, Sun G, Noormets A, Domec JC, McNulty S, Gavazzi M, Prajapati P, Minick KJ, Mitra B, King J. Ecosystem productivity and evapotranspiration are tightly coupled in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda l.) plantations along the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S. Forests. 2021 Aug 1;12(8).

Published In

Forests

DOI

EISSN

1999-4907

Publication Date

August 1, 2021

Volume

12

Issue

8

Related Subject Headings

  • 3103 Ecology
  • 3007 Forestry sciences
  • 0705 Forestry Sciences
  • 0607 Plant Biology
  • 0602 Ecology