Branch transpiration of pine and spruce scaled to tree and canopy using needle biomass distributions

Branch water exchange and total tree water uptake were measured in a mixed Norway spruce and Scots pine stand in central Sweden during the 1995 and 1996 growing seasons. Branch transpiration was scaled to canopy level on the basis of a branch conductance model, using vertical needle-area distributions obtained by destructive sampling. Comparison with total tree water uptake scaled to canopy level showed agreement within 10%, for periods when the canopy was not affected by climatically induced stress. Comparison of scaled fluxes on individual trees showed that measurements of transpiration at branch level provide information on the direct response of transpiration to variations in weather, and furthermore that the time-lag between transpiration and tree water uptake was as much as 3 h. The vertical needle-area distribution of Scots pine was similar to that found by other authors. Needle-area distribution on Norway spruce, which has not been described before, showed that it has its largest needle area at the top of the crown. Specific needle area varied considerably both within trees and between trees. For spruce, mean specific needle area (±SD) varied from 2.4±0.5 mm² mg^–1 at the top of the crown to 7.1±1.9 mm² mg^–1 at the base. Corresponding figures for Scots pine were 3.4±2.0 and 9.1±2.1. Received: 5 March 1999 / Accepted: 17 March 2000     

An unusual Xanthophyllomyces strain from leaves of Eucalyptus globulus in Chile

Xanthophyllomyces sp. was isolated as an epiphytic red yeast from leaves of Eucalyptus glo-bulus in Concepción, Chile. Sexual reproduction was by basidiospores produced from one or rarely two metabasidia arising from a yeast cell without preceding paedogamy. The main carotenoid pigment was astaxanthin. This isolate did not cluster with the X. dendrorhous complex (including Phaffia rhodozyma) in ITS and 26S rDNA-based phylogenetic analyses. The phylloplane may be a further habitat for Xanthophyllomyces, in addition to the well-known spring sap-flows of deciduous trees and the recently-characterised ascostromata of Cyttaria hariotii.     

Influence of saline drip-irrigation on fine root and sap-flow densities of two mature olive varieties

Salt stress is known to influence water use and carbon allocation in trees; however, information about the effects of salt exposure on water uptake and below-ground carbon investment is scant, especially for adult trees. Consequently, this study examined these variables in two mature olive varieties (Olea europaea L.) that differ in their NaCl tolerance: Barnea (tolerant) and Proline (sensitive). Trees were irrigated using water with electrical conductivities of 1.2, 4.2 (both varieties) and 7.5 dS m⁻¹ (Barnea only) for 11 years. At each treatment level, we measured soil properties, root morphology, root biomass:necromass ratio, root xylem sap osmolality, and root sap-flow as well as leaf conductance and morphology. Both varieties exhibited reduced fine root biomass under salinity which was only partially compensated for by higher specific root areas under moderate salinity. Proline variety exhibited a smaller fine root system under moderate salinity than Barnea trees, likely causing the lower sap-flow density in coarse roots of Proline compared to Barnea. The higher biomass:necromass ratio of the Barnea root system under moderate salinity is indicative of lower root turnover rates and thus a more efficient carbon use than in Proline trees. Besides differences in ion exclusion capacities, the ability of the fine root system to resist the deleterious effects of salinity seems to affect the salt resistance of mature olive varieties by influencing water uptake and carbon allocation.     

Restricted lateral gas movement in Pinus strobus branches

Argon gas was incorporated into the sap flowing through xylem of cut branches, or added to the air in a sealed cuvette surrounding a needle-free portion of the branch to investigate lateral movement of gases in Pinus strobus. Microdialysis was used to sample air in the xylem and evacuated vials were used to collect samples of air from cuvettes attached to branches. Argon concentrations of samples of air were measured by GC-MS. When argon was added through the sap, concentrations of argon in the xylem and in air of chambers enclosing needle stumps was greater than that of controls, but argon concentrations of air in cuvettes enclosing a needle-free portion of the branch were not greater than controls. When argon was added to cuvettes enclosing a needle-free portion of the branch, the argon did not enter the xylem and it was not emitted by needle stumps.     

Assessment of transpiration estimates for Picea abies trees during a growing season

Summary The tree-trunk heat balance method with internal heating and sensing of temperature was used to estimate sap-flow rate of spruce trees in a stand in southern Sweden. Sap-flow rate values were scaled up to stand transpiration and utilised for calculation of canopy conductance. The calculated values provided the basis for a function relating canopy conductance to vapour pressure deficit, which was implemented in the Penman-Monteith equation. The stand was mostly growing in non-limiting soil water conditions (irrigation regime applied during dry periods). The whole-season transpiration was assessed by two different approaches and then compared: the sap-flow rate measurements were scaled to stand transpiration and the adapted Penman-Monteith estimate. They gave similar results: the transpiration totals differed by 3% and the coefficient of determination of the linear regression was r² = 0.89. Similarly good was the assessment for a set of rainy days. The Penman-Monteith estimate adapted in this way proved to be reasonably precise and reliable in this forest stand and usable even in wet conditions. The seasonal transpiration of the spruce stand was 392 mm according to the adapted Penman-Monteith equation. Mean daily transpiration was 1.8 mm and daily maximum transpiration was 4.8–4.9 mm as estimated by sap-flow rate measurements.     

On the ecology of fungal consortia of spring sap-flows

Spring sap-flow, i.e. xylem sap exuding through wounds of deciduous trees in spring, quickly becomes colonised by yeasts and filamentous fungi, of which several species occur regularly in consortia from different trees or regions. This article considers the survival, spread and population dynamics of these fungi, with particular emphasis on the substantial research by Wladyslav I. Golubev on birch sap-flows in Russia. Most fungi survive in the soil or epiphytically on tree trunks, and dispersal between trees is probably mediated by insects. Competition within and between sap-flow yeast species may be due to nutritional effects or the action of killer toxins (mycocins).