A model of the gas exchange response ofPicea abies to habitat conditions

Databases describing branch gas exchange ofPicea abies L. at two montane forest sites, Lägeren, Switzerland (National Forschungsprojekt 14 of the Schweizerische Nationalfonds) and Oberwarmensteinach, Germany (Bayerische Forschungsgruppe Forsttoxikologie), were analyzed in conjunction with a physiologically based model. Parameter estimates for describing carboxylase kinetics, electron transport, and stomatal function were derived, utilizing information from both single factor dependencies and diurnal time course measurements of gas exchange. Data subsets were used for testing the model at the branch level. Most of the observed variation in gas exchange characteristics can be explained with the model, while a number of systematic errors remain unexplained. Factors seen as contributing to the unexplained residual variation and not included in the model are light acclimation, degree of damage in adjustment to pollutant deposition, needle age, and cold stress effects. Nevertheless, a set of parameter values has been obtained for general application with spruce, e.g., for use in calculating canopy flux rates and to aid in planning of focused leaf and canopy level experiments. The value of the model for estimating fluxes between the forest and the atmosphere must be evaluated together with measurements at the stand level.