Radial Variation in Sap Flux Density as a Function of Sapwood Thickness in Two Eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus urophylla ) Plantations

Radial variation in sap flux density (SFD) as a function of sapwood thickness is of importance in accurately estimating sap flux through sapwood area which, in turn, decides the precision of heat pulse application. However, until now, only a few studies have evaluated the magnitude and significance of sampling errors associated with radial gradients in SFD, which were based on the small monitoring measurement data from a few trees. Based on one year of heat pulse observation of two 3 - 4 years old Eucalyptus urophylla S. T.,P Blake plantations in Leizhou Peninsula, Guangdong Province, China, a way of data processing was developed to treat with the lots of SFD data measured from 39 trees. It was found that the radial variation in SFD as a function of sapwood thickness in the two eucalyptus plantation sites could be expressed as y = 3. 667 5x(3) - 7.295 5x(2) + 3.682 6x + 0. 567 4 (R-2 = 0. 939 1, n = 80, P = 0.01), where y is the ratio of SFD of a sensor to the average of four data in different depths, x is the ratio of a sensor depth to tire radial sapwood thickness. It was the same (as in the following equation) in Jijia site, y = 5.006 2x(3) - 9.116 1x(2) + 4. 454 4x + 0.463 4 (R-2 = 0. 806 9, n = 72, P = 0.01) in Hetou site. From cambium to heartwood, SFD showed some increases at first and then decreases continuously. However, because die trees were very young, the maximum SFD was only 0. 33 - 0. 36 times more than the minimum.

Temporal Variation in Sap-Flux-Scaled Transpiration and Cooling Effect of a Subtropical Schima superba Plantation in the Urban Area of Guangzhou

Agriculture could suffer the water stress induced by climate change. Because climate warming affects global hydrological cycles, it is vital to explore the effect of tree transpiration, as an important component of terrestrial evapotranspiration, on the environment. Thermal dissipation probes were used to measure xylem sap flux density of a Schima superba plantation in the urban area of Guangzhou City, South China. Stand transpiration was calculated by mean sap flux density times total sapwood area. The occurrence of the maximum sap flux density on the daily scale was later in wet season than in dry season. The peak of daily sap flux density was the highest of 59 g m-2 s^-1 in July and August, and the lowest of 28 g m-2 s-1 in December. In the two periods （November 2007-October 2008 and November 2008-October 2009）, the stand transpiration reached 263.2 and 291.6 ram, respectively. During our study period, stand transpiration in wet season （from April to September） could account for about 58.5 and 53.8% of the annual transpiration, respectively. Heat energy absorbed by tree transpiration averaged 1.4×10s and 1.6×10s kJ per month in this Schima superba plantation with the area of 2 885 m2, and temperature was reduced by 4.3 and 4.7℃ s^-1 per 10 m3 air.

Capacity of Stem Water Conductivity for Two Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus urophylla) Plantations in South China

The sap flux density (SFD) was used as a measure of water capacity through stems of eucalyptus in this paper. It was found that daily SFD increased with daily vapor pressure deficit (VPD) in nonlinear regression Y = AX3 + BX2 + CX + D (R2 = 0.702 1, n = 135, p = 0.01) at both sites (Hetou and Jijia) in the Leizhou Peninsula, Guangdong Province, China, where Y was daily SFD, X was mean daily VPD, A, B, C, D were constants. But extremely high VPD might limit stem water conductivity. The environmental factors, such as air vapor pressure deficit (VPD), solar radiation (RAD), etc., were the main determinants of SFD for E. urophylla plantations. The upper threshold of diurnal SFD was 51.5555.65 mLcm2h1 under the selected extremely high environmental conditions.

Transpiration rates of urban trees, Aesculus chinensis

Transpiration patterns of Aesculus chinensis in relation to explanatory variables in the microclimatic, air quality, and biological phenomena categories were measured in Beijing, China using the thermal dissipation method. The highest transpiration rate measured as the sap flux density of the trees took place from 10：00 am to 13：00 pm in the summer and the lowest was found during nighttime in the winter. To sort out co-linearity, principal component analysis and variation and hierarchical partitioning methods were employed in data analyses. The evaporative demand index （EDI） consisting of air temperature, soil temperature, total radiation, vapor pressure deficit, and atmospheric ozone （O3）, explained 68% and 80% of the hourly and daily variations of the tree transpiration, respectively. The independent and joint effects of EDI variables together with a three-variable joint effect exerted the greatest influences on the variance of transpiration rates. The independent effects of leaf area index and atmospheric 03 and their combined effect exhibited minor yet significant influences on tree transpiration rates.