We used eddy covariance and meteorological measurements to estimate net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE), gross ecosystem production (GEP), evapotranspiration (Et), and ecosystem water use efficiency ...(WUEe; calculated as GEP / Et during dry canopy conditions) in three upland forests in the New Jersey Pinelands, USA, that were defoliated by gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) or burned using prescribed fire. Before disturbance, half-hourly daytime NEE during full sunlight conditions, daily GEP, and daily WUEe during the summer months were greater at the oak-dominated stand compared to the mixed or pine-dominated stands. Both defoliation by gypsy moth and prescribed burning reduced stand leaf area and nitrogen mass in foliage. During complete defoliation in 2007 at the oak stand, NEE during full sunlight conditions and daily GEP during the summer averaged only 14 and 35% of pre-disturbance values. Midday NEE and daily GEP then averaged 58 and 85%, and 71 and 78% of pre-defoliation values 1 and 2 years following complete defoliation, respectively. Prescribed fires conducted in the dormant season at the mixed and pine-dominated stands reduced NEE during full sunlight conditions and daily GEP during the following summer to 57 and 68%, and 79 and 82% of pre-disturbance values, respectively. Daily GEP during the summer was a strong function of N mass in foliage at the oak and mixed stands, but a weaker function of N in foliage at the pine-dominated stand. Ecosystem WUEe during the summer at the oak and mixed stands during defoliation by gypsy moth averaged 1.6 and 1.1 g C kg H2O-1, representing 60 and 46% of pre-disturbance values. In contrast, prescribed fires at the mixed and pine-dominated stands had little effect on WUEe. Two years following complete defoliation by gypsy moth, WUEe during the summer averaged 2.1 g C kg H2O-1, 80% of pre-disturbance values. WUEe was correlated with canopy N content only at the oak-dominated stand. Overall, our results indicate that WUEe during and following non-stand replacing disturbance is dependent on both the type and time since disturbance.
We mapped tidal wetland gross primary production (GPP) with unprecedented detail for multiple wetland types across the continental United States (CONUS) at 16‐day intervals for the years 2000–2019. ...To accomplish this task, we developed the spatially explicit Blue Carbon (BC) model, which combined tidal wetland cover and field‐based eddy covariance tower data into a single Bayesian framework, and used a super computer network and remote sensing imagery (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Enhanced Vegetation Index). We found a strong fit between the BC model and eddy covariance data from 10 different towers (r2 = 0.83, p < 0.001, root‐mean‐square error = 1.22 g C/m2/day, average error was 7% with a mean bias of nearly zero). When compared with NASA's MOD17 GPP product, which uses a generalized terrestrial algorithm, the BC model reduced error by approximately half (MOD17 had r2 = 0.45, p < 0.001, root‐mean‐square error of 3.38 g C/m2/day, average error of 15%). The BC model also included mixed pixels in areas not covered by MOD17, which comprised approximately 16.8% of CONUS tidal wetland GPP. Results showed that across CONUS between 2000 and 2019, the average daily GPP per m2 was 4.32 ± 2.45 g C/m2/day. The total annual GPP for the CONUS was 39.65 ± 0.89 Tg C/year. GPP for the Gulf Coast was nearly double that of the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts combined. Louisiana alone accounted for 15.78 ± 0.75 Tg C/year, with its Atchafalaya/Vermillion Bay basin at 4.72 ± 0.14 Tg C/year. The BC model provides a robust platform for integrating data from disparate sources and exploring regional trends in GPP across tidal wetlands.
Key Points
We created the Blue Carbon (BC) model, which mapped the Gross Primary Production (GPP) of all tidal wetlands within the continental United States
The BC model provides maps of tidal wetland GPP at sub‐250 m scales and at 16‐day intervals for the years 2000‐2019
The average daily GPP per m2 was 4.32 ± 2.45 g C/m2/day, and the total annual GPP for the continental United States was 39.65 ± 0.89 Tg C/year
Measurements of aboveground and belowground biomass allocations are important for characterization of structure and function in marsh ecosystems as various processes such as carbon sequestration, gas ...transport, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem resilience are affected by these allocations. We measured aboveground and belowground biomass, root and rhizome characteristics, leaf area index (LAI), and carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio of various tissues of four tidal marsh species in New Jersey by harvesting biomass during peak growing season. The aboveground biomasses for
Spartina patens
,
S. alterniflora, Phragmites australis,
and
Distichlis spicata
were 2.3, 2.2, 1.7 and 1.2 kg m
−2
, respectively. The ratio of belowground to aboveground biomass for
S. alterniflora
and
D. spicata
, harvested from a recently restored wetland were lower than in previous studies. LAI for
S. alterniflora, D. spicata, P. australis,
and
S. patens
were 8.4, 6.8, 4.8 and 3.7 m
2
m
−2
, respectively. Diameter of rhizome and root, number of primary roots per node, root surface area to volume ratio, and C/N of various tissues varied with species. The measured above- and belowground biometric traits are crucial for a better understanding of carbon dynamics, and modeling greenhouse gas transport in marsh ecosystems.
Many temperate and boreal forests are subject to insect epidemics. In the eastern US, over 41 million meters squared of tree basal area are thought to be at risk of gypsy moth defoliation. However, ...the decadal-to-century scale implications of defoliation events for ecosystem carbon dynamics are not well understood. In this study, the effects of defoliation intensity, periodicity and spatial pattern on the carbon cycle are investigated in a set of idealized model simulations. A mechanistic terrestrial biosphere model, ecosystem demography model 2, is driven with observations from a xeric oak-pine forest located in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Simulations indicate that net ecosystem productivity (equal to photosynthesis minus respiration) decreases linearly with increasing defoliation intensity. However, because of interactions between defoliation and drought effects, aboveground biomass exhibits a nonlinear decrease with increasing defoliation intensity. The ecosystem responds strongly with both reduced productivity and biomass loss when defoliation periodicity varies from 5 to 15 yr, but exhibits a relatively weak response when defoliation periodicity varies from 15 to 60 yr. Simulations of spatially heterogeneous defoliation resulted in markedly smaller carbon stocks than simulations with spatially homogeneous defoliation. These results show that gypsy moth defoliation has a large effect on oak-pine forest biomass dynamics, functioning and its capacity to act as a carbon sink.
Methane (CH4) emissions were measured at the Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park (ORWRP) over three summers and two winters using an eddy covariance system. We used an ...empirical model to determine the main environmental drivers of methane emissions. Methane emissions covary strongly with water vapor fluxes, CO2 fluxes, and soil temperature. We adjust our models to account for the heterogeneous environment of the wetland by including the flux footprint distribution among different microsites as a predictive variable in the methane model. We used a forward linear stepwise model in combination with an Akaike information criteria‐based model selection process and neural network modeling to determine which environmental variables are most effective in modeling methane emissions in our site. Different models and environmental variables best represented methane fluxes in the winter and summer and also during the day or night within each season. We parameterized an optimal empirical model for methane emissions from the ORWRP that is used for gap filling of site‐level methane fluxes over 2 years. Some of the most effective variables for modeling methane were carbon, water vapor, and heat fluxes, all of which typically have the same data gaps as the time series of methane flux. In order to determine if these variables were useful for modeling methane despite the additional gap‐filling error, we determined through an error propagation experiment that eddy covariance gap‐filling models for methane may be best developed by including other gap‐filled fluxes as predictors, despite the high level of shared gaps and subsequent gap‐fill error propagation.
Key Points
Eddy covariance measurements were used to find the drivers of methane fluxesMethane fluxes are correlated with water/carbon dioxide fluxes and temperatureWe study the error caused by other fluxes when used to gap fill methane
We analyzed the hydraulic constraints imposed on water uptake from soils of different porosities in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) by comparing genetically related and even-aged plantations growing ...in loam versus sand soil. Water use was evaluated relative to the maximum transpiration rate ($E_{\text{crit}}$) allowed by the soil-leaf continuum. We expected that trees on both soils would approach$E_{\text{crit}}$during drought. Trees in sand, however, should face greater drought limitation because of steeply declining hydraulic conductivity in sand at high soil water potential ($\Psi _{\text{S}}$). Transport considerations suggest that trees in sand should have higher root to leaf area ratios ($A_{\text{R}}\colon A_{\text{L}}$), less negative leaf xylem pressure ($\Psi _{\text{L}}$), and be more vulnerable to xylem cavitation than trees in loam. The$A_{\text{R}}\colon A_{\text{L}}$was greater in sand versus loam (9.8 vs 1.7, respectively). This adjustment maintained about 86% of the water extraction potential for both soils. Trees in sand were more deeply rooted (>1.9 m) than in loam (95% of roots <0.2 m), allowing them to shift water uptake to deeper layers during drought and avoid hydraulic failure. Midday$\Psi _{L}$was constant for days of high evaporative demand, but was less negative in sand (-1.6 MPa) versus loam (-2.1 MPa). Xylem was more vulnerable to cavitation in sand versus loam trees. Roots in both soils were more vulnerable than stems, and experienced the greatest predicted loss of conductivity during drought. Trees on both soils approached$E_{\text{crit}}$during drought, but at much higher$\Psi _{\text{S}}$in sand (<-0.4 MPa) than in loam (<-1.0 MPa). Results suggest considerable phenotypic plasticity in water use traits for P. taeda which are adaptive to differences in soil porosity.
ABSTRACT
Variation in stomatal conductance is typically explained in relation to environmental conditions. However, tree height may also contribute to the variability in mean stomatal conductance. ...Mean canopy stomatal conductance of individual tree crowns (GSi) was estimated using sap flux measurements in Fagus sylvatica L., and the hypothesis that GSi decreases with tree height was tested. Over 13 d of the growing season during which soil moisture was not limiting, GSi decreased linearly with the natural logarithm of vapour pressure deficit (D), and increased exponentially to saturation with photosynthetic photon flux density (Qo). Under conditions of D= 1 kPa and saturating Qo, GSi decreased by approximately 60% with 30 m increase in tree height. Over the same range in height, sapwood‐to‐leaf area ratio (AS:AL) doubled. A simple hydraulic model explained the variation in GSi based on an inverse relationship with height, and a linear relationship with AS:AL. Thus, in F. sylvatica, adjustments in AS:AL partially compensate for the negative effect of increased flow‐path length on leaf conductance. Furthermore, because stomata with low conductance are less sensitive to D, gas exchange of tall trees is reduced less by high D. Despite these compensations, decreasing hydraulic conductance with tree height in F. sylvatica reduces carbon uptake through a corresponding decrease in stomatal conductance.
Oak species are well suited to water-limited conditions by either avoiding water stress through deep rooting or tolerating water stress through tight stomatal control. In co-occurring species where ...resources are limited, species may either partition resources in space and/or time or exhibit differing efficiencies in the use of limited resources. Therefore, this study seeks to determine whether two co-occurring oak species (Quercus prinus L. and Quercus velutina Lam.) differ in physiological parameters including photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, water-use (WUE) and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE), as well as to characterize transpiration and average canopy stomatal responses to climatic variables in a sandy, well-drained and nutrient-limited ecosystem. The study was conducted in the New Jersey Pinelands and we measured sap flux over a 3-year period, as well as leaf gas exchange, leaf nitrogen and carbon isotope concentrations. Both oak species showed relatively steep increases in leaf-specific transpiration at low vapor pressure deficit (VPD) values before maximum transpiration rates were achieved, which were sustained over a broad range in VPD. This suggests tight stomatal control over transpiration in both species, although Q. velutina showed significantly higher leaf-level and canopy-level stomatal conductance than Q. prinus. Average daytime stomatal conductance was positively correlated with soil moisture and both oak species maintained at least 75% of their maximum canopy stomatal conductance at soil moistures in the upper soil layer (0-0.3 m) as low as 0.03 m(3) m(3)(-3). Quercus velutina had significantly higher photosynthetic rates, maximum Rubisco-limited and electron-transport-limited carboxylation rates, dark respiration rates and nitrogen concentration per unit leaf area than Q. prinus. However, both species exhibited similar WUEs and NUEs. Therefore, Q. prinus has a more conservative resource-use strategy, while Q. velutina may need to exploit niches that are locally higher in nutrients and water. Likewise, both species appear to tap deep, stable water sources, highlighting the importance of rooting depth in modeling transpiration and stomatal conductance in many oak ecosystems.
Northern mid-latitude forests are a large terrestrial carbon sink. Ignoring nutrient limitations, large increases in carbon sequestration from carbon dioxide (CO2) fertilization are expected in these ...forests. Yet, forests are usually relegated to sites of moderate to poor fertility, where tree growth is often limited by nutrient supply, in particular nitrogen. Here we present evidence that estimates of increases in carbon sequestration of forests, which is expected to partially compensate for increasing CO2 in the atmosphere, are unduly optimistic. In two forest experiments on maturing pines exposed to elevated atmospheric CO2, the CO2-induced biomass carbon increment without added nutrients was undetectable at a nutritionally poor site, and the stimulation at a nutritionally moderate site was transient, stabilizing at a marginal gain after three years. However, a large synergistic gain from higher CO2 and nutrients was detected with nutrients added. This gain was even larger at the poor site (threefold higher than the expected additive effect) than at the moderate site (twofold higher). Thus, fertility can restrain the response of wood carbon sequestration to increased atmospheric CO2. Assessment of future carbon sequestration should consider the limitations imposed by soil fertility, as well as interactions with nitrogen deposition.
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