Leaf- and stand-level responses of a forested mesocosm to independent manipulations of temperature and vapor pressure deficit.
Alterations in temperature (T) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) strongly influence gas exchange, but because VPD is highly influenced by T, the effects of these two factors are difficult to separate. Here, the concomitant effects of T and VPD on CO(2) uptake, stomatal conductance, and transpiration at leaf- and canopy-levels were examined for a stand of trees (Populus deltoides) enclosed within large mesocosms. T and VPD were independently altered to yield a factorial combination of treatments of low (24 degrees C) or high (30 degrees C) T and low (0.75) or high (1.75 kPa) VPD. Traditional leaf-level gas exchange measurements were compared with whole-canopy exchange to verify typical scaling methods. Elevated T resulted in an average 40% and 14% increase in midday leaf-level and canopy-level net CO(2) uptake, respectively. Other physiological responses to elevated T and VPD were similar at both scales, but the magnitude of change was usually less pronounced at the canopy-level. Surprisingly, only minimal interactions between T and VPD were found to influence responses of CO(2) uptake and stomatal conductance at either level.
Barron-Gafford
Greg A
GA
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
Grieve
Katherine A
KA
Quantitative Ecology and Resource Management, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Murthy
Ramesh
R
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Biosphere 2 Center, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964-1000 USA.
D001274:Atmospheric Pressure; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000502:physiology*; D018526:Plant Transpiration; D032107:Populus / Q000502:physiology*; D013696:Temperature; D014197:Trees / Q000502:physiology*; D014867:Water / Q000502:physiology
D014867:Water