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Adaptive strategies to improve tree water-use efficiency (WUE) are required to meet the global demand for wood in a future drier climate. A large-scale throughfall exclusion experiment was set up in Brazil to study the interaction between water status and potassium (K) or sodium (Na) availability on the ecophysiology of Eucalyptus grandis trees. This experiment focused primarily on the changes in aboveground net primary production, stand water use, phloem sap and leaf δ 13 C, net CO 2 assimilation and stomatal conductance. The correlations between these response variables were determined to gain insight into the factors controlling water-use efficiency in tropical eucalypt plantations. The intrinsic WUE in individual leaves (the ratio of net CO 2 assimilation to stomatal conductance) was estimated at a very short time scale from the leaf gas exchange. Sap flow measurements were carried out to assess the WUE for stemwood production (the ratio of wood biomass increment to stand water use). Averaged over the two water supply regimes, the stemwood biomass 3 years after planting was 173% higher in trees fertilized with K and 79% higher in trees fertilized with Na than in trees with no K and Na addition. Excluding 37% of the throughfall reduced stemwood production only for trees fertilized with K. Total canopy transpiration between 1 and 3 years after planting increased from about 750 to 1300 mm y −1 in response to K fertilization with a low influence of the water supply regime. K fertilization increased WUE for stemwood production by approx. 60% with or without throughfall exclusion. There was a strong positive correlation between phloem sap δ 13 C and short-term leaf-level intrinsic WUE. Whatever the water and nutrient supply regime, the gas exchange WUE estimates were not correlated with WUE for stemwood production. Phloem sap δ 13 C and leaf δ 13 C were therefore not valuable proxies of WUE for stemwood production. The allocation pattern in response to nutrient and water supply appeared to be a major driver of WUE for stemwood production. In areas with very deep tropical soils and annual rainfall <1500 mm, our results suggest that breeding programs selecting the eucalypt clones with the highest growth rates tend to select the genotypes with the highest water-use efficiency for wood production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Specific leaf area (SLA; m2 leaf kg−1 leaf) is a key ecophysiological parameter influencing leaf physiology, photosynthesis, and whole plant carbon gain. Both individual tree-based models and other forest process-based models are generally highly sensitive to this parameter, but information on its temporal or within-stand variability is still scarce. In a 2–4-year-old Eucalyptus plantation in Congo, prone to seasonal drought, the within-stand and seasonal variability in SLA were investigated by means of destructive sampling carried out at 2-month intervals, over a 2-year period. Within-crown vertical gradients of SLA were small. Highly significant relationships were found between tree-average SLA (SLA t) and tree size (tree height, H t, or diameter at breast height, DBH): SLA t ranged from about 9m2 kg−1 for dominant trees to about 14–15m2 kg−1 for the smallest trees. The decrease in SLA t with increasing tree size was accurately predicted from DBH using power functions. Stand-average SLA varied by about 20% during the year, with lowest values at the end of the 5-month dry season, and highest values about 2–3 months after the onset of the wet season. Variability in leaf water status according to tree size and season is discussed as a possible determinant of both the within-stand and seasonal variations in SLA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: By allowing the estimation of forest structural and biophysical characteristics at different temporal and spatial scales, remote sensing may contribute to our understanding and monitoring of planted forests. Here, we studied 9-year time-series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on a network of 16 stands in fast-growing Eucalyptus plantations in São Paulo State, Brazil. We aimed to examine the relationships between NDVI time-series spanning entire rotations and stand structural characteristics (volume, dominant height, mean annual increment) in these simple forest ecosystems. Our second objective was to examine spatial and temporal variations of light use efficiency for wood production, by comparing time-series of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (APAR) with inventory data. Relationships were calibrated between the NDVI and the fractions of intercepted diffuse and direct radiation, using hemispherical photographs taken on the studied stands at two seasons. APAR was calculated from the NDVI time-series using these relationships. Stem volume and dominant height were strongly correlated with summed NDVI values between planting date and inventory date. Stand productivity was correlated with mean NDVI values. APAR during the first 2 years of growth was variable between stands and was well correlated with stem wood production (r 2 =0.78). In contrast, APAR during the following years was less variable and not significantly correlated with stem biomass increments. Production of wood per unit of absorbed light varied with stand age and with site index. In our study, a better site index was accompanied both by increased APAR during the first 2 years of growth and by higher light use efficiency for stem wood production during the whole rotation. Implications for simple process-based modelling are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Eucalyptus plantations have been introduced since 1978 on savannah soils of the coastal plains of Congo, but there is still little information on the effect of silvicultural practices on soil organic carbon dynamics after afforestation on these savannahs. The objectives of this study were to assess the effects of two experimental site preparation treatments on soil CO2 efflux, tree growth and soil carbon balance during the first year following plantation establishment. One treatment involved mechanical soil disturbance with disk harrowing (D), whereas in the second treatment (H), savannah grasses were killed by herbicide application before planting, without mechanical soil disturbance. Soil respiration and soil water content were monitored for 1 year following treatment application, at 2-week intervals. We hypothesized that mechanical soil disturbance would increase soil CO2 efflux, but the results did not support this hypothesis. The cumulated soil CO2 efflux over 1 year was not significantly different in the two treatments and averaged 658gCm−2. In contrast, tree growth was significantly increased by disk harrowing, maybe as a result of decreased soil penetration resistance. Carbon inputs to the soil from savannah residues (428gCm−2) were outweighed by the annual carbon outputs through heterotrophic respiration (505 and 456gCm−2 in the H and D treatments, respectively) leading to a slightly negative soil carbon budget in both treatments 1 year after afforestation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A complete set of equations for below- and above-ground biomass of a natural Eucalyptus hybrid in Congo was constructed. Heteroscedasticity of data was taken into account by fitting weighted non-linear regressions using maximum likelihood estimates. Stand age was introduced as a complementary variable in the equations for a majority of above-ground compartments and led to improved estimates of biomass. Because of the limited number of sampled trees for below-ground parts, it was not possible to develop the same kind of equations. Simple allometric relationships were then fitted for these components (stumps, large, medium, and fine roots). Additivity was verified and showed no significant deviation except for the youngest stand, where the sum of below- and above-ground biomass equations was preferable to the sum of component equations or to the total biomass equation. This set of equations will now be used to evaluate both the mean and the interval of confidence of biomass content and partitioning within the stands. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Our objectives were to quantify soil respiration in a 3-year-old Eucalyptus plantation in coastal Congo and to investigate both temporal and spatial variations of this major component of ecosystem respiration. Soil respiration exhibited pronounced seasonal variations that clearly reflected those of soil water content, with minimum values below 1.6μmolm-2s-1 at the end of the dry season in September and a maximum value of 5.6μmolm-2s-1 after re-wetting in December. An empirical model describing the relationship between soil respiration and soil water content predicts the seasonal variations in soil respiration reasonably well (R2 = 0.88), even if the effects of soil temperature and soil water content may be confounded since both factors co-vary across seasons. Spatial heterogeneity of soil respiration was clearly affected by management practices with higher respiration rate in slash inter-rows which received higher amounts of detritus at the logging stage, and lower respiration rate in haulage inter-rows used for heavy vehicle traffic. Higher values of soil respiration were also recorded in the vicinity of trunks than in the middle of the inter-rows. While soil water content is the main determinant of seasonal variation of soil respiration, it poorly accounts for its spatial variability over the experimental stand, except for days with low soil water content. Soil respiration was related neither to root biomass nor to soil carbon content, but was positively correlated with both leaf and total aboveground litter (i.e. leaf, bark and woody debris). Plots exhibiting the highest soil respiration also contained the highest amounts of aboveground litter. Microbial respiration associated with litter decomposition is likely a major component of soil respiration, and the spatial heterogeneity in litter fall probably accounts for most of its spatial variability in this Eucalyptus plantation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]