Juvenile thinning can effectively mitigate the effects of drought on tree growth and water consumption in a young Pinus contorta stand in the interior of British Columbia, Canada

Wang, Yi; Wei, Xiaohua; Campo, Antonio D. del; Winkler, Rita; Wu, Jianping; Li, Qiang; Liu, Wanyi

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2019.117667

Cited by 33 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 82 publications

(97 reference statements)

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“…Paired measurements of tree DBH and basal diameter from 180 trees across all three blocks were used to build a linear relationship between basal diameter and tree DBH, which has been also reported in our prevous study (Wang et al, 2019).…”

Section: Stand-level Wue = (4)mentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The mean daily temperature during the growing season of 2017 is 12.1⁰C, and the total growing season precipitation is 37.4 mm. Detailed information on the study site and the experimental design can be found from Wang et al (2019).…”

Section: Study Area and Experiments Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sap flow was continously measured by the Granier-type sap flow probes (Model TDP-30, Dynamax, Inc., Texas, USA) at the breast height (15 trees in total). The detailed descriptions on DBH and sap flow measurement and their realated quality control can be found in Wang et al (2019). BAI were calculated based on the diameter at the breast height (DBH) measured on the five sap flow trees per plot in B1 by an electronic caliper (Model:500-196-30, Mitutoyo Corporation, Japan) at the beginning and the end of each growing season of 2016 and 2017.…”

Section: Tree-level Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given that the studied stand is even-aged and mono-species forest with sparse understory, NPP is estimated by changes in the stand above-ground biomass (AGBstand, g) in each growing season, and T stand (mm d -1 ) is estimated from the tree transpiration, stand density and DBH distribution, which has been reported in our previous study (Wang et al, 2019). Tree AGB (AGB tree ) is estimated by the tree allometric equations based on 24-year-old lodgepole pine trees from a range of stand densities across the Yellowstone subalpine plateaus (Copenhaver and Tinker, 2014).…”

Section: Stand-level Wue = (4)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the separate prior study in the young lodgepole pine forests in the interior of British Columbia, Canada, we examined the effects of juvenile thinning on tree-level radial growth, sap flow velocity and stand transpiration under drought and non-drought years, and found that significant differences of tree growth and sap flow velocity between light and heavy thinning treatments only occurred in the drought year, with the heavier thinning having a higher sensitivity of sap flow velocity to VPD (Wang et al, 2019). Building on this prior study, we further assess in this work the effects of juvenile thinning on WUE across the mutilple spatial scales during the growing seasons of 2016 and 2017.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Responses of Forest Carbon and Water Coupling to Thinning Treatments Across Multiple Spatial Scales

Wang¹,

Campo²,

Wei³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BackgroundWater-use efficiency (WUE) represents the coupling of forest carbon and water. Little is known about the responses of WUE to thinning at multiple spatial scales. The objective of this research was to use field measurements to understand short-term effects of two thinning treatments (T1: 4,500 stems ha-1; and T2: 1,100 stems ha-1) and the control (C: 27,000 stems ha-1) on WUE (the ratio of leaf photosynthesis to leaf transpiration, or tree growth to tree transpiration, or net stand above-ground biomass (AGB) accumulation to stand transpiration) and the intrinsic WUE (WUEi, the ratio of leaf photosynthesis to stomatal conductance or the net stand AGB accumulation to canopy conductance) in a 16-year old natural lodgepole pine forest. Leaf-level measurements were conducted in 2017, while tree- and stand-level measurements were conducted in both 2016 (the normal year) and 2017 (the drought year).ResultsThere was no significant effect of thinning on the tree- and stand-level WUE in 2016, while in 2017, only T2 exhibited significantly higher tree-level WUE (0.63 mm2 kg-1) than the C (0.06 mm2 kg-1), and the stand-level WUE values were significantly higher in the thinned stands, with the means of 0.34, 0.61 and 0.7 kg m-3 for the control, T1 and T2, respectively. Stand-level WUEi was, however, significantly higher in the unthinned stands than in the thinned stands. In contrast, the leaf-level WUE values were not significantly different from each other, while the leaf-level WUEi was statistically higher in C than in the thinned stands. Thinning changed the WUE-VPD relationships at tree and stand levels, but not at the leaf level.Conclusions The effects of thinning on forest carbon and water coupling differed with the spatial scales and the metrics (WUE or WUEi) of water use efficiency. Lacking consistent reponses of WUE metrics to thinning treatments across the spatial scales suggests that caution must be exercised when transferring and modeling WUE from one spatial scale to others. Both tree-level and stand-level WUE values in the more heavily thinning stands were significantly promoted under the drough condition, demonstrating that thinning can improve WUE and consequently support forests to cope with the drought effects.

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Section: Stand-level Wue = (4)mentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Study Area and Experiments Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tree-level Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Stand-level Wue = (4)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Responses of Forest Carbon and Water Coupling to Thinning Treatments Across Multiple Spatial Scales

Wang¹,

Campo²,

Wei³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Approaching four decades of forest watershed research at Upper Penticton Creek, British Columbia: A synthesis

Winkler

Allen

Giles

et al. 2021

Hydrological Processes

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Over the past 35 years, the Upper Penticton Creek (UPC) Watershed Experiment has supported forest hydrology research in south-central British Columbia (BC), Canada.This paper provides a synthesis of research results, highlights the challenges facing UPC and identifies new research directions. Clearcutting approximately 50% of two small, snow-dominated (Dfb Koppen classification) watersheds advanced the timing of snowmelt-generated high flows and decreased late-summer low flows, relative to predictions based on pre-treatment regressions. Changes in high flows did not have a significant effect on stream channels due to low stream power, coarse substrate, and limited riparian disturbance. Changes in summer low flows reduced modelled useable fish habitat by 20%-50%. Evaporation averaged 52% of the annual precipitation in the mature forest, was reduced to 30% in a clearcut, and recovered to 40% and 47% in a 10 and 25 year-old stand, respectively. Groundwater recharge to the bedrock was estimated at 19% of annual precipitation, indicating that, even with the large uncertainty associated with this estimate, deep groundwater should not be ignored in the water balance. Suspended sediment, turbidity, and colour increased post-logging; however, chemical surface water quality did not change. Aquatic community structure changed postlogging; and although this affected the processing of organic matter, the effects on habitat quality were considered minimal. The information gained at UPC has supported provincial policies, management guidelines, forest stewardship plans and watershed risk assessments. The undisturbed control watershed, re-growing treatment watersheds and ongoing long-term hydrometric monitoring continue to provide opportunities for future research addressing issues such as the effects of young forests on streamflow and hydrologic recovery, and the influence of climate change on the hydrologic regime.

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Thinning promoted the rejuvenation and highly efficient use of soil water for degraded Caragana korshinskii plantation in semiarid loessal regions

et al. 2022

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High‐density afforestation of single‐species causes soil desiccation and vegetation degradation, posing severe challenges for plant rehabilitation, survival and its sustainable soil water use in drought regions. We explored the eco–hydrological responses of density adjustment for a typical degraded Caragana korshinskii plantation on the Chinese Loess Plateau, using 2‐year field observations. The treatments included two thinning intensities [thinning one at an interval of one (T50) and two (T67) shrubs], three pruning intensities [pruning 25% (P25), 50% (P50), and 75% (P75) of branches], and a control treatment (CK). Results indicated that the total soil water storage (0–600 cm) in T50 and T67 was 14.1% and 17.0% higher than that in CK in 2020 (p < 0.05). Treatments T67 and P25 significantly affected the length, basal diameter, and biomass of stems compared with the CK. Moreover, canopy transpiration at the individual–scale in T67 was 43.5% and 37.6% higher in 2019 and 2020 than that in CK (p < 0.05). At the stand–scale, the canopy transpiration in T67 was reduced by 81.2% in 2019 and by 79.2% in 2020 compared with that in CK (p < 0.05), respectively. In 2020, the water use efficiency in T67 was 13.8% and 101.7% higher (p < 0.05) than that in CK and T50, respectively. These observations indicate that thinning the stand density by 67% (T67) promotes plant rejuvenation and improves highly efficient use of soil water for the excessively afforested C. korshinskii plantations on the Loess Plateau. Our findings will guide the rational management of overcrowded C. korshinskii plantations in similar dry regions.

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Juvenile thinning can effectively mitigate the effects of drought on tree growth and water consumption in a young Pinus contorta stand in the interior of British Columbia, Canada

Cited by 33 publications

References 82 publications

Responses of Forest Carbon and Water Coupling to Thinning Treatments Across Multiple Spatial Scales

Responses of Forest Carbon and Water Coupling to Thinning Treatments Across Multiple Spatial Scales

Approaching four decades of forest watershed research at Upper Penticton Creek, British Columbia: A synthesis

Thinning promoted the rejuvenation and highly efficient use of soil water for degraded Caragana korshinskii plantation in semiarid loessal regions

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