Belowground carbon cycling in a humid tropical forest decreases with fertilization.

Only a small fraction of the carbon (C) allocated belowground by trees is retained by soils in long-lived, decay-resistant forms, yet because of the large magnitude of terrestrial primary productivity, even small changes in C allocation or retention can alter terrestrial C storage. The humid tropics exert a disproportionately large influence over terrestrial C storage, but C allocation and belowground retention in these ecosystems remain poorly quantified. Using mass balance and 13C isotope methods, we examined the effects of afforestation and fertilization, two land-use changes of large-scale importance, on belowground C cycling at a humid tropical site in Hawaii. Here we report that in unfertilized plots, 80% of the C allocated belowground by trees to roots and mycorrhizae was returned to the atmosphere within 1 year; 9% of the belowground C flux was retained in coarse roots and 11% was retained as new soil C. The gains in new soil C were offset entirely by losses of old soil C. Further, while fertilization early in stand development increased C storage in the litter layer and in coarse roots, it reduced by 22% the flux of C moving through roots and mycorrhizae into mineral soils. Because soil C formation rates related strongly to rhizosphere C flux, fertilization may reduce an already limited capacity of these forests to sequester decay-resistant soil C.

Transpiration and forest structure in relation to soil waterlogging in a Hawaiian montane cloud forest.

Transpiration, leaf characteristics and forest structure in Metrosideros polymorpha Gaud. stands growing in East Maui, Hawaii were investigated to assess physiological limitations associated with flooding as a mechanism of reduced canopy leaf area in waterlogged sites. Whole-tree sap flow, stomatal conductance, microclimate, soil oxidation-reduction potential, stand basal area and leaf area index (LAI) were measured on moderately sloped, drained sites with closed canopies (90%) and on level, waterlogged sites with open canopies (50-60%). The LAI was measured with a new technique based on enlarged photographs of individual tree crowns and allometric relationships. Sap flow was scaled to the stand level by multiplying basal area-normalized sap flow by stand basal area. Level sites had lower soil redox potentials, lower mean stand basal area, lower LAI, and a higher degree of soil avoidance by roots than sloped sites. Foliar nutrients and leaf mass per area (LMA) in M. polymorpha were similar between level and sloped sites. Stomatal conductance was similar for M. polymorpha saplings on both sites, but decreased with increasing tree height (r(2) = 0.72; P < 0.001). Stand transpiration estimates ranged from 79 to 89% of potential evapotranspiration (PET) for sloped sites and from 28 to 51% of PET for level sites. Stand transpiration estimates were strongly correlated with LAI (r(2) = 0.96; P < 0.001). Whole-tree transpiration was lower at level sites with waterlogged soils, but was similar or higher for trees on level sites when normalized by leaf area. Trees on level sites had a smaller leaf area per stem diameter than trees on sloped sites, suggesting that soil oxygen deficiency may reduce leaf area. However, transpiration per unit leaf area did not vary substantially, so leaf-level physiological behavior was conserved, regardless of differences in tree leaf area.

Forest growth along a rainfall gradient in Hawaii: Acacia koa stand structure, productivity, foliar nutrients, and water- and nutrient-use efficiencies.

We tested whether variation in growth of native koa (Acacia koa) forest along a rainfall gradient was attributable to differences in leaf area index (LAI) or to differences in physiological performance per unit of leaf area. Koa stands were studied on western Kauai prior to Hurricane Iniki, and ranged from 500 to 1130 m elevation and from 850 to 1800 mm annual precipitation. Koa stands along the gradient had basal area ranging from 8 to 42 m2/ha, LAI ranging from 1.4 to 5.4, and wood increment ranging from 0.7 to 7.1 tonnes/ha/year. N, P, and K contents by weight of sun leaves (phyllodes) were negatively correlated with specific leaf mass (SLM, g m-2) across sites; on a leaf area basis, N increased whereas P and K decreased with SLM. LAI, aboveground woody biomass increment, and production per unit leaf area (E) increased as phyllode δ13C became more negative. The δ13C data suggested that intrinsic water-use efficiency (ratio of assimilation to conductance) increased as water availability decreased. In five of the six sites, phyllode P contents increased as LAI increased, but biomass increment and E were not correlated with phyllode nutrient contents, suggesting that productivity was limited more by water than by nutrient availability. Because vapor pressure deficits increased with decreasing elevation, actual water-use efficiency (ratio of assimilation to transpiration) was lower at drier, low-elevation sites. There was a trade-off between intrinsic water-use efficiency and production per unit of canopy N or P across the gradient. In summary, koa responds to water limitation both by reducing stand LAI and by adjusting gas exchange, which results in increased intrinsic water-use efficiency but decreased E.

Ecophysiology of exotic and native shrubs in Southern Wisconsin : II. Annual growth and carbon gain.

In this study we compared the aboveground growth rates of two exotic shrubs (Rhamnus cathartica and Lonicera X bella) and two native shrubs (Cornus racemosa and Prunus serotina) that are important in southern Wisconsin hardwood forests. For all species except P. serotina, aboveground growth rates in an open habitat were greater than in an understory environment. Growth rates differed among species in the open habitat and were significantly correlated with woody production per unit leaf area. All species had greater leaf area per unit wood biomass in the understory than in the open habitat. A comparison of above-ground growth and annual carbon gain suggests much greater respiratory costs in the open habitat, especially for P. serotina. The data from this study were used to examine mechanisms of species response to different light availabilities. We found that the species that increased their production per unit leaf area in response to increased light did not increase their leaf area per unit wood biomass in response to low light, and vice versa. Production of proportionately high leaf area may be important for the growth of C. racemosa in low light.