Responses of plant water use to a severe summer drought for two subtropical tree species in the central southern China

Zidong Luo, Huade Guan, Xinping Zhang, Cicheng Zhang, Na Liu, Guang Li

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    17 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Study region Western suburb of Changsha, Hunan Province, the central southern China. Study focus Plant transpiration plays a significant role in the terrestrial water cycle and is closely associated with ecosystem primary production. Summer drought in the study area poses a stress on plant water use and associated carbon assimilation in growing season. In this study, water use response of two evergreen tree species to variation in environmental conditions was examined during a severe summer drought. New hydrological insights The results show that a decrease in water use during the drought for both two species is closely associated with an increase in vapor pressure deficit and a decrease in stem water potential. The two species appear to be anisohydric, but to a different degree in response to the drought. The hydrodynamic water potential gradient (Δy) maintains relatively constant with an average value of 0.59 MPa for C. camphora, and 1.59 MPa for O. fragrans. O. fragrans is less sensitive to drought than C. camphora, while C. camphora shows an effective survival mechanism via leaf shedding and dieback of shoots.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1-9
    Number of pages9
    JournalJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
    Volume8
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2016

    Keywords

    • Stem water potential
    • Summer drought
    • Survival mechanisms
    • Transpiration
    • Water use

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