Whole-tree transpiration and water-use partitioning between Eucalyptus nitens and Acacia dealbata weeds in a short-rotation plantation in northeastern Tasmania

Abstract

Whole-tree water use in 4- and 8-year-old plantations of Eucalyptus nitens Deane and Maiden (ex Maiden) in the presence and absence of Acacia dealbata Link. weeds was estimated by the heat pulse velocity technique during a six-week summer period. Maximum sap velocities were recorded between 5 and 15 mm under the cambium for both eucalypt and acacia trees, and marked radial and axial variations in sap velocity were observed. The latter source of variation was most pronounced in mixed stands where crowns were asymmetrical. Mean daily sap flux ranged from 1.4 to 103.6 l day−1 for eucalypts and from < 0.1 to 8.4 l day−1 for acacias. Stem diameter explained 98% of the variation in sapwood area for E. nitens and 89% for A. dealbata, and was determined to be a suitable parameter for scaling water use from the tree to stand level. Plot transpiration varied from 1.4 to 2.8 mm day−1 in mixed 8-year-old plots and was 0.85 mm day−1 in a mixed 4-year-old plot. The degree of A. dealbata infestation was associated with absolute plot water use and regression models predicted that, in the absence of acacia competition, plot water use for the 8-year-old stand would approach 5–6 mm day−1 during the growing season.