Environmental Drivers of Gross Primary Production and Evapotranspiration at a <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> L. Restoration Plantation
Black locust is the second-most-often planted tree worldwide, particularly for restoration plantations, but drought dieback and growth declines are being reported. Currently, we lack information on these ecosystems’ water and carbon fluxes, in relation to climatic variability. Here, we employed eddy...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/5/916 |
| _version_ | 1797600132408016896 |
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| author | Nikos Markos Kalliopi Radoglou Mariangela N. Fotelli |
| author_facet | Nikos Markos Kalliopi Radoglou Mariangela N. Fotelli |
| author_sort | Nikos Markos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Black locust is the second-most-often planted tree worldwide, particularly for restoration plantations, but drought dieback and growth declines are being reported. Currently, we lack information on these ecosystems’ water and carbon fluxes, in relation to climatic variability. Here, we employed eddy covariance to determine the gross primary production (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET) of a black locust post-mining restoration plantation in NW Greece over c. 2.5 years. Additionally, we applied Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) to study the effects of key environmental drivers (vapour pressure deficit—VPD, soil water content—SWC, solar radiation—Rg and enhanced vegetation index—EVI) on GPP and ET during summer months. Both diurnally and seasonally, GPP increased with increasing Rg, SWC and EVI, but was saturated after certain thresholds (Rg: 400 W m<sup>−2</sup>, SWC: 25%, EVI: 0.65). In contrast, GPP declined strongly with increasing VPD. Overall, GPP was maintained at a high level, at the cost of ET, which constantly raised with increasing solar radiation and SWC and was not responsive to enhanced VPD, indicating a non-conservative water use. At present, these black locust plantations exhibit favourable productivity and no drought stress, but increasing VPD in the context of climate change may, ultimately, negatively impact these ecosystems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:44:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fa51b90d5a6e4421a6e59f6ea715c9e8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:44:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-fa51b90d5a6e4421a6e59f6ea715c9e82023-11-18T01:23:37ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072023-04-0114591610.3390/f14050916Environmental Drivers of Gross Primary Production and Evapotranspiration at a <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> L. Restoration PlantationNikos Markos0Kalliopi Radoglou1Mariangela N. Fotelli2Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 68200 Orestiada, GreeceDepartment of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 68200 Orestiada, GreeceHellenic Agricultural Organization Dimitra, Forest Research Institute, Vassilika, 57006 Thessaloniki, GreeceBlack locust is the second-most-often planted tree worldwide, particularly for restoration plantations, but drought dieback and growth declines are being reported. Currently, we lack information on these ecosystems’ water and carbon fluxes, in relation to climatic variability. Here, we employed eddy covariance to determine the gross primary production (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET) of a black locust post-mining restoration plantation in NW Greece over c. 2.5 years. Additionally, we applied Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) to study the effects of key environmental drivers (vapour pressure deficit—VPD, soil water content—SWC, solar radiation—Rg and enhanced vegetation index—EVI) on GPP and ET during summer months. Both diurnally and seasonally, GPP increased with increasing Rg, SWC and EVI, but was saturated after certain thresholds (Rg: 400 W m<sup>−2</sup>, SWC: 25%, EVI: 0.65). In contrast, GPP declined strongly with increasing VPD. Overall, GPP was maintained at a high level, at the cost of ET, which constantly raised with increasing solar radiation and SWC and was not responsive to enhanced VPD, indicating a non-conservative water use. At present, these black locust plantations exhibit favourable productivity and no drought stress, but increasing VPD in the context of climate change may, ultimately, negatively impact these ecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/5/916black locusteddy covarianceevapotranspirationgross primary productionvapour pressure deficitsolar radiation |
| spellingShingle | Nikos Markos Kalliopi Radoglou Mariangela N. Fotelli Environmental Drivers of Gross Primary Production and Evapotranspiration at a <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> L. Restoration Plantation Forests black locust eddy covariance evapotranspiration gross primary production vapour pressure deficit solar radiation |
| title | Environmental Drivers of Gross Primary Production and Evapotranspiration at a <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> L. Restoration Plantation |
| title_full | Environmental Drivers of Gross Primary Production and Evapotranspiration at a <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> L. Restoration Plantation |
| title_fullStr | Environmental Drivers of Gross Primary Production and Evapotranspiration at a <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> L. Restoration Plantation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental Drivers of Gross Primary Production and Evapotranspiration at a <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> L. Restoration Plantation |
| title_short | Environmental Drivers of Gross Primary Production and Evapotranspiration at a <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> L. Restoration Plantation |
| title_sort | environmental drivers of gross primary production and evapotranspiration at a i robinia pseudoacacia i l restoration plantation |
| topic | black locust eddy covariance evapotranspiration gross primary production vapour pressure deficit solar radiation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/5/916 |
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