Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
www.elsevier.com/locate/foreco
a
Ensis (the joint forces of CSIRO and Scion), Private Bag 12, Sandy Bay, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 S. Jose dos Campos, SP 12201-970, Brazil
c
Withycombe, Church Lane, Mount Wilson, NSW 2786, Australia
d
Aracruz Celulose S.A., Rod. Aracruz/B. Riacho, Aracruz, ES 29192000, Brazil
Abstract
The water balance and growth of Eucalyptus grandis hybrid plantations in Brazil are presented based on 6 years of intensive catchment
hydrology, physiological and forest growth surveying, and modelling. The results show a balance between water supply by precipitation and output
through evapotranspiration (considered as canopy interception, soil evaporation and trees transpiration) and runoff. The annual average
precipitation was 1147 mm and average evapotranspiration was 1092 mm. The runoff was only 3% of the precipitation, because of high soil
infiltration and the flat topography where the trees are planted. Evapotranspiration rates varied from 781 mm to 1334 mm during the years of the
study and are strongly influenced by variations in annual precipitation and leaf area index. When the precipitation was close to the regional mean
annual precipitation of 1350 mm there was enough water to supply the demands of the trees and produce some runoff. Biomass production was high
and the peak annual growth rate was 95 m3 ha1 year1. The UAPE model [Soares, J.V., Almeida, A.C., 2001. Modeling the water balance and soil
water fluxes in a fast-growing Eucalyptus plantation in Brazil. J. Hydrol. 253, 130147] was used to estimate the water balance and the widely used
3-PG model [Landsberg, J.J., Waring, R.H., 1997. A generalised model of forest productivity using simplified concepts of radiation-use efficiency,
carbon balance and partitioning. For. Ecol. Manage. 95, 209228] was used to estimate forest growth and water-use efficiency.
# 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Eucalyptus plantations; Water balance; Water-use modelling; Water-use efficiency; Forest growth
1. Introduction
Water use by eucalypt plantations has historically been a
controversial matter in many parts of the world. Research has
shown that it depends on the region, species, environmental
conditions and land-use practices (Calder, 1998; Dye, 2000;
OLoughlin and Nambiar, 2001; Almeida and Soares, 2003).
Local populations and some environmentally oriented NonGovernment Organisations (NGOs) claim that these plantations
dry out the soil. Timber and pulp companies need to improve
their understanding of water use by plantations in order to
adjust their management practices to achieve long-term
sustainability and to answer the questions of different
stakeholders. Meeting the demands of markets needing more
and more guarantees of environmentally sustainable practices
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 3 6226 7910; fax: +61 3 6226 7900.
E-mail address: Auro.Almeida@ensisjv.com (A.C. Almeida).
0378-1127/$ see front matter # 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2007.06.009
also means that improved knowledge of the hydrology of fastgrowing forests is essential.
The rotation length of eucalypt plantations grown for pulp in
Brazil is around 67 years. Growth rate and leaf area index vary
during the cycle, as well as seasonally. This leads to the
question of how water use varies with time, and how water use
can be analysed at different scales from individual trees
(Wullschleger et al., 1998) to stands or landscapes (Hatton and
Wu, 1995). Analysing the water use for as many years as
possible over single or multiple growth cycles should help
understand and answer some of the key hydrological questions
about these fast-growing plantations. Variability in the
meteorological factors affecting tree water use reinforces the
need for multiple-year analysis in order to reach robust
conclusions. Measurements of the components of the hydrological cycle allow the development and testing of models to
quantify water use in different areas (Whitehead and Kelliher,
1991; Vertessy et al., 1996; Xu, 1999) as well as identifying the
effect of water deficits on forest growth (Battaglia and Sands,
1997).
A.C. Almeida et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 251 (2007) 1021
11
Fig. 1. Map showing location of the study area and detail of the experimental catchment.
12
A.C. Almeida et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 251 (2007) 1021
r 2 0:814; n 38;
(1)
Table 1
Meteorological data from the Microbacia weather station during the period 19962004
Variable
January
Precipitation, R (mm)
Max
229
Min
28
Average
104
S.D.
71
Mean temperature, T (8C)
Max
31.4
Min
22.1
Average
25.5
S.D.
0.7
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
170
18
78
66
495
5
151
146
144
23
83
42
108
3
42
29
122
8
49
36
97
15
43
27
95
18
39
26
153
12
63
54
232
31
113
69
408
68
202
121
274
112
206
61
32.6
22.0
25.9
0.8
1.25
0.53
0.88
0.27
31.7
21.3
25.4
0.9
30.1
21.0
24.4
0.7
27.8
18.9
22.6
0.6
28.1
18.3
21.7
0.6
26.3
17.9
21.1
0.5
27.5
17.4
21.9
0.8
28.1
18.7
21.9
0.7
28.9
18.8
22.9
0.8
29.9
19.6
23.7
1.0
30.1
21.7
25.0
0.5
25. 1
16.4
19.6
1.6
17.6
15.7
16.7
0.6
15.3
13.2
14.4
0.7
15.4
13
13.5
1.0
14.5
13
13.4
0.8
18.9
13.6
15.8
1.7
20.5
13.6
15.5
2.3
21.6
13.8
17.2
2.5
20.5
13.3
17.1
2.6
22.6
17.2
20.0
1.5
1.38
0.48
0.79
0.27
1.03
0.46
0.73
0.18
0.97
0.52
0.74
0.16
1.15
0.41
0.67
0.24
1.14
0.48
0.63
0.18
0.97
0.39
0.75
0.18
1.18
0.34
0.730
0.24
1.14
0.36
0.77
0.26
1.13
0.34
0.67
0.34
1.09
0.41
0.73
0.25
Monthly average, maximum, minimum and standard deviation of precipitation (R) mean temperature (T), global radiation (fs), and daylight vapor pressure deficit (D).
A.C. Almeida et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 251 (2007) 1021
13
14
A.C. Almeida et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 251 (2007) 1021
(3)
0:57
umax
(4)
In Eq. (4) u is the current water content in the soil rooting zone
(mm) and umax is the matching water holding capacity (mm).
gs gs max mw C l C l min
(5)
In Eq. (5) gs max is the maximum conductance, without moisture deficit in the soil when the radiation threshold is reached in
the morning, Cl min the water potential at stomatal closure
(around 2.0 MPa), and mw is the slope of the relationship
for eucalypt (0.7 cm s1 MPa1).
gsD gs SD D
(6)
A.C. Almeida et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 251 (2007) 1021
15
(7)
where A is the stand age in years after planting. The 3-PG model
adequately predicted the observed changes in LAI during the
rotation (Fig. 2).
4.2. Soil moisture profile
Root system depth, established by excavation, varied from
0.80 m at age 2 years to 1.6 m at age 7 years. These data showed
no clear and direct relationship between the soil moisture
extraction patterns and the root systems of the trees. Water was
extracted mainly from the first metre of the soil (Fig. 3). An
exception was the measurement made in 2001, which shows a
more uniform soil moisture profile down to 1.6 m.
4.3. Water balance
Fig. 2. Observed leaf area index (filled circles) in the experimental catchment
during the entire rotation and predicted leaf area index by 3-PG model (dashed
line). The solid line is the representation of Eq. (7).
Fig. 4. (a) Variation in available soil water measured (dots) and predicted with
the UAPE model during the stand rotation. Daily precipitation (bars) is shown in
the right axis. (b) Variation in available soil water measured (dots) and predicted
with the 3-PG model during the stand rotation (triangles).
16
A.C. Almeida et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 251 (2007) 1021
4.4. Runoff
(8)
Fig. 6 shows periods of water deficit (above the unity line) and
periods when the trees used less water than the precipitation
(below the unity line). The rainfall average for this region is
1350 mm. The year 20022003 was very atypical with only
634 mm rain, which was clearly insufficient to supply the
requirements of the trees.
Table 2
Results of water balance by hydrological year estimated by UAPE model
Balance factor
Precipitation (mm)
Runoff (mm)
Interceptation (mm)
Soil evaporation (mm)
Transpiration (mm)
Upward flux (mm)
Stock variation (mm)
Evapotranspiration (mm)
Evapotranspiration/precipitation rate (mm)
Hydrological year
Average
19981999
19992000
20002001
20012002
20022003
20032004
1020
30
117
89
851
50
22
1058
1.04
1272
62
168
70
1009
61
18
1247
0.98
979
17
134
71
806
101
42
1012
1.03
1507
128
135
107
1092
13
52
1334
0.89
643
0
77
69
635
114
33
781
1.21
1461
155
97
106
916
121
60
1119
0.77
1147
65
121
85
885
36
20
1092
0.95
A.C. Almeida et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 251 (2007) 1021
17
Table 3
Annually water runoff and upward flux observed in the weir and in the piezometer, respectively and estimated by UAPE model
Hydrological year
20002001
20012002
20022003
Total
Average
19981999
19992000
20032004
20
30
10
31
62
32
11
17
6
67
128
61
0
0
0
106
158
52
236
396
161
39
66
27
48
50
2
24
61
38
57
101
44
8
13
4
104
114
10
0
60
60
240
279
38
40
46
6
The upward flux observed was calculated based on water table level variation. The year 20032004 refer to the period October 2003May 2004 since the plantation
was harvested from June 2004.
Fig. 8. Water table level variation from 1994 to 2004 in three piezometers located in the catchment. Piezometer a is located in a block harvested in 1996, planted in
1997 and thinned at end of 2001. Piezometer b and d are located in a block planted in 1997 and harvested in 2004. The area of piezometer c was planted in 1997
and was not harvested.
October
October
October
October
October
October
October
Piezometer identification
19971998
19981999
19992000
20002001
20012002
20022003
20032004
7.10
0.10
0.73
1.29
0.50 T
0.38
2.96
0.80
1.14
0.19
1.83
0.21 CC
0.78
1.90
0.27
3.47
0.00
0.63
0.98
0.15
1.19
0.21 CC
4.13
6.42
2.44
0.05
7.05
The plantation stand in the block of piezometer a was thinned at the end of
2001 (T). The blocks where are piezometers b and d were harvested in the
middle of 2004 (CC).
18
A.C. Almeida et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 251 (2007) 1021
Fig. 10. Stem volume predicted by 3-PG model and observed from permanent
sample plots.
Fig. 9. (a) Current annual increment (CAI) (m3 ha1 year1) observed during
the hydrological year (OctoberSeptember) (solid line and filled circles), CAI
predicted by 3-PG model (dashed line and filled triangles), WUE calculated
using observed growth data and evapotranspiration predicted by UAPE model
(open circles) and WUE calculated by 3-PG model (open triangles). The right
axes show respective annual (OctoberSeptember) precipitation. (b) Annual
average observed leaf area index.
dry year in 2003 (Fig. 9). There was a good agreement between
observed CAI and that predicted by the 3-PG model.
The values obtained of WUE are consistent with other
studies (Pereira et al., 1986; Landsberg, 1999a). The normalised WUE for the annual effects of VPD, explains part of the
variation in WUE for the first 3 years but not for the last 2 years
of the study.
There was a significant reduction of WUE when the trees
become older (Fig. 9a and Table 5). The most significant
example was associated with the high precipitation that
Table 5
Annual (from October to September) stem biomass increment, water-use efficiency (WUE) calculated using stem growth from permanent sample plot and
evapotranspiration estimated by UAPE model and WUE predicted by 3-PG model
Year
Stem biomass
production (kg ha1)
Water-use efficiency
(g DM kg1)
UAPE
3-PG
19981999
19992000
20002001
20012002
20022003
25.551
52.311
25.789
20.707
6.454
2.4
4.2
2.5
1.6
0.8
2.8
4.2
3.2
3.0
1.9
VPD (kPa)
0.67
0.49
0.61
0.52
1.03
1.6
2.1
1.6
0.8
0.8
1.9
2.0
2.0
1.5
1.9
A.C. Almeida et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 251 (2007) 1021
19
cutting from the other blocks after April 2004. This is a good
indication of a possible useful forest management practice on a
catchment scale: one can speculate that the maintenance of
trees of at least two different ages distributed in the catchment
will result in reduced variation in water table levels.
Several studies have demonstrated that growth of E. grandis
plantations in Brazil (Stape et al., 2004; Almeida et al., 2004b),
and in other places such as South Africa (Dye, 1996) is strongly
affected by climate. Rainfall distribution affects the availability
of soil water and vapor pressure deficit may restrict growth
through its effects on stomata. These effects can be identified by
analysing plantation growth in terms of CAI and MAI for
different years and regions using 3-PG (Almeida and Landsberg,
2003; Almeida, 2003). The WUE varied dramatically during, the
rotation, going from maximum of 4.2 g DM kg1 to a minimum
of 0.8 g DM kg1 estimated by UAPE and 4.21.9 g DM kg1
estimated by 3-PG, to suggest that stands receiving water close to
historical average rainfall, and with LAI around 3.03.5, convert
water to biomass more efficiently.
The results obtained from 6 years of study and modelling
allow us to answer important questions regarding fast-growing
eucalypt plantations in Brazil and establish further research
requirements. The questions posed at the beginning of this
paper were:
How much water do E. grandis hybrids use during the
rotation cycle?
Transpiration by the trees was the main component of water
use. The maximum annual transpiration (>1000 mm year1)
was observed when the plantations were 3344-months old
(year 19992000) and 5768-months (year 20012002) when
the rainfall was 1272 mm and 1507 mm, respectively. The
historical average annual rainfall based on 37 years of daily
data is 1350 mm, which appears to be sufficient to meet the
plantation demand for water in this environment. Inter-annual
variations in precipitation and LAI were the main determinants
of water use. It has been shown previously in this plantation
that the trees exert strong stomatal control (Mielke et al., 1999)
and are very dependent on distribution of precipitation for high
growth rates. During the dry season an upward flux of water in
the soil was observed, which provided enough water for the
trees to avoid total stomatal closure and maintain transpiration
at lower rates (Soares and Almeida, 2001).
The reduction in LAI towards the end of the rotation tends
to affect water use (Soares and Almeida, 2001). This is most
clearly illustrated by comparing evapotranspiration in the
years 19992000 and 20032004 (see Table 2), when it was
1247 mm and 1119 mm, respectively, despite the fact that
there was 13% more precipitation in the 20032004 season
than in 19992000. Soil evaporation and rainfall interception
also depend on LAI and rainfall intensity and duration. Our
measurements
show
maximum
interception
of
168 mm year1 when the LAI was between 3.5 m2 m2
and 4.0 m2 m2, which coincides with lower soil evaporation.
Plantations older than 5 years tend to reduce their water use
mainly as result of the reduction of leaf area.
How does the precipitation affect forest growth?
20
A.C. Almeida et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 251 (2007) 1021
6. Conclusions
The results obtained in this study show that E. grandis
hybrids in Brazil are on average, using water according to its
availability. Modelled estimates give good agreement with
observed data for all components of the hydrological cycle.
Total evapotranspiration over the 6 years of the study was lower
than the rainfall, with a ratio of 0.95, overall effects on water
table depth do not appear to be serious. Forest growth is
affected by water availability, particularly by drought, but
climatic effects on growth are confounded with the decline in
LAI and growth in the later stages of the rotation, characteristic
of these plantations. Long-term ecophysiological and hydrological studies at catchment scales appear to be the best way to
continuously improve forest management techniques and
optimise the use of water and to increase forest productivity.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge with thanks permission given by Aracruz
Celulose S.A. to publish these data and the results of our
analyses. The senior author acknowledges with thanks. Carlos
Scardua, Thiago Batista, Abelio Silva, Almir Silva, Marcos
Pereira and Evanio Trivilin, Jose Pissinati and Leomar
Mandelli by their effort in the field data collection and
database organisation. We would like to acknowledge Dr. Chris
Beadle, Dr. Michael Battaglia and Dr. Peter Sands and the two
anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and
suggestions to improve the manuscript.
References
Albuquerque, J.L.F., Almeida, A.C., Silva, A.L.B., Blanco, R.G., 1997. Caracterizacao hidrogeologica de microbacia de monitoramento ambiental com
o uso de metodos geofsicos. In: V Simposio de Geologia do Sudeste,
Itatiaia, Sao Paulo, December 9, 1997.
Almeida, A.C., 2003. Application of a process-based model for predicting and
explaining growth in Eucalyptus plantations. PhD Thesis. The Australian
National University, 232 pp.
Almeida, A.C., Landsberg, J.J., 2003. Evaluating methods of estimating global
radiation and vapor pressure deficit using a dense network of automatic
weather stations in coastal Brazil. Agric. For. Meteorol. 118, 237250.
Almeida, A.C., Soares, J.V., 2003. Comparacao entre o uso de agua em
plantacoes de Eucaliptus grandis e floresta ombrofila densa (Mata Atlan rvore 27, 159170.
tica) na costa leste do Brasil. R. A
Almeida, A.C., Landsberg, J.J., Sands, P.J., 2004a. Parameterisation of 3-PG
model for fast-growing Eucalyptus grandis plantations. For. Ecol. Manage.
193, 179195.
Almeida, A.C., Landsberg, J.J., Sands, P.J., Ambrogi, M.S., Fonseca, S.,
Barddal, S.M., Bertolucci, F.L., 2004b. Needs and opportunities for using
a process-based productivity model as a practical tool in Eucalyptus
plantations. For. Ecol. Manage. 193, 167177.
Battaglia, M., Sands, P., 1997. Modelling site productivity of Eucalyptus
globulus in response to climatic and site factors. Aust. J. Plant Physiol.
24, 831850.
A.C. Almeida et al. / Forest Ecology and Management 251 (2007) 1021
Battaglia, M., Cherry, M.L., Beadle, C.L., Sands, P.J., Hingston, A., 1998.
Prediction of leaf area index in eucalypt plantations: effects of water stress
and temperature. Tree Physiol. 18, 521528.
Blanco, R.G., Almeida, A.C., Silva, A.L.B., Albuquerque, J.L.F., 1997. Aplicacao do mapeamento de potencial espontaneo na definicao do comportamento dos fluxos de agua subterranea em uma microbacia de
monitoramento ambiental. In: Congresso Internacional da Sociedade Brasileira de Geofsica, Sao Paulo, September 28, 1997, pp. 478480.
Calder, I.R., 1998. Water use by forests, limits and controls. Tree Physiol. 18,
625631.
Campbell, G.S., 1974. A simple method for determining unsaturated conductivity from moisture retention data. Soil Sci. 117, 311314.
Choudhury, B.J., Monteith, J.L., 1988. A four-layer model for the heat budget of
homogeneous land surfaces. Quart. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 114, 373398.
Clapp, R.B., Hornberger, G.M., 1978. Empirical equations for some soil
hydraulic properties. Water Res. Res. 14 .
Cutini, A., Matteucci, G., Mugnozza, G.S., 1998. Estimation of leaf area index
with the Li-Cor LAI 2000 in deciduous forests. For. Ecol. Manage. 105, 55
65.
Dye, P.J., 1987. Estimating water use by Eucalyptus grandis with Penman
Monteith equation. In: IAHS-AISH, (Ed.), Vancouver Symposium Forest
Hydrology and Watershed Management. International Association of
Hydrological Sciences, Vancouver, Canada, pp. 329337.
Dye, P.J., 1996. Response of Eucalyptus grandis trees to soil water deficits. Tree
Physiol. 16, 233238.
Dye, P.J., 2000. Water-use efficiency in South African Eucalyptus plantations: a
review. S. Afr. For. J. 189, 1725.
Hatton, T.J., Wu, H., 1995. Scaling theory to extrapolate individual tree water
use to stand water use. Hydrol. Proc. 9, 527540.
Hatton, T.J., Walker, J., Dawes, W.R., Dunin, F.X., 1992. Simulations of
hydroecological responses to elevated CO2 at the catchment scale. Aust.
J. Bot. 40, 679696.
Hingston, F.J., Galbraith, J.H., Dimmock, G.M., 1998. Application of the
process-based model BIOMASS to Eucalyptus globulus ssp. globulus
plantations on ex-farmland in South Western Australia. I. Water use by
trees and assessing risk of losses due to drought. For. Ecol. Manage. 106,
141156.
Landsberg, J.J., 1999a. Relationships between water use efficiency and tree
production. In: Landsberg, J.J. (Ed.), The Ways Trees use Water, vol. 5.
ACT, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, pp. 5465.
Landsberg, J.J., 1999b. Tree water use and its implications in relation to
agroforestry systems. In: Landsberg, J.J. (Ed.), The Ways Trees use Water,
vol. 1. ACT, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, pp.
138.
Landsberg, J.J., Waring, R.H., 1997. A generalised model of forest productivity
using simplified concepts of radiation-use efficiency, carbon balance and
partitioning. For. Ecol. Manage. 95, 209228.
Landsberg, J.J., Waring, R.H., Coops, N.C., 2000. The 3-PG forest model:
matters arising from evaluation against plantation data from different
countries. In: Carnus, J.M., Dewar, R., Loustau, D., Tome, M., Orazio,
C. (Eds.), Models for the Sustainable Management of Temperate Plantation
Forests. EFI Publications, Bourdeaux, France, pp. 115.
Landsberg, J.J., Waring, R.H., Coops, N.C., 2003. Performance of the forest
productivity model 3-PG applied to a wide range of forest types. For. Ecol.
Manage. 172, 199214.
Li-Cor Inc., 1992. LAI-2000 Plant Canopy Analyzer: Operating Manual. LiCor, Inc., Lincoln, NE, pp. 1183.
21