Journal
TREES-STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
Volume 26, Issue 4, Pages 1317-1330Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s00468-012-0708-5
Keywords
Fabaceae (legume); Sap flux; Dry forest; Water use; Stand transpiration; Heat-dissipation sensors; Water budget
Categories
Funding
- Fondo Sectorial Comision Nacional Forestal-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia [2003-C03-09765]
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia [050356]
- National Science Foundation [0516387]
- Division Of Environmental Biology
- Direct For Biological Sciences [0516387] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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We investigated vegetation structure, seasonal water use and leaf deciduousness in a seasonally dry forest of DzibilchaltA(0)n, Mexico. Legumes, species which tend to dominate these forests, have an array of water-saving traits. We explored whether legume species had reduced water use under similar growth conditions as other non-legume species of this seasonally dry forest. Sap flux and conductive sapwood area were measured for eight legume and 12 non-legume species. Species abundance, diameter at breast height (DBH), wood density and seasonal leaf cover were characterized in 16, 10 x 10 m(2) plots. Seasonal stand water use was calculated using the sap flux and ecological data. As predicted, legumes presented lower whole-tree water use compared with sympatric non-legume species. This difference, however, was related to a higher allocation to non-conductive heartwood in legumes and not to differences in sap flux density. Differences in allocation were higher in wider stems (> 10 cm DBH); legumes above 25 cm DBH presented nearly half the daily water use of non-legumes of similar size. Wet (July) and dry (March) season stand water use was 629,000 and 156,000 kg ha(-1) month(-1), respectively. During the wet season three non-legume species with high basal area dominated the stand water use, but due to early leaf fall in these species, dry season stand water use was dominated by the legumes.
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