Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 116, Issue 34, Pages 16909-16914Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1905912116
Keywords
tree rings; stable isotopes; water-use efficiency; AmeriFlux; CO2 fertilization
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation (NSF) [1638688, 1832210, 1637685]
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NNX12AK56G]
- Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship H2020-MSCA-IF 2015 [705432, 701329]
- NSF [1229887, DEB-1114804]
- Northeastern States Research Cooperative
- US Department of Agriculture Forest Service's Northern Research Station
- Direct For Social, Behav & Economic Scie
- Division Of Behavioral and Cognitive Sci [1229887] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Environmental Biology
- Direct For Biological Sciences [1832210] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Marie Curie Actions (MSCA) [701329, 705432] Funding Source: Marie Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Multiple lines of evidence suggest that plant water-use efficiency (WUE)-the ratio of carbon assimilation to water loss-has increased in recent decades. Although rising atmospheric CO2 has been proposed as the principal cause, the underlying physiological mechanisms are still being debated, and implications for the global water cycle remain uncertain. Here, we addressed this gap using 30-y tree ring records of carbon and oxygen isotope measurements and basal area increment from 12 species in 8 North American mature temperate forests. Our goal was to separate the contributions of enhanced photosynthesis and reduced stomatal conductance to WUE trends and to assess consistency between multiple commonly used methods for estimating WUE. Our results show that tree ring-derived estimates of increases in WUE are consistent with estimates from atmospheric measurements and predictions based on an optimal balancing of carbon gains and water costs, but are lower than those based on ecosystem scale flux observations. Although both physiological mechanisms contributed to rising WUE, enhanced photosynthesis was widespread, while reductions in stomatal conductance were modest and restricted to species that experienced moisture limitations. This finding challenges the hypothesis that rising WUE in forests is primarily the result of widespread, CO2-induced reductions in stomatal conductance.
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