Radial and axial water movement in adult trees recorded by stable isotope tracing

The capacity of trees to release water from storage compartments into the transpiration stream can mitigate damage to hydraulic functioning. However, the location of these 'transient' water sources and also the pathways of water movement other than vertical through tree stems still remain poorly understood. We conducted an experiment on two tree species in a common garden in eastern Australia that naturally grow in regions of high (Eucalyptus tereticornis, 'Red Gum') and low (Eucalyptus sideroxylon, 'Ironbark') annual precipitation rates. Deuterium-enriched water (1350% label strength) was directly introduced into the transpiration stream of three trees per species for four consecutive days. Subsequently, the trees were felled, woody tissue samples were collected from different heights and azimuthal positions of the stems, and stable isotope ratios were determined on the water extracted from all samples. The presence/absence of the tracer along the radial and vertical stem axes in combination with xylem hydraulic properties inferred from sapflow, leaf and stem water potentials, wood moisture contents and anatomical sapwood characteristics elucidated species-specific patterns of short-term stem water storage and movement. The distribution of water isotopes at natural abundance among woody tissues indicated systematic differences with highest values of sapwood water and lower values in inner bark and heartwood. Presence of tracer in water of the inner bark highlighted the importance of this tissue as capacitor. Although injected at the northern side of stems, tracer was also discovered at the southern side, providing empirical evidence for circumferential flow in sapwood, particularly of Ironbark. Greater vertical water transport in Red Gum compared with more radial and circumferential water transport in Ironbark were associated with species-specific sapwood anatomy. Our study highlights the value of combining information from stable isotope tracers and wood anatomy to investigate patterns of water transport and storage of tall trees in situ.

Automated summary

The study found species-specific patterns of water transport and storage in tall trees, with differences associated with sapwood anatomy. Ironbark showed circumferential flow, while Red Gum exhibited more vertical water transport. The combination of stable isotope tracers and wood anatomy proved valuable in investigating these patterns in situ.