Transpiration by two poplar varieties grown as coppice for biomass production

Abstract

Fast-growing tree clones selected for biomass plantations are highly productive and therefore likely to use more water than the agricultural crops they replace. We report field measurements of transpiration through the summer of 1994 from two poplar clones, Beaupre (Populus trichocarpa Ton:. and A. Gray x P. deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh.) and Dorschkamp (P. deltoides x P. nigra L.), grown as unirrigated short-rotation coppice in southern England. Stand transpiration was quantified by scaling up from sap flow measurements made with the heat balance method in a sample of stems. Leaf conductances, leaf area development, meteorological variables and soil water deficit were also measured to investigate the response of the trees to the environment. High rates of transpiration were found for Beaupre. In June, when soil water was plentiful, the mean (± SD) transpiration rate over an 18-day period was 5.0 ± 1.8 mm day-1, reaching a maximum of 7.9 mm day-1. Transpiration rates from Dorschkamp were lower, as a result of its lower leaf area index. High total leaf conductances were measured for both Beaupre (0.34 ± 0.17 mol m-2 s-1) and Dorschkamp (0.39 ± 0.16 mol m-2 s-1). Leaf conductance declined slightly with increasing atmospheric vapor pressure deficit in both clones, but only in Beaupre did leaf conductance decrease as soil water deficit increased.