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Forests
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Nutrients and Water Use of Trees in Tropical Forests
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Nutrients and Water Use of Trees in Tropical Forests

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecophysiology and Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 June 2021) | Viewed by 7290

Special Issue Editor

PD Dr. Norbert Kunert

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
Interests: silviculture; tropical forest ecology; ecohydrology; tree hydraulics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nutrient and water uptake pattern are strongly linked processes in trees. Both patterns control the long-term productivity of any forest ecosystem. Forest function depends consequently on nutrient and water availability. With some exceptions, tropical forest ecosystems are characterized by a very low nutrient availability contrasting with at least seasonally high water availability. Tropical trees have evolved strategies to deal with those two very special circumstances and environmental conditions. Despite advances in the understanding of nutrient and water cycling in tropical forests, tropical tree ecophysiology remains a chronically understudied field. In the face of global climate change, rainfall regimes are rapidly changing and potentially affecting nutrient and water uptake of trees. Hence, there is an urgent need to understand the current processes and how they will alter with climate change. Therefore, I invite submissions for a Special Issue of Forests on the subject of “Nutrient and Water Use of Trees in Tropical Forests”. I encourage all types of studies including experimental, monitoring, and modeling approaches from the individual to landscape-scale level. I also welcome studies on strategies related to climate change and the sustainable management of tropical forests, and how to manage tropical ecosystems to optimize the use of nutrient and water resources. Topics for submissions may include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Nutrient and water use efficiency
  • Nutrient limitation in tropical forests
  • Nutrient retention
  • Nutrient element cycling
  • Tree hydraulic traits
  • Whole tree water use
  • Tree transpiration
  • Sap flux
  • Forest ecohydrology

PD Dr. Norbert Kunert
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Nutrient availability
  • Nutrient uptake
  • Nutrient depletions
  • Resource use
  • Soil moisture uptake
  • Xylem water transport
  • Drought stress

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2458 KiB  
Article
Assessing Forest Level Response to the Death of a Dominant Tree within a Premontane Tropical Rainforest
by Manuel R. Flores III III, Luiza Maria Teophilo Aparecido, Gretchen R. Miller and Georgianne W. Moore
Forests 2021, 12(8), 1041; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12081041 - 5 Aug 2021
Viewed by 3145
Abstract
Small-scale treefall gaps are among the most important forms of forest disturbance in tropical forests. These gaps expose surrounding trees to more light, promoting rapid growth of understory plants. However, the effects of such small-scale disturbances on the distribution of plant water use [...] Read more.
Small-scale treefall gaps are among the most important forms of forest disturbance in tropical forests. These gaps expose surrounding trees to more light, promoting rapid growth of understory plants. However, the effects of such small-scale disturbances on the distribution of plant water use across tree canopy levels are less known. To address this, we explored plant transpiration response to the death of a large emergent tree, Mortoniodendron anisophyllum Standl. & Steyerm (DBH > 220 cm; height ~40 m). Three suppressed, four mid-story, and two subdominant trees were selected within a 50 × 44 m premontane tropical forest plot at the Texas A&M Soltis Center for Research and Education located in Costa Rica. We compared water use rates of the selected trees before (2015) and after (2019) the tree gap using thermal dissipation sap flow sensors. Hemispherical photography indicated a 40% increase in gap fraction as a result of changes in canopy structure after the treefall gap. Micrometeorological differences (e.g., air temperature, relative humidity, and vapor pressure deficit (VPD)) could not explain the observed trends. Rather, light penetration, as measured by sensors within the canopy, increased significantly in 2019. One year after the tree fell, the water usage of trees across all canopy levels increased modestly (15%). Moreover, average water usage by understory trees increased by 36%, possibly as a result of the treefall gap, exceeding even that of overstory trees. These observations suggest the possible reallocation of water use between overstory and understory trees in response to the emergent tree death. With increasing global temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns increasing the likelihood of tree mortality in tropical forests, there is a greater need to enhance our understanding of treefall disturbances that have the potential to redistribute resources within forests. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrients and Water Use of Trees in Tropical Forests)
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20 pages, 2203 KiB  
Article
Effect of Bentonite on the Early Growth Characteristics of Teak Seedlings Planted in Sandy Soil in Northeast Thailand—A Pilot Study
by Masazumi Kayama, Suchat Nimpila, Sutjaporn Hongthong, Reiji Yoneda, Woraphun Himmapan and Iwao Noda
Forests 2021, 12(1), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12010026 - 28 Dec 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3356
Abstract
The growth of teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) seedlings in sandy soil in northeast Thailand is suppressed by infertility and drought stress. In a preliminary field pot experiment, we confirmed that bentonite was useful for increasing soil water availability. To monitor early [...] Read more.
The growth of teak (Tectona grandis L. f.) seedlings in sandy soil in northeast Thailand is suppressed by infertility and drought stress. In a preliminary field pot experiment, we confirmed that bentonite was useful for increasing soil water availability. To monitor early growth characteristics of teak seedlings in sandy soil, we curried out an experiment of teak seedlings using bentonite and fertilizer in the field from July 2014 to November 2015. We then compared the growth, biomass, photosynthetic rate, leaf water potential, and concentration of elements in the plant organs among the four treatments. Bentonite increased both soil pH and Ca during the experimental period, and retained P in fertilizer. The dry mass of teak seedlings was markedly increased by concurrent use of bentonite and fertilizer. However, the use of bentonite alone showed little increase of dry mass of teak seedlings. Moreover, application of bentonite was mitigated drought stress in dry season, and photosynthetic rate showed high value by high concentration of chlorophyll. The concentration of K in root of teak seedlings was increased by application of bentonite, and its value showed positive correlation with the relative growth rate of teak seedlings. We concluded that bentonite was useful for the uptake of K and retention of P in fertilizer, as a result, growth of teak seedlings was accelerated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrients and Water Use of Trees in Tropical Forests)
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