Articles
How does transpiration of commonly planted garden trees respond to fluctuations in environmental drivers?
Article number
1429_8
Pages
71 – 76
Language
English
Abstract
Urban growth creates pressure on natural ecosystems globally, leading to surface flooding, excessive heating, increasing biodiversity-loss and air pollution.
Garden trees can effectively mitigate these challenges in cities, accounting for an estimated 25% of the urban canopy.
Planting trees in gardens can therefore make a substantial impact on the ecosystem-service-delivery of the urban forest.
However, there is a knowledge-gap when it comes to advice on which trees to plant and where.
Service-delivery (thermal regulation, rainfall attenuation and carbon sequestration) of a specific species is closely linked to its water-use.
To understand how tree transpiration responds to environmental fluctuations: air temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, relative humidity (RH) and soil temperature, nine commonly planted garden trees were container-grown and monitored in an outdoor field trial over two years.
To cover a wide selection of species commonly planted in UK gardens, a selection of trees with a range of different growth characteristics were included in the trial with genera including Crataegus, Cupressus, Ilex, Magnolia, Malus, Picea, Prunus, Pyrus and Sorbus and installed with sap flow sensors.
The results showed how Malus had the steepest increase in sap flux in response to an increase in solar radiation in June and October. Crataegus had overall the highest sap flux density.
To know what trees to recommend to gardeners, now and in the future, it is crucial to understand how these species respond to the fluctuations of environmental factors.
Garden trees can effectively mitigate these challenges in cities, accounting for an estimated 25% of the urban canopy.
Planting trees in gardens can therefore make a substantial impact on the ecosystem-service-delivery of the urban forest.
However, there is a knowledge-gap when it comes to advice on which trees to plant and where.
Service-delivery (thermal regulation, rainfall attenuation and carbon sequestration) of a specific species is closely linked to its water-use.
To understand how tree transpiration responds to environmental fluctuations: air temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, relative humidity (RH) and soil temperature, nine commonly planted garden trees were container-grown and monitored in an outdoor field trial over two years.
To cover a wide selection of species commonly planted in UK gardens, a selection of trees with a range of different growth characteristics were included in the trial with genera including Crataegus, Cupressus, Ilex, Magnolia, Malus, Picea, Prunus, Pyrus and Sorbus and installed with sap flow sensors.
The results showed how Malus had the steepest increase in sap flux in response to an increase in solar radiation in June and October. Crataegus had overall the highest sap flux density.
To know what trees to recommend to gardeners, now and in the future, it is crucial to understand how these species respond to the fluctuations of environmental factors.
Authors
E.K. Larsen, R. Tanner, M.B. Gush, J. Barker, T. Blanua
Keywords
sap flux, ecosystem services, garden trees, environmental drivers
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