Environmental constraints on transpiration and stomatal conductance in a Siberian Arctic boreal forest

Abstract

AbstractBoreal forest ecosystems are experiencing changes in plant productivity that are likely to continue with ongoing climate change. Transpiration (T) and canopy stomatal conductance (gc) are a key influence on plant productivity, and a better understanding of drivers and limitations of T and gc is necessary for constraining estimates of boreal ecosystem change. We describe patterns in T and gc of a deciduous conifer, Larix cajanderi, in an arctic boreal forest in northeastern Russia across three growing seasons from 2013 to 2015. We examine the influence of environmental drivers on gc using a phenomenological model. T was highly variable across days and varied between 0.03 and 0.75 L m−2 d−1. T and gc largely covaried with daily fluctuations in air temperature and vapor pressure deficit. gc was highly suppressed on days when the vapor pressure deficits exceeded 0.75 kPa with an average daily gc of 37.55 mmol m−2 s−1, and the average daily gc was almost double (71.25 mmol m−2 s−1) when vapor pressure deficits stayed below 0.75 kPa. Daily variation in gc was significantly related to air temperature, permafrost thaw depth, and past precipitation. The influence of past precipitation and permafrost thaw depth on gc indicates that belowground conditions relating to soil moisture status are a key limitation for T. Such limitations on gc and T suggest that soil water and plant water stress play an important role in plant productivity and water relations in far northeastern Siberia.