Vertical Variation of Bark Water Storage Capacity of Pinus strobus L. (Eastern White Pine) in Southern Illinois

Abstract

Abstract Knowledge of the vertical variation of bark water storage capacity (BWSC) is essential in understanding the processes of throughfall and stemflow yield in forest ecosystems. Determination of vertical variation of BWSC is also necessary to understand microscale variations in moisture availability that affect the diversity and distribution of corticolous lichen and bryophyte communities on tree boles. This field note reports that BWSC of a tree bole of Pinus strobus L. (eastern white pine; 28.4 cm dbh, 22.5 m tall) differs substantially as a function of height above ground. BWSC of the bottom section of the tree bole (5.6 L m−2) was approximately twice as much as the top section (2.5 L m−2). Total BWSC for this tree's bole was 52.5 L. Further research of the interactions among bark water storage capacity, stemflow yield, and the diversity and distribution of corticolous lichens and bryophytes will improve our understanding of the canopy water balance and the functional ecology of forest ecosystems.