Water taken up through the bark is detected in the transpiration stream in intact upper‐canopy branches

Alternative water uptake pathways through leaves and bark complement water supply with interception, fog or dew. Bark water‐uptake contributes to embolism‐repair, as demonstrated in cut branches. We tested whether bark water‐uptake could also contribute to supplement xylem‐water for transpiration. W...

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Published in:Plant, cell and environment cell and environment, 2022-11, Vol.45 (11), p.3219-3232
Main Authors: Gimeno, Teresa E., Stangl, Zsofia R., Barbeta, Adrià, Saavedra, Noelia, Wingate, Lisa, Devert, Nicolas, Marshall, John D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bark
Canopies
Composition
deuterium
drought
Embolism
Enrichment
Environmental Sciences
European beech
Fog
Forest Science
frost
hydrogen
Interception
Isotopes
Leaves
Liquid phases
Medical materials
oxygen
Pine trees
Scots pine
Skogsvetenskap
Temperate forests
Transpiration
water stable isotopes
Water supply
Water uptake
Water vapor
Xylem
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Summary:Alternative water uptake pathways through leaves and bark complement water supply with interception, fog or dew. Bark water‐uptake contributes to embolism‐repair, as demonstrated in cut branches. We tested whether bark water‐uptake could also contribute to supplement xylem‐water for transpiration. We applied bandages injected with 2H‐enriched water on intact upper‐canopy branches of Pinus sylvestris and Fagus sylvatica in a boreal and in a temperate forest, in summer and winter, and monitored transpiration and online isotopic composition (δ2H and δ18O) of water vapour, before sampling for analyses of δ2H and δ18O in tissue waters. Xylem, bark and leaf waters from segments downstream from the bandages were 2H‐enriched whereas δ18O was similar to controls. Transpiration was positively correlated with 2H‐enrichment. Isotopic compositions of transpiration and xylem water allowed us to calculate isotopic exchange through the bark via vapour exchange, which was negligible in comparison to estimated bark water‐uptake, suggesting that water‐uptake occurred via liquid phase. Results were consistent across species, forests and seasons, indicating that bark water‐uptake may be more ubiquitous than previously considered. We suggest that water taken up through the bark could be incorporated into the transpiration stream, which could imply that sap‐flow measurements underestimate transpiration when bark is wet. Summary Statement We applied bandages soaked in isotopically enriched water to intact branches of Pinus sylvestris and Fagus sylvatica and measured isotopic composition of transpiration and tissue water. Our experiments showed that water taken up through the bark could be incorporated into the xylem and feed transpiration.
ISSN:0140-7791
1365-3040
1365-3040
DOI:10.1111/pce.14415