Estimations of evapotranspiration in an age sequence of Eucalyptus plantations in subtropical China

PLoS One. 2017 Apr 11;12(4):e0174208. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174208. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Eucalyptus species are widely planted for reforestation in subtropical China. However, the effects of Eucalyptus plantations on the regional water use remain poorly understood. In an age sequence of 2-, 4- and 6-year-old Eucalyptus plantations, the tree water use and soil evaporation were examined by linking model estimations and field observations. Results showed that annual evapotranspiration of each age sequence Eucalyptus plantations was 876.7, 944.1 and 1000.7 mm, respectively, accounting for 49.81%, 53.64% and 56.86% of the annual rainfall. In addition, annual soil evaporations of 2-, 4- and 6-year-old were 318.6, 336.1, and 248.7 mm of the respective Eucalyptus plantations. Our results demonstrated that Eucalyptus plantations would potentially reduce water availability due to high evapotranspiration in subtropical regions. Sustainable management strategies should be implemented to reduce water consumption in Eucalyptus plantations in the context of future climate change scenarios such as drought and warming.

MeSH terms

  • China
  • Climate
  • Eucalyptus / metabolism*
  • Forestry*
  • Forests
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Plant Transpiration / physiology*
  • Rain / chemistry
  • Soil / chemistry
  • Temperature
  • Volatilization
  • Water / chemistry*

Substances

  • Soil
  • Water

Grants and funding

This work was financially supported by the National Science Foundation of China (No. 31160153), Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education (KJLD12097; GJJ14744), Gan-po 555 Talent Project and Jiangxi Provincial Fund for Academic and Technical Leadership of Major Disciplines (20162BCB22021). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.