Transpiration by trees from contrasting forest types

Temperate rainforests and eucalypt forests of coastal south-eastern Australia are distributed differentially with aspect. Rainforests, in which Ceratopetalum apetalum D.Don and Doryphora sassafras Endl. are the dominant tree species, occur on slopes of southerly aspect and along gully bottoms, whereas eucalypt forests, dominated by Eucalyptus maculata Hook., occur on upper slopes of northerly aspect and on ridge tops. Whether transpiration rates of trees differed across the rainforest-eucalypt forest boundary on north and south facing aspects was tested by measuring stem sap flow in trees in a single catchment during winter, summer and autumn. Differences in transpiration rate by trees in these stands were due to various combinations of biological and physical factors. Firstly, mean maximum transpiration rate per tree (crown area basis) was greater in rainforest on the gully bottom where deep soil water from down-slope drainage was greater than in eucalypt forest located upslope on the northern aspect. By contrast, there was no difference between maximum transpiration rates in rainforest and eucalypt forest on the southern aspect. Variation in transpiration rate between seasons was not related to variation in surface soil moisture content (< 0 . 35 m depth). Secondly, transpiration rates per unit crown area in rainforest at the gully bottom were associated with higher leaf area indices than upslope on the northern aspect. However, in rainforest upslope on the southern aspect, higher transpiration rates were not associated with higher leaf area indices. Thirdly, trees in eucalypt forest maintained similar sapwood moisture contents in summer as in winter and autumn, whereas sapwood moisture contents declined in rainforest trees in summer, suggesting that eucalypts had access to water from deep within the soil profile which was unavailable to more shallow rooting rainforest trees. Fourthly, higher modal and maximal sap velocities in eucalypt trees were partly due to wider xylem vessels and resulted in faster maximum sap flow and greater daily total water use in all seasons on both aspects than in rainforest species. Finally, as atmospheric demand for water increased from winter to summer, transpiration rates were mediated by stomatal closure as indicated by lower average midday shoot conductance to water vapour during summer than other seasons. The interaction between microenvironment, which determines water availability, and physiological attributes, which determine tree water acquisition and use, may contribute to the differential distribution of rainforest and eucalypt forest with aspect in south-eastern Australia.