Title: A model of transpiration and soil-water balance for a mature oak forest
Abstract: A hydrological model for the development of the soil-water content in a 120-year-old oak stand (Quercus petraea) is presented with a 1-day time resolution. The model was conceived for working with daily potential evapotranspiration, throughfall and leaf area index data. It predicts transpiration from the dry canopy and soil-water content. The canopy is considered as a single leaf (the Penman-Monteith equation) which entails measurements of the physiological control of vapour flow from the leaf such as stomatal resistance (porometer), leaf water potential (pressure chamber), leaf area index, root distribution and soil-water potential (tensiometers). The model estimates the daily leaf water potential that controls the opening of the stomata which in turn regulate the transpiration flow by equating soil moisture abstraction and transpiration. The model was tested using data for the growing seasons of the Fontainebleu forest near Paris (France) in 1981, 1982 and 1983. Simulated transpiration and soil-water content correlated well with neutron probe measurements of the soil-water content. The model can be used for the quantification of tree water stress, which has numerous applications such as assessing stand productivity, disease and insect epidemic susceptibility, fire danger rating and nutrient cycling.
Publication Year: 1989
Publication Date: 1989-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 25
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