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Water use of a bioenergy plantation increases in a future high CO2 world

Water use of a bioenergy plantation increases in a future high CO2 world
Water use of a bioenergy plantation increases in a future high CO2 world
Fast-growing poplar trees may in future be used as a source of renewable energy for heat, electricity and biofuels such as bioethanol. Water use in Populus x euramericana (clone I214), following long-term exposure to elevated CO2 in the POPFACE (poplar free-air carbon dioxide enrichment) experiment, is quantified here.

Stomatal conductance was measured and, during two measurement campaigns made before and after coppicing, whole-tree water use was determined using heat-balance sap-flow gauges, first validated using eddy covariance measurements of latent heat flux.

Water use was determined by the balance between leaf-level reductions in stomatal conductance and tree-level stimulations in transpiration. Reductions in stomatal conductance were found that varied between 16 and 39% relative to ambient air. Whole-tree sap flow was increased in plants growing under elevated CO2, on average, by 12 and 23%, respectively, in the first and in the second measurement campaigns.

These results suggest that future CO2 concentrations may result in an increase in seasonal water use in fast-growing, short-rotation Populus plantations
sap flow, FACE, leaf area, biomass crop, stomatal conductance
0961-9534
200-208
Tricker, Penny J.
a4db1985-2cd5-4356-b932-77ae8ed7d25c
Pecchiari, Marco
6d03673b-46f5-44e7-9868-acb19eb7985a
Bunn, Steve M.
b0e0d5f6-e7da-4c9b-afcd-3c3d9993b048
Vaccari, Francesco P.
c856870f-c481-4590-9d51-f5cac34d9970
Peressotti, Alessandro
cf3ace7c-37f4-482e-aca1-d8f507eb1fcc
Miglietta, Franco
efe1ee52-c4f4-475b-8386-3550508e2d59
Taylor, Gail
Tricker, Penny J.
a4db1985-2cd5-4356-b932-77ae8ed7d25c
Pecchiari, Marco
6d03673b-46f5-44e7-9868-acb19eb7985a
Bunn, Steve M.
b0e0d5f6-e7da-4c9b-afcd-3c3d9993b048
Vaccari, Francesco P.
c856870f-c481-4590-9d51-f5cac34d9970
Peressotti, Alessandro
cf3ace7c-37f4-482e-aca1-d8f507eb1fcc
Miglietta, Franco
efe1ee52-c4f4-475b-8386-3550508e2d59
Taylor, Gail

Tricker, Penny J., Pecchiari, Marco, Bunn, Steve M., Vaccari, Francesco P., Peressotti, Alessandro, Miglietta, Franco and Taylor, Gail (2009) Water use of a bioenergy plantation increases in a future high CO2 world. Biomass and Bioenergy, 33 (2), 200-208. (doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2008.05.009).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Fast-growing poplar trees may in future be used as a source of renewable energy for heat, electricity and biofuels such as bioethanol. Water use in Populus x euramericana (clone I214), following long-term exposure to elevated CO2 in the POPFACE (poplar free-air carbon dioxide enrichment) experiment, is quantified here.

Stomatal conductance was measured and, during two measurement campaigns made before and after coppicing, whole-tree water use was determined using heat-balance sap-flow gauges, first validated using eddy covariance measurements of latent heat flux.

Water use was determined by the balance between leaf-level reductions in stomatal conductance and tree-level stimulations in transpiration. Reductions in stomatal conductance were found that varied between 16 and 39% relative to ambient air. Whole-tree sap flow was increased in plants growing under elevated CO2, on average, by 12 and 23%, respectively, in the first and in the second measurement campaigns.

These results suggest that future CO2 concentrations may result in an increase in seasonal water use in fast-growing, short-rotation Populus plantations

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More information

Published date: February 2009
Keywords: sap flow, FACE, leaf area, biomass crop, stomatal conductance

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 183383
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/183383
ISSN: 0961-9534
PURE UUID: 8664f34c-b706-4167-99d7-a142bfc91b2f

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Date deposited: 03 May 2011 13:57
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 03:03

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Contributors

Author: Penny J. Tricker
Author: Marco Pecchiari
Author: Steve M. Bunn
Author: Francesco P. Vaccari
Author: Alessandro Peressotti
Author: Franco Miglietta
Author: Gail Taylor

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