Soil moisture and water redistribution patterns in white oak (Quercus alba) saplings and trees in fragmented urban woodlands

In the midwestern United States, models predict extended summer heatwaves and increasingly frequent and prolonged drought conditions. In the Chicago region, the potential for large-scale mortality of white oak trees (Quercus alba) coupled with the ongoing decline of white oak sapling recruitment are...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental research 2024-12, Vol.263 (Pt 2), p.120106, Article 120106
Main Authors: Clark, Ry'yan, Miller, William M., Osburn, Magdalena R., Beddows, Patricia A., Evans, Matt, Egerton-Warburton, Louise M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chicago
Deuterium
Droughts
Ectomycorrhizal fungi
Forests
Hydraulic redistribution
Isotopic composition
Quercus
Rain
Rainfall
Soil - chemistry
Trees
Water - analysis
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Summary:In the midwestern United States, models predict extended summer heatwaves and increasingly frequent and prolonged drought conditions. In the Chicago region, the potential for large-scale mortality of white oak trees (Quercus alba) coupled with the ongoing decline of white oak sapling recruitment are major concerns for researchers and practitioners. In this study, we determined the sources of water used by mature white oak trees and saplings in three qualitatively different sites within a remnant oak forest in Chicago during the 2021 drought. We investigated soil moisture dynamics (volumetric water content, VWC) and water isotope composition of leaf tissues (δD, δ18O), rainwater, and groundwater. These data were linked to sapling height (proxy for biomass) and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) functional types. We predicted that: (i) mature oak trees use deeper water sources and conducted hydraulic redistribution (HR), and (ii) mature trees shared water with saplings during dry periods via long-distance ECM functional types. Soil moisture decreased progressively from June to October (spring to fall), with August and September having the lowest moisture (
ISSN:0013-9351
1096-0953
1096-0953
DOI:10.1016/j.envres.2024.120106