High-frequency Variations (high-frequency + variation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Effects of hydraulic architecture and spatial variation in light on mean stomatal conductance of tree branches and crowns

PLANT CELL & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 4 2007
B. E. EWERS
ABSTRACT In a Pinus taeda L. (loblolly pine) plantation, we investigated whether the response to vapour pressure deficit (D) of canopy average stomatal conductance (GS) calculated from sap flux measured in upper and lower branches and main stems follows a hydraulically modelled response based on homeostasis of minimum leaf water potential (,L). We tested our approach over a twofold range of leaf area index (L; 2,4 m2 m,2) created by irrigation, fertilization, and a combination of irrigation and fertilization relative to untreated control. We found that GS scaled well from leaf-level porometery [porometry-based stomatal conductance (gs)] to branch-estimated and main stem-estimated GS. The scaling from branch- to main stem-estimated GS required using a 45 min moving average window to extract the diurnal signal from the large high-frequency variation, and utilized a light attenuation model to weigh the contribution of upper and lower branch-estimated GS. Our analysis further indicated that, regardless of L, lower branch-estimated GS represented most of the main stem-estimated GS in this stand. We quantified the variability in both upper and lower branch-estimated GS by calculating the SD of the residuals from a moving average smoothed diurnal. A light model, which incorporated penumbral effects on vertical distribution of direct light, was employed to estimate the variability in light intensity at each canopy level in order to explain the increasing SD of both upper and lower branch-estimated GS with light. The results from the light model showed that the upper limit of the variability in individual branch-estimated GS could be attributed to incoming light, but not the variation below that upper limit. A porous medium model of water flow in trees produced a pattern of variation below the upper limit that was consistent with the observed variability in branch-estimated GS. Our results indicated that stems acted to buffer leaf- and branch-level variation and might transmit a less-variable water potential signal to the roots. [source]


Woody plants modulate the temporal dynamics of soil moisture in a semi-arid mesquite savanna,

ECOHYDROLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Daniel L. Potts
Abstract Climate variability and human activities interact to increase the abundance of woody plants in arid and semi-arid ecosystems worldwide. How woody plants interact with rainfall to influence patterns of soil moisture through time, at different depths in the soil profile and between neighboring landscape patches is poorly known. In a semi-arid mesquite savanna, we deployed a paired array of sensors beneath a mesquite canopy and in an adjacent open area to measure volumetric soil water content (,) every 30 min at several depths between 2004 and 2007. In addition, to quantify temporally dynamic variation in soil moisture between the two microsites and across soil depths we analysed , time-series using fast Fourier transforms (FFT). FFT analyses were consistent with the prediction that by reducing evaporative losses through shade and reducing rainfall inputs through canopy interception of small rainfall events, the mesquite canopy was associated with a decline in high-frequency (hour-to-hour and day-to-day) variation in shallow ,. Finally, we found that, in both microsites, high-frequency , variation declined with increasing soil depth as the influence of evaporative losses and inputs associated with smaller rainfall events declined. In this case, we argue that the buffering of shallow soil moisture against high-frequency variations can enhance nutrient cycling and alter the carbon cycle in dryland ecosystems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Tree-ring reconstructions of precipitation and streamflow for north-western Turkey

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
Ünal Akkemik
Abstract We describe tree-ring reconstructions of spring (May-June) precipitation and spring-summer (May-August) streamflow for north-western Turkey, both beginning in AD 1650. These are among the first such reconstructions for the region, and the streamflow reconstruction is among the first of its kind for Turkey and the entire Middle East. The reconstructions, which both emphasize high-frequency variations, account for 34 and 53% of their respective instrumental variance. Comparison to precipitation and runoff data provides some means of verification for the instrumental streamflow record, which is very short (30 years). Drought and flood events in the reconstructions are compared to historical archives and other tree-ring reconstructions for Turkey. The results reveal common climatic extremes over much of the country. Many of these events have had profound impacts on the peoples of Turkey over the past several centuries. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society [source]


Trends in the southern oscillation phenomenon and Australian rainfall and changes in their relationship

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2004
Ramasamy Suppiah
Abstract An attempt has been made to investigate decadal-scale trends in Australian rainfall and in the southern oscillation index (SOI) and their influence on the relationship between them. Monthly rainfall data from high-quality stations in Australia (from 1900 to 1995), India, Sri Lanka and Tahiti are used. The relationship between the SOI and Australian rainfall is positive, but shows decadal-scale variations during the past century. Although there were extended and severe El Niño events in the early 1990s and in 1997, Australia did not experience the expected severe rainfall deficiencies characteristic of previous events. However, severe drought conditions over eastern Australia were associated with a moderate El Niño event during 2002,03. Long-term fluctuations of March,May (MAM) rainfall show high-frequency variations, but trends during June,August (JJA), September,November (SON) and December,February (DJF) show low-frequency or decadal-scale variations. Trends and multi-decadal fluctuations in all-Australian spring (SON) and summer (DJF) rainfall are strongly dominated by rainfall trend fluctuations in northern and eastern Australia. Austral summer rainfall shows an increasing trend during the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in Queensland and New South Wales, despite the occurrence of extended and severe El Niños. However, some parts of New South Wales and Queensland experienced severe rainfall deficiencies during 2002,03 in conjunction with an El Niño event. The relationship between the SOI and rainfall on the interannual time scale is strong when the SOI and rainfall follow the same direction, but it is weak when they follow opposite directions on a decadal-time scale. The poor correlation during the 1920s and 1930s was due to a slightly increasing trend in the SOI and a stronger decreasing trend in rainfall. A weakening in the relationship between the SOI and rainfall in recent years, after the mid-1970s, is due to a small increase in rainfall in the 1980s and 1990s and a strong decrease in the SOI. Rainfall trends were enhanced (stronger decreases or increases) when the influence of the SOI (or El Niño-southern oscillation (ENSO)) was removed. Enhanced increases and decreases are particularly strong during SON and DJF, when the ENSO phenomenon is at the mature stage and also the influence on Australian rainfall is strong. The increasing trend in rainfall during the 1980s and 1990s in some parts of eastern Australia and the decreasing trend in the SOI result in more rainfall for a given SOI compared with the same SOI during the previous period, i.e. before the mid-1970s. A similar analysis was carried out for two periods, before and after 1972, for Tahiti, India and Sri Lanka. The upward or downward shift in regression lines is very clear during the season, that shows a strong relationship between rainfall and the SOI. Moreover, strengthening or weakening of the relationship between rainfall and the SOI is largely dependent on their multi-decadal variations and trends during the past century. Increases in rainfall during the 1980s and the 1990s and decreases in the SOI have weakened their relationship, both in Australia and India. Such a relationship gives more rainfall for a given SOI after 1973. The pattern was reversed for Sri Lanka, where rainfall during the second intermonsoon season has decreased. Analyses of trends in temperature at Darwin and Tahiti and of rainfall over Australia, India, Tahiti and Sri Lanka suggest a regional-scale change in climate, whereas the SOI reflects a change in the large-scale circulation pattern over the Indo-Pacific region after the mid-1970s. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society [source]