Response of hydraulic architecture in Fraxinus velutina street trees to the percentage of impervious pavement in Beijing

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2022.0091

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Understanding and quantifying the variability of drought tolerance and the potential driving mechanism in urban trees are critical to the prediction and management of urban ecosystem stability under global climate change. The objectives of this study were: 1) to identify the branch hydraulic traits of trees at urban sites with different percentages of impervious pavements in Beijing, and 2) to investigate if the drought tolerance of urban trees is adapted to urbanization.

Methods The investigated species in the study was Fraxinus velutina. This species is widely applied to street planting in Beijing. We selected six sites along the north-south axis of the city with different percentages of impervious pavements as represented by normalized difference built-up index (NDBI). The NDBI and monthly surface temperature at each site were obtained by remote sensing. The bench dehydration technique was used to assess site-specific branch vulnerability to drought-induced xylem cavitation. Net photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, and maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry (F_v/F_m) were also measured with a photosynthesis instrument.

Important findings The percentage of impervious pavements was positively correlated with the water potential corresponding to 50% loss of hydraulic conductivity (Ψ₅₀), while Ψ₅₀ was found to correlate with pre-dawn xylem water potential (Ψ_pd) and vapor pressure deficit. A significant trade-off relation was found between specific conductivity and Ψ₅₀, but not between leaf specific conductivityand Ψ₅₀. The embolism repair ability was significantly positively correlated with Ψ_pd. The net photosynthetic rate decreased with the increase in percentage of impervious pavement, whereas the F_v/F_m did not show significant difference among sites. The results suggest that the percentage of impervious pavements is one of the key urban environmental indicators affecting the drought tolerance of urban trees. The hydraulic architecture of F. velutinashowed adaptability to the urban environment in the city. The study not only provides important research data for evaluation of the health, resilience, and stability of the urban ecosystems under the scenarios of rapid urbanization and global climate change, but also a theoretical support for decision-makers to formulate practical and feasible management strategies for street planting in Beijing.

Key words: normalized difference built-up index, urban trees, embolism vulnerability, hydraulic efficiency, stomatal conductance

WANG Jia-Yi, WANG Xiang-Ping, XU Cheng-Yang, XIA Xin-Li, XIE Zong-Qiang, FENG Fei, FAN Da-Yong. Response of hydraulic architecture in Fraxinus velutina street trees to the percentage of impervious pavement in Beijing[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2023, 47(7): 998-1009.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2022.0091

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2023/V47/I7/998

Figures/Tables 9

Fig. 1 Geographical distribution map of the six experimental sites in Beijing (source: Amap). ADS, Anding Street; LDS, Linda Street; LTS, Litang Street; SSS, Shunsha Street; WJS, Wangjing Street; XZS, Xizhimen Wai Street.

Table 1 Pre-dawn leaf water potential (Ψpd), monthly mean surface air temperature (Ts), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) at the six sites in Beijing (mean ± SE)

环境指标 Environment indicator	实验地点 Experimental site
环境指标 Environment indicator	LDS	WJS	XZS	SSS	LTS	ADS
NDBI	-0.342	-0.343	-0.302	-0.219	-0.123	-0.180
T_s(℃)	37.135 ± 1.943^ab	34.861 ± 1.083^b	38.933 ± 2.077^a	37.590 ± 1.866^ab	36.044 ± 0.930^ab	37.301 ± 1.757^ab
VPD (kPa)	1.227 ± 0.027^c	1.107 ± 0.092^d	1.679 ± 0.039^a	1.539 ± 0.063^b	1.701 ± 0.102^a	1.700 ± 0.014^a
Ψ_pd(MPa)	-0.665 ± 0.039^a	-0.651 ± 0.015^a	-0.781 ± 0.027^b	-0.845 ± 0.019^c	-0.994 ± 0.011^d	-1.107 ± 0.022^d

Fig. 2 Vulnerability curves of Fraxinus velutina at the six study sites in Beijing. Black squares, the corresponding point of the percentage loss (PLC) and water potential (Ψ) measured during bench-dehydration of branches in the laboratory; Red circle, natural PLC measured at dawn and their corresponding water potentials; Blue triangle, natural PLC measured at noon and their corresponding water potentials. ADS, Anding Street; LDS, Linda Street; LTS, Litang Street; SSS, Shunsha Street; WJS, Wangjing Street; XZS, Xizhimen Wai Street. Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among sites (p < 0.05). The difference between Ψ50 among sites is tested by the 95% CI-overlay method.

Fig. 3 Correlations between 50% loss of hydraulic conductivity (Ψ50) and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) (A), vapor pressure deficit (VPD) (B), pre-dawn leaf water potential (Ψpd) (C), monthly mean surface air temperature (Ts) (D) at the six study sites in Beijing (mean ± SE). Site see Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 Specific conductivity (ks) (A), leaf specific conductivity (LSC) (B) and Huber values (Hv) (C) of Fraxinus velutina measured at the six study sites in Beijing (mean ± SE). Different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among sites (p < 0.05). Site see Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 Relationships between specific conductivity (ks) (A), leaf specific conductivity (LSC) (B) and 50% loss of hydraulic conductivity (Ψ50) in Fraxinus velutina at six experimental sites in Beijing (mean ± SE).

Fig. 6 Correlation between pre-dawn leaf water potential and embolism repair ability of Fraxinus velutina at six experimental sites in Beijing (mean ± SE). Site see Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 Relationship between leaf specific conductivity (LSC) and stomatal conductance (Gs) of Fraxinus velutina (mean ± SE).

Table 2 Stomatal conductance (Gs), maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm), and net photosynthesis rate (A) of Fraxinus velutina measured at the six experimental sites in Beijing (mean ± SE)

实验点 Experimental site	G_s (mol·m^-2·s^-1)	F_v/F_m	A (μmol·m^-2·s^-1)
LDS	0.383 ± 0.034^a	0.828 6 ± 0.048 3	21.17 ± 1.730^a
WJS	0.350 ± 0.016^a	0.841 9 ± 0.027 2	19.66 ± 1.456^ab
XZS	0.254 ± 0.022^b	0.839 7 ± 0.011 5	20.04 ± 1.174^a
SSS	0.181 ± 0.026^c	0.833 4 ± 0.023 0	17.34 ± 1.166^b
LTS	0.138 ± 0.023^c	0.837 4 ± 0.035 1	14.11 ± 1.274^c
ADS	0.157 ± 0.015^c	0.826 3 ± 0.019 4	14.63 ± 1.334^c

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