| Institution: | 1. Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 240 W. Prospect, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA;2. Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA;3. Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA;4. Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA;5. Fibria Celulose, Aracruz, Espirito Santo, Brazil;6. Veracel Celulose, Eunapolis, Bahia, Brazil;g International Paper, Mogi Guaçu, São Paulo, Brazil;h Suzano Papel e Celulose, Teixeira de Freitas, Bahia, Brazil;i CENIBRA, Ipatinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil;j Vallourec-Mannesmann, Bocaiuva, Minas Gerais, Brazil;k Copener Florestal, Alagoinhas, Bahia, Brazil;l Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, Mossoro, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil |
| Abstract: | Wood production varies substantially with resource availability, and the variation in wood production can result from several mechanisms: increased photosynthesis, and changes in partitioning of photosynthesis to wood production, belowground flux, foliage production or respiration. An understanding of the mechanistic basis for patterns in wood production within a stand and across landscapes requires a complete annual carbon budget. We measured annual carbon flows to wood production, foliage production and total belowground carbon flux (the sum of root production, root respiration, and mycorrhizal production and respiration) from ages three to five years in clonal Eucalyptus plantations at four sites in Brazil to test if fertility, water availability and stand structure changed wood production and by what mechanism. We also quantified the patterns in light interception and the efficiency of light use to provide additional mechanistic insights into growth responses and to determine if light-use efficiency was related to changes in flux and partitioning. |
