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Ten years of fluxes and stand growth in a young beech forest at Hesse, North-eastern France

Dix années de mesures de flux et de croissance dans une jeune hêtraie du nordest de la France, en forêt de Hesse

Annals of Forest Science volume 65, page 704 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

  • • Water and carbon fluxes, as measured by eddy covariance, climate, soil water content, leaf area index, tree biomass, biomass increment (BI), litter fall and mortality were monitored for 10 successive years in a young beech stand in Hesse forest (north-eastern France) under contrasting climatic and management conditions.

  • • Large year-to-year variability of net carbon fluxes (NEE) and to a lesser extent, of tree growth was observed. The variability in NEE (coefficient of variation, CV = 44%) was related to both gross primary production (GPP) and to variations in total ecosystem respiration (TER), each term showing similar and lower interannual variability (CV = 14%) than NEE. Variation in the annual GPP was related to: (i) the water deficit duration and intensity cumulated over the growing season, and (ii) the growing season length, i.e. the period of carbon uptake by the stand. Two thinnings occurring during the observation period did not provoke a reduction in either GPP, water fluxes, or in tree growth. Interannual variation of TER could not be explained by any annual climatic variables, or LAI, and only water deficit duration showed a poor correlation. Annual biomass increment was well correlated to water shortage duration and was significantly influenced by drought in the previous year.

  • • The relationship between annual NEE and biomass increment (BI) was poor: in some years, the annual carbon uptake was much higher and in others much lower than tree growth. However this relationship was much stronger and linear (r 2 = 0.93) on a weekly to monthly time-scale from budburst to the date of radial growth cessation, indicating a strong link between net carbon uptake and tree growth, while carbon losses by respiration occurring after this date upset this relationship.

  • • Despite the lack of correlation between annual data, the NEE and BI cumulated over the 10 years of observations were very close.

  • • On the annual time-scale, net primary productivity calculated from eddy fluxes and from biological measurements showed a good correlation.

Résumé

  • • Les flux d’eau et de dioxyde de carbone, mesurés par la méthode des corrélations turbulentes, le climat, le contenu en eau du sol, l’indice foliaire, la biomasse et l’accroissement en biomasse (BI) des arbres, les chutes de litière et la mortalité ont été suivis en continu pendant 10 années successives dans une jeune hêtraie de la forêt de Hesse (nord-est de la France) en conditions de climat et de gestion contrastées.

  • • Une forte variabilité interannuelle des flux nets de carbone (NEE) et dans une moindre mesure de la croissance des arbres ont été observées. La variabilité de NEE (son coefficient de variation, CV = 44 %) a été mise en relation avec celles de la productivité primaire brute (GPP) et de la respiration totale de l’écosystème (TER), chacun de ces deux termes montrant une variabilité similaire et plus faible (CV = 14 %) que pour NEE. Les variations de la GPP annuelle étaient sous la dépendance : (i) de la durée et de l’intensité du déficit hydrique cumulé sur la saison de végétation, (ii) la longueur de la saison de végétation, définie comme la période où le peuplement absorbe du dioxyde de carbone. Deux éclaircies pratiquées pendant la période de mesures n’ont pas provoqué de réduction ni de GPP, ni du flux d’évapotranspiration, ni de l’accroissement en biomasse du peuplement. Les variations interannuelles de TER n’ont pu être expliquées par aucune des variables climatiques au pas de temps annuel, ni par le LAI, mais seulement par la durée du déficit hydrique du sol, mais avec une corrélation médiocre. L’accroissement annuel en biomasse était fortement corrélé à la durée de la contrainte hydrique de la même année mais aussi influencé de façon significative par la celle de l’année précédente.

  • • La relation entre la NEE annuelle et l’accroissement en biomasse (BI) n’était pas significative : selon les années, l’absorption de carbone par le peuplement était beaucoup plus forte ou plus faible que l’accroissement du peuplement. Toutefois, nous avons observé une corrélation beaucoup plus élevée et linéaire (r 2 = 0,93) sur une base de temps hebdomadaire à mensuelle pendant la période allant du débourrement à la date d’arrêt de croissance radiale, ce qui indique un couplage fort entre l’acquisition du carbone et la croissance des arbres, alors que la perte de carbone par respiration en dehors de cette période découple cette relation.

  • • En dépit de l’absence de corrélation entre NEE et BI au pas de temps annuel, le cumul de NEE et celui de BI sur les 10 années ont été très proches.

  • • Par contre, la productivité primaire nette annuelle, calculée à partir des mesures de flux et biométriques sur le peuplement a montré un bon accord.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMR INRA-UHP Écologie et Écophysiologie Forestières, INRA Centre de Nancy, 54280, Champenoux, France

    André Granier, Nathalie Bréda, Bernard Longdoz & Patrick Gross

  2. UMR Écologie, Systématique et Évolution, Université Paris-Sud XI, Bâtiment 362, 91405, Orsay Cedex, France

    Jérôme Ngao

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  1. André Granier
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  2. Nathalie Bréda
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  3. Bernard Longdoz
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  4. Patrick Gross
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  5. Jérôme Ngao
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Correspondence to André Granier.

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Granier, A., Bréda, N., Longdoz, B. et al. Ten years of fluxes and stand growth in a young beech forest at Hesse, North-eastern France. Ann. For. Sci. 65, 704 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1051/forest:2008052

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/forest:2008052

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Annals of Forest Science

ISSN: 1297-966X