Journal article
Effect of thinning, pruning and nitrogen fertiliser application on transpiration, photosynthesis and water-use efficiency in a young Eucalyptus nitens plantation
DI Forrester, JJ Collopy, CL Beadle, CR Warren, TG Baker
Forest Ecology and Management | Published : 2012
Abstract
Interactions between thinning, pruning and fertiliser application in forestry are rarely examined, even though these treatments are often applied simultaneously in practice. Understanding these interactions can facilitate the design of regimes to best exploit such silvicultural interventions. The effects of these treatments on stand transpiration (E), photosynthesis and water-use efficiency (AGB-WUE, defined as the above-ground biomass production per unit transpiration) were measured in a Eucalyptus nitens plantation in south-eastern Australia. Two levels of each treatment were applied at age 3.2years and transpiration was measured between ages 5.3 and 6.3years. Treatments were: unthinned, o..
View full abstractGrants
Funding Acknowledgements
This study was financially supported by the Cooperative Research Centre for Forestry and the Victorian Department of Primary Industries. Hancock Victorian Plantations Pty. Ltd. provided the site and the established plantation. G. Szegedy, B. Smith, S. Lavell, L. Volkova and C. Sherwin assisted with laboratory and field work. Thank you also to S. Roberts, who provided valuable advice and software for using the CR1000s. D. Whitehead provided useful advice when designing the experiment and we are also grateful to R. Edwards, J. Medhurst, A. O'Grady, A. Eyles, D. Drew and two anonymous reviewers who provided useful comments that improved the manuscript.