Taketo Yokota

Seasonal change in the temperature coefficientQ10 for respiration of field-grown hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) trees

The effect of temperature upon nighttime respiration was examined on four different sized sample trees in a 17-year-old hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa (Sieb. et Zucc.) Endl.) stand over two years. Seasonal changes inQ10 values and their responses to mean temperature were investigated. On the basis of the monthly relationships between nighttime respiration (r) and temperature inside a chamber (θ),r=r0exp (kθ), theQ10 value (=exp(10k)) was calculated. TheQ10 values were high (Q10≥3.0) in winter when mean air temperature was low, and gradually decreased toward summer (Q10≤1.5) through spring with increasing temperature. TheQ10 values were negatively correlated with mean air temperature. The response ofQ10 values to mean air temperature was described by a single equation, regardless of tree size. This result, which might be characteristic of this species, shows that respiration ofC. obtusa trees is promoted by slight increases of air temperature in winter season. On the other hand, temperature sensitivity of total respiration reduced during growing season when ambient temperature was high. These chaning temperature sensitivity according to seasons may depend on the seasonal change of the ratio of growth respiration to total respiration. It is concluded that changes in temperature due to changing seasons not only change respiration rate, but also change the response of respiration rate to temperature by shiftingQ10 values.

Temperature effect on maintenance and growth respiration coefficients of young, field-grown hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa)

Respiration measurements were made on the entire aboveground parts of young, field-grown hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) trees at monthly intervals over a 5-year period, to examine the effect of temperature on maintenance and growth respiration coefficients. The respiration rate of the trees was grouped on a monthly basis and then partitioned into maintenance and growth components. The maintenance respiration coefficient increased exponentially with air temperature. The maintenance respiration coefficient at a temperature of 0°C and itsQ10 value were 0.205 mmol CO2 g−1 d.w. month−1 and 1.81, respectively. The growth respiration coefficient, which was virtually independent of temperature, had a mean value of 38.06±1.95 (SE) mmol CO2g−1 d.w. The growth rate increased exponentially with increasing temperature up to a peak at around 18°C, and thereafter declined, thereby resulting in the growth respiration rate being increasingly less sensitive to increasing air temperature. The reported decreases in theQ10 value of total respiration with increasing air temperature is due to the way in which the growth component of respiration responds to temperature.

Dependence of the aboveground CO2 exchange rate on tree size in field-grown hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa)

The CO2 exchange of the aboveground parts for five different-sized 17-year-old (as of 1991) hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) trees growing in the field was non-destructively measured over one year, using an open CO2 exchange system. The CO2 exchange of individual trees decreased with decreasing tree sizes, such as aboveground phytomass, leaf mass and leaf area. However, the CO2 exchange abruptly decreased near the smallest-suppressed sample tree. The size dependence was well described by a generalized power function. The annual gross photosynthesis of individual trees was proportional to the square root of leaf mass or leaf area. The dependence of CO2 exchange on annual phytomass increment was described by a simple power function with an exponent value less than unity, suggesting that CO2 exchange per unit of phytomass increment was lower in larger-sized trees than in smaller-sized trees. The mean photosynthetic activity of a tree, i.e., gross photosynthesis per unit of leaf area, slightly increased to its highest value with decreasing leaf area and then decreased abruptly near the smallest sample tree. The maximum value of mean photosynthetic activity was estimated to be 2.85 kg CO2 m−2 year−1 for a leaf area of 1.56 m2 tree−1. The ratio of mean photosynthetic activity to the maximum photosynthetic activity was the highest in an intermediate tree and decreased gradually toward larger-sized trees by ca. 60% and also decreased toward the smallest suppressed tree by ca. 35%.

Effects of the Absorption of Artificial Acidic Solutions on the Root Systems of Japanese Red Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) Cuttings and Saplings

The effects of the absorption of artificial acidic solutions only from below-ground parts on root systems were examined for 60 days in summer and 72 days in fall using cuttings and saplings of Japanese red cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don). Cuttings and saplings absorbed the solutions through the potted soils from the reservoir of an autoirrigator and/or a simplified-autoirrigator. Nitric acid solutions of pH 2.0, 4.0 and 6.0 and distilled water (control) were used in summer, mixtures of H2SO4 and HNO3 solutions of pH 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0, HNO3 solution of pH 3.0, H2SO4 solution of pH 3.0 and distilled water (control) were used in fall. Although no detrimental effects of acidic solutions on saplings were observed, the rooting rate of cuttings treated at pH 2.0 in summer was significantly lower than that of the control. Root lengths and root dry weight per cutting at pH 2.0 in summer and fall were smaller than those of the control, and the difference in fall was significant. The present study revealed that the acidic treatment only from below-ground parts had detrimental effects on the root systems of cuttings, suggesting the importance of quantification of the effects on below-ground parts, as well as on above-ground parts, to evaluate the effects of acidic precipitation on trees.