An ecophysiological evaluation of the suitability of Eucalyptus grandis for planting in the tropics

Water use by eucalypts has received a lot of attention in tropical countries during the past decade because of the large-scale introduction of these trees for afforestation. Eucalyptus grandis, widely used as a plantation item in tropical southern India, is the subject of a detailed ecophysiological study in this paper. A 4-year-old coppiced plantation was used for measurements. Microclimate data collected above the canopy were used along with stomatal conductance measurements to estimate the transpirational water loss by the Penman-Monteith equation assuming a two-layer canopy model. Leaf photosynthesis was measured diurnally and seasonally to understand the limitations in photosynthesis in the field. Results show that the water loss from the plantation ranges between 2.5 and 6.5 mm day⁻¹ depending on the season. When suitably extrapolated, this amounts to 1181 mm annually in the study location, where annual rainfall averages 1302 mm. The stomatal conductance measurements showed that the increase in atmospheric vapour pressure deficit induced stomatal closure. This was probably regulated by the leaf water potentials also. Based on the above results it is concluded that E. grandis need not be a high water consumer because of its good stomatal control of transpirational water loss, especially during the dry season when the atmospheric vapour pressure deficit is high. The photosynthesis measurements led to a conclusion that the dry period experienced in the study location does not seriously affect the photosynthetic rate of the trees on a leaf unit area basis.