Water taken up through the bark is detected in the transpiration stream in intact upper‐canopy branches. (18th August 2022) - Gimeno, Teresa E.
Abstract: Alternative water uptake pathways through leaves and bark complement water supply with interception, fog or dew. Bark water‐uptake contributes to embolism‐repair, as demonstrated in cut branches. We tested whether bark water‐uptake could also contribute to supplement xylem‐water for transpiration. We applied bandages injected with 2 H‐enriched water on intact upper‐canopy branches of Pinus sylvestris and Fagus sylvatica in a boreal and in a temperate forest, in summer and winter, and monitored transpiration and online isotopic composition (δ 2 H and δ 18 O) of water vapour, before sampling for analyses of δ 2 H and δ 18 O in tissue waters. Xylem, bark and leaf waters from segments downstream from the bandages were 2 H‐enriched whereas δ 18 O was similar to controls. Transpiration was positively correlated with 2 H‐enrichment. Isotopic compositions of transpiration and xylem water allowed us to calculate isotopic exchange through the bark via vapour exchange, which was negligible in comparison to estimated bark water‐uptake, suggesting that water‐uptake occurred via liquid phase. Results were consistent across species, forests and seasons, indicating that bark water‐uptake may be more ubiquitous than previously considered. We suggest that water taken up through the bark could be incorporated into the transpiration stream, which could imply that sap‐flow measurements underestimate transpiration when bark is wet. Summary Statement: We applied bandages soaked in isotopically enriched water to intact branches of Pinus sylvestris and Fagus sylvatica and measured isotopic composition of transpiration and tissue water. Our experiments showed that water taken up through the bark could be incorporated into the xylem and feed transpiration.