Embolism vulnerability of three Eucalyptus spp clones under high forest and coppice systems

• Grant number: 22/10558-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): November 01, 2022
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Forestry
• Principal Investigator: Magali Ribeiro da Silva
• Grantee: Sonia Maria Fernandes Ustulin
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas (FCA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Planted forests require appropriate management and sustainable use of their resources, since they compensate for the negative impacts on natural forests, besides playing a major economic, environmental and social role. In this context, climate change puts at risk the maintenance of these forest stands, including species of the Eucalyptus genus, the most planted in the country. This genus can be managed under high forest and coppice systems, due to its high sprouting potential. The silvicultural management adopted and the water regime interfere in the productivity of a plantation. Water deficit causes the liquid water to be transported by the xylem to transform into air bubbles, forming emboli, which hinders the passage of liquid water through the system. This hydraulic problem, caused by periods of extreme drought, can cause, in the long term, the death of the plant. Thus, the objectives of this research are to evaluate the vulnerability to embolism of three clones of the Eucalyptus genus (E. urophylla, E. grandis x E. camaldulensis and E. saligna) and to verify whether this vulnerability is affected by the silvicultural system. The research will be conducted in a 3x2 factorial scheme (3 clones and 2 silvicultural systems). The emboliation will be studied by the pneumatic method, using a device called the Pneumatron, which monitors the pressure change in the branches, allowing the generation of high resolution vulnerability curves in the R Software. The collection of branches in the field will be in an area of the Eucflux project, in the municipality of Itatinga - SP. With the vulnerability data it will be possible to evaluate which clones are more vulnerable to water deficit and if this response is affected by the silvicultural system.