Vapour Pressure Deficit Modulates Hydraulic Function and Structure of Tropical Rainforests Under Non-Limiting Soil Water Supply

Tropical rainforests play a powerful role in mediating the global climate through the exchange and storage of carbon and water. Climate change is expected to generate higher atmospheric water demand in many areas, potentially increasing the rate of evaporation. In this study, we show that higher evaporative demand may in fact lead to lower fluxes of water from tropical rainforests and a reduced capacity of these forests to store carbon.

The record contains meteorological and forest inventory data in addition to data on soil water potential, sapflow measurements and tree hydraulic vulnerability measures from Robson Creek and Cow Bay study sites in Far North Queensland. The measurements occurred over a period of two years form 2019 to 2020.

热带雨林通过碳与水的交换与储存，在调节全球气候方面发挥着重要作用。预计气候变化将使诸多区域的大气需水量上升，进而可能提升蒸发速率。本研究表明，更高的大气蒸发需求实际上可能会降低热带雨林的水分通量，并削弱这些森林的碳储存能力。
本数据集包含来自澳大利亚昆士兰州远北部地区罗布森溪（Robson Creek）与考湾（Cow Bay）研究站点的气象数据、森林资源清查数据，以及土壤水势（soil water potential）、树液流量测量（sapflow measurements）与树木水力脆弱性指标（tree hydraulic vulnerability measures）相关数据。本次测量于2019年至2020年的两年间开展。