Sap flow of black locust in response to short-term drought in southern Loess Plateau of China

Soil water shortage is a major factor influencing the ecology and hydrology of vegetation in China’s semihumid Loess Plateau. However, few studies have experimentally assessed how expected changes in precipitation will affect sap flow in semihumid forest ecosystems. In this study, we measured the sap flow of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia Linn.) under ambient and drought (induced by throughfall exclusion) conditions in 2015 and 2016, and investigated the relationship between stand transpiration and environmental factors in the semihumid China’s Loess Plateau. Throughfall exclusion significantly decreased sap flux density and stand transpiration by 39% and 28%, respectively, in 2016, which may have been due to the cumulative droughts effect from both 2015 and 2016. Throughfall exclusion caused a significant reduction in soil moisture, leaf area index (LAI), and stem diameter. Stand transpiration was positively correlated with LAI (P < 0.01), but precipitation and soil moisture did not correlate with stand transpiration at a daily timescale, suggesting that LAI can be used as a proxy for stand transpiration. Our results highlight that precipitation must be considered when planting black locust in semihumid regions. These findings provide basic information about the management of water resources and vegetation restoration in the semihumid China’s Loess Plateau and possibly other water-limited regions around the world.