TReSpire – a biophysical TRee Stem respiration model

Resumen

Mechanistic models of plant respiration remain poorly developed, especially in stems and woody tissues where measurements of CO2 efflux do not necessarily reflect local respiratory activity.

We built a process-based model of stem respiration that couples water and carbon fluxes at the organ level (TReSpire). To this end, sap flow, stem diameter variations, xylem and soil water potential, stem temperature, stem CO2 efflux and nonstructural carbohydrates were measured in a maple tree, while xylem CO2 concentration and additional stem and xylem diameter variations were monitored in an ancillary tree for model validation.

TReSpire realistically described: (1) turgor pressure to differentiate growing from nongrowing metabolism; (2) maintenance expenditures in xylem and outer tissues based on Arrhenius kinetics and nitrogen content; and (3) radial CO2 diffusivity and CO2 solubility and transport in the sap solution. Collinearity issues with phloem unloading rates and sugar–starch interconversion rates suggest parallel submodelling to close the stem carbon balance.

TReSpire brings a breakthrough in the modelling of stem water and carbon fluxes at a detailed (hourly) temporal resolution. TReSpire is calibrated from a sink-driven perspective, and has potential to advance our understanding on stem growth dynamics, CO2 fluxes and underlying respiratory physiology across different species and phenological stages.