@inproceedings{MantovaniVesteFreese, author = {Mantovani, Dario and Veste, Maik and Freese, Dirk}, title = {Biomass production and water use of Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) for short-rotation plantation}, series = {EGU General Assembly 2012, held 22-27 April, 2012 in Vienna}, booktitle = {EGU General Assembly 2012, held 22-27 April, 2012 in Vienna}, publisher = {European Geophysical Society}, address = {Katlenburg-Lindau}, language = {en} } @misc{LebzienVesteFechneretal., author = {Lebzien, Stefan and Veste, Maik and Fechner, H. and Koning, Laurie Anne and Mantovani, Dario and Freese, Dirk}, title = {The Giant Knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis var. Igniscum) as a new plant resource for biomass production for bioenergy}, series = {EGU General Assembly 2012, held 22-27 April, 2012 in Vienna, Austria}, journal = {EGU General Assembly 2012, held 22-27 April, 2012 in Vienna, Austria}, publisher = {European Geophysical Society}, address = {Kattenburg-Lindau}, pages = {1}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{MantovaniVesteFreese, author = {Mantovani, Dario and Veste, Maik and Freese, Dirk}, title = {Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) adaptability and plasticity to drought}, series = {2nd European Agroforestry Conference: Integrating Science and Policy to Promote Agroforestry in Practice, June 2014, Cottbus, Germany}, booktitle = {2nd European Agroforestry Conference: Integrating Science and Policy to Promote Agroforestry in Practice, June 2014, Cottbus, Germany}, editor = {Palma, Joao H. N.}, isbn = {978-972-97874-4-7}, pages = {264 -- 265}, abstract = {Robinia pseudoacacia L. is a pioneer tree species which grows under a wide range of edaphic and climatic conditions. It is native from North America and its original range is a climatic region classified as humid to sub-humid, with a mean annual precipitation of 1.020 to 1.830 mm. However, in Central Europe the species has proven to be relatively drought tolerant in comparison to other temperate deciduous tree species. In the State of Brandenburg (Germany) for instance, with a continental climate and annual precipitation below 600 mm, the species has been successfully cropped for wood production for more than 250 years. The tree notably grows also in post-mining recultivated sites where soil water availability is limited and in spring and summer drought can occur. The importance of the species has increased over the lasts decades, after the CO2 reduction policy spread across the world, just as did the need for further sources for renewable energy. Therefore, due to its adaptability to water constraints, its fast growing and resprouting rate, together with the ability of nitrogen fixation, black locust could become a key species for short-rotation plantation on marginal land. Several studies have been already carried out to quantify the production and water use efficiency of the black locust. However, the effect of water scarcity on biomass production and the plant's response to drought stress has still to be examined. In ourinvestigation we aim to evaluate the growth performance and the ecophysiological response of black locust to water limitation. The study of the soil-plant-atmosphere system for the evaluation of the relation between water availability, atmospheric evaporative demand and plant water status is critical to identify the ecophysiological adaptation and growth response in relation to different edaphic and climatic conditions. Different irrigation regimes and cycles of drought were chosen, to test the plant's performance in a lysimeter experiment for the duration of two vegetation periods, under semi-controlled environmental conditions. The results obtained from studies were satisfactory. We assessed the drought tolerance and resilience of black locust, together with its water use efficiency. Both at whole-plant and leaf level the link between the soil water retention, plant water status and growth rate has been elucidated and the intertwined relation between primary production, transpiration, CO2 uptake and water limitation, together with the evaporative atmospheric demand, has been clarified.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{MantovaniVesteBoehmetal., author = {Mantovani, Dario and Veste, Maik and B{\"o}hm, Christian and Freese, Dirk}, title = {Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) in agroforestry systems: spatial and temporal variation of the plant water status and growth}, series = {2nd European Agroforestry Conference: Integrating Science and Policy to Promote Agroforestry in Practice, June 2014, Cottbus, Germany}, booktitle = {2nd European Agroforestry Conference: Integrating Science and Policy to Promote Agroforestry in Practice, June 2014, Cottbus, Germany}, editor = {Palma, Joao H. N.}, isbn = {978-972-97874-4-7}, pages = {263 -- 264}, abstract = {Short-rotation forestry and agroforestry systems have the potential to become an ecologically valuable and economically profitable land use alternative on marginal lands. Therefore, our project focuses on determining the water demand for biomass production of black locust in the Lusatia region (Eastern Germany). The area is characterized by relative low annual rainfall (560-600 mm/yr) and drought periods during spring and summer. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is planted in short rotation plantations as well as in agroforestry systems at reclaimed post-mining sites of the opencast mining area "Welzow S{\"u}d" and on a conventionally managed field near the town Forst (both study sites are located about 120 km to the south of Berlin). Due to mining activities the ground water table in "Welzow-S{\"u}d" is below 100 m, while on the field site in Forst the ground water table is about 2 m below the soil surface. Because of the water accessibility directly affecting the yield, it is crucial to identify the spatial variation of the soil water availability and its influence on black locust growth. The main question of this study is how the drought periods affect black locust's growth and recovery and about the drought mitigation effect obtainable by an accessible water table. The growth rate is being estimated monthly by measuring the maximum height and the trunk diameter at 10 and 130 cm. Furthermore, several trees are equipped with dendrometers to record their diameter increment in daily intervals. The pre-dawn water potential for selected trees is evaluated periodically to quantify plant water stress and relate it to the growth pattern. Water availability and microclimatic condition are monitored continuously. At the end of the vegetation period, information gathered from the field will be used to develop a growth model to link the soil water availability and plant water status with the growth rate of the trees.}, language = {en} } @misc{MantovaniVesteFreese, author = {Mantovani, Dario and Veste, Maik and Freese, Dirk}, title = {Black locust (Robina pseudoacacia L.) ecopysiological and morphological adaptations to drought and their consequence on biomass production and water-use efficiency}, series = {New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science}, volume = {44}, journal = {New Zealand Journal of Forestry Science}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1186/s40490-014-0029-0}, pages = {11}, abstract = {Background: Successful plantation efforts growing Robinia pseudoacacia L. (black locust) in the drier regions of Hungary and East Germany (Brandenburg), have demonstrated the potential of black locust as an alternative tree species for short-rotation biomass energy plantations. Methods: The response of black locust to water limitation was investigated in a lysimeter experiment. Plants were grown under three different soil moisture regimes, with values set at 35\%, 70\%, and 100\% of the soil water availability, namely WA35, WA70, and WA100. Their morphological adaptation and productivity response to water constraint were assessed together with their water-use efficiency. Furthermore, the ecophysiological adaptation at the leaf level was assessed in terms of net photosynthesis and leaf transpiration. Results: During the growing season, plants in the WA35, WA70, and WA100 treatments transpired 239, 386, and 589 litres of water respectively. The plants subjected to the WA35 and WA70 treatments developed smaller leaves compared with the plants subjected to the WA100 treatment (66\% and 36\% respectively), which contributed to the total leaf area reduction from 8.03 m2 (WA100) to 3.25 m2 (WA35). The total above-ground biomass produced in the WA35 (646 g) and WA70 (675 g) treatments reached only 46\% and 48\% of the biomass yield obtained in the WA100 (1415 g). The water-use efficiency across all treatments was 2.31 g L-1. At vapour pressure deficit (VPD) values <1.4 kPa trees growing under the WA35 soil moisture regime showed a stomatal down-regulation of transpiration to 5.3 mmol m-2 s-1, whereas the trees growing under the WA100 regime did not regulate their stomatal conductance and transpiration was 11.7 mmol m-2 s-1, even at VPD values >2 kPa. Conclusions: Black locust plants can adapt to prolonged drought conditions by reducing water loss through both reduced transpiration and leaf size. However, under well-watered conditions it does not regulate its transpiration, and therefore it cannot be considered a water-saving tree species.}, language = {en} } @misc{MantovaniVesteBoldtBurischetal., author = {Mantovani, Dario and Veste, Maik and Boldt-Burisch, Katja and Fritsch, Simone and Koning, Laurie Anne and Freese, Dirk}, title = {Carbon allocation, nodulation, and biological nitrogen fixation of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) under soil water limitation}, series = {Annals of Forest Research}, volume = {58}, journal = {Annals of Forest Research}, number = {2}, issn = {2065-2445}, doi = {10.15287/afr.2015.420}, pages = {259 -- 274}, abstract = {The pioneer tree black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is a drought-resistant tree and, in symbiosis with Rhizobium, able to fix dinitrogen from the atmosphere. It is, therefore, an interesting species for marginal lands where soil amelioration is sought in addition to economic gain. However, the interaction between soil water availability, carbon allocation and nitrogen fixation is important for a successful establishment of trees on marginal lands and has not yet been investigated for black locust. Twoyear-old trees were grown under various soil water conditions and drought cycles. The stable isotopic composition of C (δ 13C) and N (δ 15N) of the leaves was used to identify i) the effective drought condition of the treatments and ii) the portion N accrued from the atmosphere by the biological nitrogen fixation. Drought-stressed plants significantly reduced their total aboveground biomass production, which was linearly linked to tree transpiration. The shoot:root ratio values changed from 2.2 for the drought-stressed to 4.3 for the well-watered plants. Our investigation shows that drought stress increases the nodule biomass of black locust in order to maintain biological nitrogen fixation and to counteract the lower soil nitrogen availability. The biological nitrogen fixation of drought-stressed trees could be maintained at relatively higher values compared to the well-watered trees. The average leaf nitrogen content varied between 2.8\% and 3.0\% and was not influenced by the drought stress. Carbon fixation, carbon allocation, and biological nitrogen fixation are to some extent balanced at low irrigation and allow Robinia to cope with long-term water constraints. The combination of black locust's ecophysiological and morphological plasticity make it interesting as a biomass source for bioenergy and timber production, even in nutrient-limited and drought-affected areas of Europe.}, language = {en} } @misc{MantovaniVesteGypseretal., author = {Mantovani, Dario and Veste, Maik and Gypser, Stella and Halke, Christian and Koning, Laurie Anne and Freese, Dirk and Lebzien, Stefan}, title = {Transpiration and biomass production of the bioenergy crop Giant Knotweed Igniscum under various supplies of water and nutrients}, series = {Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics}, volume = {62}, journal = {Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics}, number = {4}, issn = {0042-790X}, doi = {10.2478/johh-2014-0028}, pages = {316 -- 323}, abstract = {Soil water availability, nutrient supply and climatic conditions are key factors for plant production. For a sustainable integration of bioenergy plants into agricultural systems, detailed studies on their water uses and growth performances are needed. The new bioenergy plant Igniscum Candy is a cultivar of the Sakhalin Knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis), which is characterized by a high annual biomass production. For the determination of transpiration-yield relations at the whole plant level we used wicked lysimeters at multiple irrigation levels associated with the soil water availability (25, 35, 70, 100\%) and nitrogen fertilization (0, 50, 100, 150 kg N ha-1). Leaf transpiration and net photosynthesis were determined with a portable minicuvette system. The maximum mean transpiration rate was 10.6 mmol m-2 s-1 for well-watered plants, while the mean net photosynthesis was 9.1 μmol m-2 s-1. The cumulative transpiration of the plants during the growing seasons varied between 49 l (drought stressed) and 141 l (well-watered) per plant. The calculated transpiration coefficient for Fallopia over all of the treatments applied was 485.6 l kg-1. The transpiration-yield relation of Igniscum is comparable to rye and barley. Its growth performance making Fallopia a potentially good second generation bioenergy crop.}, language = {en} } @misc{MantovaniVesteFreese, author = {Mantovani, Dario and Veste, Maik and Freese, Dirk}, title = {Effects of Drought Frequency on Growth Performance and Transpiration of Young Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.)}, series = {International Journal of Forestry Research}, journal = {International Journal of Forestry Research}, issn = {1687-9376}, doi = {10.1155/2014/821891}, pages = {11}, abstract = {Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is a drought-tolerant fast growing tree, which could be an alternative to the more common tree species used in short-rotation coppice on marginal land. The plasticity of black locust in the form of ecophysiological and morphological adaptations to drought is an important precondition for its successful growth in such areas. However, adaptation to drought stress is detrimental to primary production. Furthermore, the soil water availability condition of the initial stage of development may have an impact on the tree resilience. We aimed to investigate the effect of drought stress applied during the resprouting on the drought tolerance of the plant, by examining the black locust growth patterns. We exposed young trees in lysimeters to different cycles of drought. The drought memory affected the plant growth performance and its drought tolerance: the plants resprouting under drought conditions were more drought tolerant than the well-watered ones. Black locust tolerates drastic soil water availability variations without altering its water use efficiency (2.57 g L-1), evaluated under drought stress. Due to its constant water use efficiency and the high phenotypic plasticity, black locust could become an important species to be cultivated on marginal land.}, language = {en} } @misc{MantovaniVesteBoehmetal., author = {Mantovani, Dario and Veste, Maik and B{\"o}hm, Christian and Vignudelli, Marco and Freese, Dirk}, title = {Spatial and temporal variation of drought impact on black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) water status and growth}, series = {iForest Biogeosciences and Forestry}, volume = {8}, journal = {iForest Biogeosciences and Forestry}, issn = {1971-7458}, doi = {10.3832/ifor1299-008}, pages = {743 -- 747}, abstract = {Stimulated by the rising demand for bioenergy, forestry practices for energy production are of increasing importance worldwide. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is a suitable tree species for biomass production in shortrotation plantations in East Germany, especially on marginal land where insufficient water and nutrients are a limiting factor for tree growth. Our study aims to clarify the spatial and temporal variability of the black locust growth through the analysis of the plant water status, and to evaluate the effect of adverse edaphic conditions on growth performances, amplified by periods of summer drought. The study was carried out at two sites presenting comparable climatic but different edaphic conditions: (i) fertile agricultural soil; and (ii) heterogeneous unstructured soil from a reclaimed post-mining area. During the vegetation period, the growth rate decreased in both sites following the plant water status in terms of pre-dawn leaf water potential. Particularly in the post-mining area, due to the adverse edaphic conditions, below the critical pre-dawn water potential value of -0.5 MPa, the stem growth was drastically reduced during a period of summer drought. However, the trees could cope with the extreme soil and weather conditions in the post-mining site without perishing.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{MantovaniVesteFreese, author = {Mantovani, Dario and Veste, Maik and Freese, Dirk}, title = {Biomass production in agro-­-systems: Is black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) the right choice?}, series = {Gf{\"O} 43rd Annual Meeting, Building bridges in ecology, linking systems, scales and disciplines, September 9 to 13, 2013, Potsdam, Germany}, booktitle = {Gf{\"O} 43rd Annual Meeting, Building bridges in ecology, linking systems, scales and disciplines, September 9 to 13, 2013, Potsdam, Germany}, editor = {Jeltsch, Florian and Joshi, Jasmin}, pages = {28 -- 29}, abstract = {Currently, black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is an important tree species in Central and Eastern Europe for the production of biomass in short-rotation plantations. Being a ruderal species and relatively drought tolerant compared to other broad leaf trees, its use in agroforestry systems will increase. That is particularly true for marginal landscapes characterized by adverse edaphic conditions, where the soil water availability is limited and in summer drought can occur. Several studies have been carried out on the subject of the black locust primary production; however there are still open questions associated with its water consumption and the biomass production, in relation to the soil water availability. In order to investigate the soil-plant-atmosphere system interactions, in our studies the links between the growth rate, water use efficiency and the ecophysiological response have been examined in a two year lysimeter experiment. The two years old black locust plants were selected from a recultivated post-mining area (Welzow S{\"u}d, Lusatia, Brandenburg) and established in a 100 L wicked lysimeter, installed under a light transmissive roof to avoid uncontrolled water input. During the first vegetation period, the trees were maintained constantly under three different soil moisture regimes (well-watered, moderate, drought), in relation to the hydrostatic state of the lysimeters. For the second vegetation period instead, the plants were subjected to two different irrigation cycles (long term drought stress, short term drought stress), in relation of the drought stress and recovering time duration. The results were satisfactory. At whole plant level the water use efficiency, the growth rate under different soil moisture conditions and the morphological adaptation to drought condition were assessed. In addition, at leaf level we elucidated the relation between the soil moisture together with the atmospheric evaporative demand and the ecophysiological performance in terms of H2O and CO2 rate variation. From the results emerged that the black locust cultivar may have a positive or negative effect on the ecosystem function, depending on the water availability of the areas in object. The tree can tolerate periods of drought by reducing its transpiration rate, yet it is not to be considered a water saving trees species in a well watered condition.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{HalkeGypserMantovanietal., author = {Halke, Christian and Gypser, Stella and Mantovani, Dario and Lebzien, Stefan and Freese, Dirk and Veste, Maik}, title = {Yield, transpiration and growth of the new bioenergy crop IGNISCUM Candy under different water regimes}, series = {Gf{\"O} 43rd Annual Meeting, Building bridges in ecology, linking systems, scales and disciplines, September 9 to 13, 2013, Potsdam, Germany}, booktitle = {Gf{\"O} 43rd Annual Meeting, Building bridges in ecology, linking systems, scales and disciplines, September 9 to 13, 2013, Potsdam, Germany}, editor = {Jeltsch, Florian and Joshi, Jasmin}, pages = {32 -- 33}, abstract = {There is a growing global need to produce more energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One possible source of renewable energy in parts of Europe is the use of crop for bioenergy production. Currently, maize dominates the biogas production. For a diversified production of substrates alternative crops needs to be evaluated for their sustainable utilization and ecological integration into agro-systems. The new bioenergy plants IGNISCUM Candy and IGNISCUM Basic are cultivars of the Sakhalin Knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis, Fam. Polygonaceae), which are characterized by a high annual biomass production. Information on the crop production of this species is rare. Hence, understanding plant response to the combinations of water and nutrients availability is crucial for the development of sustainable plant production. In greenhouse experiments we investigate the interrelations between nutrient supply, biomass production, and plant ecophysiology. For the determination of yield-transpiration relations at whole plant level we used a wick lysimeter system, which allows us to study plant growth under controlled water regimes and to calculate the plant transpiration. The irrigation is supplied by an automatic drip irrigation system and computer-controlled in relation to the volumetric soil water content. Four different water treatments associated to the SWC range from well-watered to drought stressed plants. The influence of plant sizes on plant water use was investigated under different nitrogen supply. The fertilizer applied is calcium ammonium nitrate (N) and the rates for the four treatments are 0, 50, 100, 150 kg N/ha at the beginning of the growing season. Plant transpiration is calculated on the basis of water input, storage and drainage in weekly intervals. The cumulative transpiration of the plants during the growing season is between 49 L (drought stressed) and 141 L (well-watered) per plant, respectively. We calculated a transpiration coefficient of 525 Liters per kg dry biomass.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{MantovaniVesteBoldtBurischetal., author = {Mantovani, Dario and Veste, Maik and Boldt-Burisch, Katja and Fritsch, Simone}, title = {Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) root growth response to different irrigation regimes}, series = {Gf{\"O} 43rd Annual Meeting, Building bridges in ecology, linking systems, scales and disciplines, September 9 to 13, 2013, Potsdam, Germany}, booktitle = {Gf{\"O} 43rd Annual Meeting, Building bridges in ecology, linking systems, scales and disciplines, September 9 to 13, 2013, Potsdam, Germany}, editor = {Jeltsch, Florian and Joshi, Jasmin}, pages = {33 -- 34}, abstract = {Robinia pseudoacacia L. is a pioneer tree species native from North America. Its original range is a climatic region classified as humid to sub-humid, with a mean annual precipitation of 1020 to 1830 mm. However, it grows under a wide range of edaphic and climatic conditions and the species has proven to be relatively drought tolerant. In central Europe, with a continental climate, the species has been successfully cropped for biomass production also on marginal land, even in post-­-mining areas characterized by water limitation and harsh edaphic conditions. Due its drought tolerance, fast resprouting rate and its ability to live in symbiosis with Rhizobia and thus fix atmospheric nitrogen, black locust could become a key species for short-­-rotation plantation on marginal land. Several studies have been already carried out to quantify the black locust above ground production and its water use efficiency. However, the relation between the black locust biomass allocation, root system development and plant water use has still to be examined. In our study we evaluated the drought stress effect on black locust below ground biomass production, root distribution, and the root and rhizobial association. Different irrigation regimes were chosen to test the plant's performance in a lysimeter experiment, under semi-­-controlled environmental conditions, for the duration of two vegetation periods. From the results obtained we determined the root biomass allocation under different irrigation regimes and identified the close relation between the soil water condition and the rhizobial association.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{MantovaniFreeseVesteetal., author = {Mantovani, Dario and Freese, Dirk and Veste, Maik and H{\"u}ttl, Reinhard F.}, title = {Modified wick lysimeters for critical water use efficiency evaluation and yield crop modelling}, series = {Bericht, 14. Lysimetertagung, am 3. und 4. Mai 2011 am LFZ Raumberg-Gumpenstein}, booktitle = {Bericht, 14. Lysimetertagung, am 3. und 4. Mai 2011 am LFZ Raumberg-Gumpenstein}, publisher = {LFZ Raumberg-Gumpenstein}, address = {Irdning}, isbn = {978-3-902559-61-6}, pages = {245 -- 248}, language = {en} }