Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

www.elsevier.com/locate/jhydrol

Modeling the water balance and soil water uxes in

a fast growing Eucalyptus plantation in Brazil
J.V. Soares a,*, A. C. Almeida b,1
a

Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, Sao Jose dos Campos, SP, 12201-970, Brazil
b
Aracruz Celulose S.A. Rod. AracruzBarra do Riacho, km25, Aracruz-ES, 29197-000, Brazil
Received 10 July 2000; revised 16 May 2001; accepted 12 June 2001

Abstract
A ve-layered water balance model, with water movement between layers along hydraulic gradients, was developed and
parameterized for a eucalypt plantation (Eucalyptus grandis Hill ex. Maiden hybrids) in Brazil. Available soil water controls
stomatal conductance and hence transpiration, which is calculated by the PenmanMonteith equation. The model accounts for
changes in the depths of the water table. Calculations are supported by measurements: the test period was from October 1995 to
September 1996 in a 9-year-old plantation in an experimental catchment in eastern Brazil. Total transpiration for the year was
1116 mm, with 151 mm intercepted and re-evaporated and another 78 mm soil surface evaporation, giving evapotranspiration
of 1345 mm compared to rainfall of 1396 mm. The water balance was closed by net ow below the root zone of about 25 mm
and an increase in water storage (in the rst layer) of 24 mm. The model also estimated a transpiration decit (difference
between the potential and current transpiration) of 125 mm for the period. Upward ux from the water table was around 82 mm
and piezometric measurements showed 2.5 m recession of the water table for the same period. The upward ux into the root
zone was about 1 mm day 21 at the end of a long dry season; that kept the water storage in that zone to about 15% of capacity and
helped prevent complete stomatal closure.
Comparison between estimated water storage and measurements conrmed that this model is a very promising tool for
calculating water use by plantations. It can also provide water balance information and information about stomatal conductance
for growth prediction models. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Water balance; Eucalyptus; Transpiration; Model, Water movement

1. Introduction
Many concerns have been raised about the expansion of land use for eucalypt plantations in Brazil.
Environmental agencies and Non Governmental
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 155-12-345-6439; fax: 155-12345-6460.
E-mail address: vianei@ltid.inpe.br (J.V. Soares).
1
Current address: The Australian National University (ANU),
Department of Forestry, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia.

Organizations (NGOs) point out that this ecosystem

causes severe losses in terms of biodiversity and dries
out the soil. The drying of the soil and recession of
water tables is also of concern to local populations. On
the other hand, timber companies need to improve
their understanding of water use by plantations,
to answer the questions of the public, to adjust their
management systems for long-term sustainability and
to meet the demands of markets requiring more and
more guarantees of environmentally-correct policies.
The establishment of an experimental drainage

0022-1694/01/$ - see front matter q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0022-169 4(01)00477-2

J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

131

Fig. 1. General framework of hydrologic processes and compartments treated by UAPE.

basin within its eucalypt plantations is part of

a program by Aracruz Celulose S.A. aimed at
addressing both hydrologic and biodiversity issues.
Resources were invested in measurements and experiments to establish a validated methodology for
computing the water balance of the company's forest
ecosystems. A network of hydrological and meteorological measurements complements intensive ecophysiology campaigns run under different conditions
of water availability (Mielke et al., 2000) and large
numbers of data sets have been collected. The site of
the experimental catchment was chosen for its
characteristics of dominant soil types, topography,
location, size of the catchment and logistics, bearing
in mind that the catchment should represent the whole
operational area as closely as possible. We will refer
to the Aracruz experimental catchment by the
acronym MBE (`Microbacia Experimental').
The principles underlying water balance modeling
are well known and have been summarized in a
number of places (e.g. Landsberg, 1986; Whitehead

and Kelliher, 1991; Landsberg and Gower, 1997). A

number of models are described in the literature that
simulate both tree transpiration and soil water movement, some of which also calculate net primary
biomass production and the partition of that biomass
into pools (e.g. FOREST-BGC, Running and Coughlan, 1988) or stand growth (3-PG, Landsberg and
Waring, 1997). WAVES (Zhang et al., 1996) deals
with solute transport, carbon allocation and plant
growth as well as water balance. However, these
models do not always fulll particular requirements;
we needed a relatively simple and exible water
use model that could be calibrated for eucalyptus
(Eucalyptus grandis) plantations, and could also be
used for other forest types as long as values were
available for parameters specic to those forests.
This paper describes a model developed and
structured to answer questions such as: how much
water does the plantation use? How does the
plantation affect the water balance of the soil? What
is the feedback of water availability to transpiration?

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J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

Can water from below the root zone become available

to plants? In the following sections we describe the
main features of this model, covering the calculation
of transpiration, with emphasis on canopy conductance and the feedback effects on it of soil water,
and water movement between soil layers. We present
experimental data that conrm the model's predictions and, in themselves, provide valuable information
about water use by plantation eucalypts and the effects
of these trees on local hydrology.
2. The water use model
Fig. 1 illustrates the hydrometeorological processes
dealt with by the model UAPE (the acronym derives
gua em Plantacoes de
from the Portuguese `Uso de A
Eucalipto', which translates into English as 'Water
Use by Eucalypt Plantations').
Some of the rainfall (P) is intercepted by the forest
canopy (I) and re-evaporated at rates determined by
atmospheric conditions. The difference (P 2 I)
reaches the soil surface and inltrates the root zone
until its maximum water holding capacity is reached
(average matric potential close to 20.01 MPa); any
further inltration percolates out of the root zone
under gravitational potential.
It is well established that the main mechanism of
water removal from plants and plant communities is
transpiration, a process driven by physical forces
acting on the leaves, causing evaporation of vapor
through the stomata, leading to water movement
through the xylem and absorption of moisture from
the soil. Transpiration is dependent on atmospheric
conditions, on foliage area and mean stomatal conductance, and the water ow properties of the pathway are
determined by the cross-sectional area of sapwood
and its conductivity (Whitehead, 1998). The three
major environmental inuences on stomatal conductance at the canopy level are light, vapor pressure
decit and water status of the leaves (Landsberg and
Gower, 1997). Daily transpiration from plant canopies
can be estimated using the PenmanMonteith equation (Rosenberg et al., 1983; Monteith and Unsworth,
1990), which has been shown to give accurate estimates of plant transpiration (Roberts et al., 1993;
Zhang et al., 1996) and is widely used nowadays to
estimate canopy transpiration (Running and Cough-

lan, 1988; Landsberg and Waring, 1997; Dye, 1987;

Mielke et al., 1999). It combines both energy and
aerodynamic contributions and requires measurements of driving meteorological variables at one
level only. The equation is:
E



DRn 1 ra cp ga D
1

t
L D 1 g1 1 ga =gc

where E is canopy transpiration (mm day 21), D is the

slope of the saturation vapor pressure curve (mbar
8C 21), at temperature T, Rn is average daylight canopy
net radiation (W m 22), r a is air density (kg m 23), g
is the psychometric constant (mbar 8C 21), Cp is
the specic heat of the air (J kg 21 8C 21), D is vapor
pressure decit of the air (mbar), ga is canopy
aerodynamic conductance (ms 21), gc is canopy
conductance to water vapor (ms 21), L is the latent
heat of vaporization of water (J kg 21), and t is the
daylight length (s day 21). Canopy conductance, gc is
given by gc gs LAI, where gs is the stomatal
conductance (converted into ms 21 units) and LAI is
Leaf Area Index (m 2 m 22).
Boundary layer conductance (ga), which is a
function of windspeed, canopy density and structure
(see Landsberg, 1986, p. 57) was xed at 0.083 m s 21,
based on a study by Hatton et al. (1992) on Eucalyptus
maculata trees. This a great deal higher than stomatal
conductance values (see Figs 2 and 3). Furthermore ga
does not vary greatly and changes in its value
have little effect on daily transpiration, so it was
taken as a constant, making wind speed measurements
unnecessary.
Canopy conductance depends on stomatal conductance and stand leaf area index (LAI), but there is an
important feedback through reductions in leaf water
potential as soil water is depleted, leading to reduced
canopy conductance. The calculation of the soil water
balance is outlined in the next section; we note here
that, using the ecophysiological measurements available from the experimental catchment, which were
taken over several months under different water availability conditions (Mielke et al., 2000), an equation
was developed to estimate predawn leaf water potential, Cl, as follows:


C 1 0:33

u
umax

20:57

J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

133

Fig. 2. Time variation of stomata conductance (gsmax, m s 21, gray line) and predawn Cl (-MPa, black line), from Mielke et al. (1999).

where u is the current water content in the soil rooting

zone (mm) and u max is the corresponding water holding capacity (mm). Cl is a good indicator of the equilibrium water status of the plant in relation to the soil
(Teskey and Hinckley, 1986; Kramer and Boyer,
1995; Waring and Running, 1998, p. 36). Although
there are few data representing the dry period, when
Cl reaches its minimum, the function represents the
data quite well and is similar to the relationships
published by Sucoff (1972) and Running and Coughlan (1988) for Pinus forest.
Fig. 2. derived from results presented by Mielke et
al. (1999), shows the time course of stomatal conductance and pre-dawn leaf water potential for E. grandis
trees at the MBE site. It should be compared with
Fig. 6, which shows the time course of soil water
content. When available water in the soil is about
30% or less of the storage capacity, there is a linear
relationship between stomatal conductance and leaf
water potential as shown by Mielke et al. (2000) and
Running and Coughlan (1988):
g s gsmax 2 mw C l 2 C lmin

where gs is stomatal conductance, gs.max is maximum

stomatal conductance (at Cl 20.4 MPa); mw is the
slope and Cl.min is the minimum leaf water potential
required to induce stomata closure. Mielke et al.
(1999, 2000) showed that even under conditions of
low water availability (15% of maximum storage
capacity) Cl did not fall low enough to induce

complete stomata closure; gs was still about 35% of

the highest value measured during sampling days
when soil water content was near its maximum
storage capacity. Unpublished data obtained at
Aracruz experiment showed Cl.min of 21.9 MPa for
E. grandis hybrids.
Atmospheric vapor pressure decit (D) is an important driving variable for transpiration, but it also
imposes constraints because as D increases gs, and
hence gc decreasses (Landsberg and Waring, 1997;
Dye and Olbrich, 1993; Leuning, 1995). We had
inadequate data to dene the relationship for mature
forest, so the current version of our model uses a
linear equation adapted from data obtained by Dye
(1987) during summer clear days (Fig. 3). Since the
UAPE model runs at a daily time step with average
daylight D, linear or exponential relationships
produce similar results. Running and Coughlan
(1988) used a linear relationship in FOREST-BGC.
If an hourly time step is used, the exponential function
is the one of choice. The correction for D (in kPa)
implemented in UAPE's daily time step version is:


fgc gc 2 gc
g cD gc 1
D
4
3
where gcD is the canopy conductance corrected for
vapor pressure decit, with fgc set to the fraction of
gs for D 3 kPa (parameter 7 in Table 1). The term in
square brackets gives the slope of the gc vs D relationship. The value of 3 kPa represents the mean of the

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J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

Table 1
Texture distribution of the aeration zone of Podzols found at the experimental catchment, along with the Available Water Capacity (0.01
1.5 MPa), extrapolated from laboratory measurements
Layer number

Depth (m)

Sand %

Fine sand/Silt%

Clay (%)

AWC (mm)

1
2
3
4
5

2.5
2.5
5.0
5.0
5.0

50
50
60
80
80

20
20
10
5
5

30
30
30
15
15

220
220
350
200
200

highest values measured for the site, and using the

fraction of gc at 3 kPa as a model parameter modication of the slope with age, or for other species if this
shows to be necessary. We calculated potential transpiration, which we dened as the transpiration rate
when there is no soil moisture restriction on gs, using
the PM formulation with gc gcD, and gcD obtained
by substituting gc.max for gs in Eq. (4). The difference
between the amounts of potential and actual transpiration, over any given time period, is dened as the
transpiration decit.
UAPE assumes that the stomatal conductance of
all foliage receiving a dened minimum threshold
radiation is given by dened by Eq. (4), while gs of
foliage below the radiation threshold is taken as equal
to cuticular conductance of 5 10 25 m s 21, as in
Running and Coughlan (1988). This is consistent
with the work by Kelliher et al. (1995), who showed
that forests with LAI . 3.0 have nearly stable maximum canopy conductance values because maximum
conductance of individual leaves decreases progres-

sively with additional increments of LAI. Threshold

radiation was initialized at 2.5 MJ m 22 day 21, which
corresponds to the transmitted daily net radiation
through a downward cumulative leaf area index of
3.5 when net radiation at the top of the canopy is
11.4 MJ m 22 day 21 (mean value measured at the
experimental catchment for the hydrological year
1995/1996), using the BeerLambert law. Sensitivity
analysis showed that a 20% variation on the radiation
threshold represents only a 1% change on the annual
transpiration when LAI varied within the range
representing the mature eucalyptus plantation at the
experimental catchment (2 to 3 m 2 m 22).
2.1. Water balance in the root zone
Soil water content in the tree root zone on day i is
the water content of the previous day (u i21), plus net
input (precipitation, P 2 interception, I) minus
outgoing water (transpiration, E, 1soil evaporation,
Es, 1net deep drainage, Qnet). For a given period of

Fig. 3. Relationship between stomata conductance (m s 21) and vapor pressure decit (kPa), derived from Dye (1987).

J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

time, net deep drainage is the difference between deep

drainage below the root layer and upward ux into the
same layer:
Du ui 2 ui21 P 2 I 2 Et 1 Es 1 Qnet

where Es is soil evaporation and Qnet is net deep drainage. The water content of any given layer (u , mm) is
given by the volumetric water content (u v, cm 3/
cm 3) thickness of the layer, Z (in mm):

u uv Z

Soil evaporation, Es, is estimated using the Penman

Monteith approach with the soil resistance increasing
rapidly as water availability drops from its maximum
value, following Choudhury and Monteith (1988) and
Soares et al. (1987). The attenuation of radiation by
the canopy, given by the BeerLambert law, is used to
estimate the available radiation at the soil level. Since
little radiation reaches the soil when LAI is greater
than 2.5, estimated soil evaporation is frequently less
than 7% of transpiration. Estimation errors in Es are
therefore not a problem. The model was implemented
with the following equation for estimating the soil
conductance, gsoil (m s 21):
gsoil 0:0025

u
umax

The maximum value is 0.0025 m s 21 and when the

soil is at the storage capacity. The concept is that as
u decreases the site of evaporation moves progressively to deeper levels, and Es decreases as soil
conductance to water vapor diffusion decreases. Eq.
(7) assumes a linear decrease in Es as u decreases; a
square-root equation with time during drying has been
found by many authors (see, for example, Soares et
al., 1987; Zhang et al., 1996). The original idea was to
use the parameterization by Choudhury and Monteith
(1988), but there were no data available on the tortuosity factor, nor estimates of the depth l where
evaporation takes place. A specic calibration
through experimental independent measurements of
soil surface evaporation, which is rather difcult at a
forest stand level, would have been necessary.
The aerodynamic conductance for soil evaporation
gas, was initialized at 0.01 m s 21 (8 times higher than
the value at the canopy level), assuming negligible
momentum transfer at the soil surface level. Choudhury and Monteith (1988) reported a difference of a

135

factor of 3 between conductance at the soil surface

and the values appropriate for crops about 40 cm in
height. Sensitivity analysis showed that a 20% variation on gas (0.012 and 0.008 ms 21) caused a 7.5%
change in annual soil evaporation (,6 mm) and a
negligible variation on transpiration (,0.5 %).
Available energy at the soil surface is the difference
between net radiation above the canopy and radiation
intercepted by the canopy. With this formulation, soil
evaporation integrated over a year was found to be
about 6% of transpiration.
When the maximum storage capacity of the rooting
zone is reached, excess water drains into deeper layers
(deep drainage). The inltration capacity of the basin
forest soils was found to vary between 80 and 180 mm
day 21. Hence, all rain reaching the soil was assumed
to inltrate, and overland ow (runoff) is not
accounted for.
The uxes of moisture between soil layers were
also calculated to account for non-saturated water
movement within the soil prole. Estimates of soil
water potential in the rooting zone indicated strong
upward gradients during high transpiration and dry
periods. Earlier versions of the model that did not
account for upward soil moisture ux (Soares et al.,
1997), predicted reductions in water storage in the
root zone, that were consistently greater than the
reductions indicated by the independent measurements by neutron probes. A basic description of soil
water ux sub model, developed and integrated into
UAPE, is given below.
2.2. Soil ux sub model
The dominant soils in the experimental catchment
are podzols, rare deep soils, which were previously
covered by a typical tropical rain forest. The textural
class representative of the rst 10 m of the soil, is
sandy clay, with 50% coarse sand, 14 % ne sand,
6% silt and 30% clay From 1020 m, the textural
class is sandy loam with 80% of sand, 5% silt and
15% clay. The results of destructive samples in 24
trees from eight different clones showed that the maximum observed root depth was 2.2 m. The thick roots
were mainly concentrated a depth of 1.5 m or when
found a compacted soil layer, in agreement with
Pacheco and Louzada (1991).
The soil aeration zone (rooting plus transition zone)

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J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

was divided into ve layers, three within the rst 10 m

and another two from 10 to 20 m, following the
natural change of texture (Table 1 resumes the main
textural properties of the layers described below).
Layer 1. This is the most important layer for which
the water balance is computed. It is 2.5 m thick and
covers the water absorbing root system of the E.
grandis hybrids planted in the experimental catchment. Although the maximum root depth was
2.2 m, we assume that, even though the mean
distance between randomly located soil moisture
`particles' and the nearest absorbing rootlets is
greater at 2.2 m than at 20-cm depth (near the
surface), the higher potential gradient between
the moist soil at deeper layers and the root, forces
water at 2.5-m depth to be absorbed.
Layer 2. Again, 2.5 m depth, functions as a secondary storage of water for the root zone, in the sense
that it exchanges moisture with the upper layer in
response to water potential gradients created as the
surface layer is dried out by transpiration.
Layer 3. The third layer extends to where the
texture changes noticeably, in this case 5 m (from
5 to 10 m), as the texture goes from sandy clay
to sandy loam. It exchanges moisture with its
neighboring layers.
Layer 4. The fourth layer is the rst in the sandy
textural class. With such a high sand percent, it has
higher saturated hydraulic conductivity. With the
soil prole described above, it was initialized with
a 5 m thickness.
Layer 5. This layer has the same texture as the
previous layer and ends at the water table, meaning
that it could shrink or expand as the water table
rises or recedes, depending on the moisture ow
direction. It was set initially as 5 m thick, with
the measured water table close to 20 m from the
surface. A key question is how much a given
amount of water leaving or entering the saturated
zone would represent in terms of water table level.
It is well known that the two determinants of soil
water movement are the driving force of the hydraulic
potential gradient and the soil hydraulic conductivity
(Landsberg, 1986) (Darcy's law), as:
F 2KC

DC
DZ

where F is the volume ux of water through a unit

cross-sectional area per unit time in the direction of
the lower potential, and Z is the distance. KC is the
unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The hydraulic
pressure potential (DC/DZ) is the difference between
the gravitational potential, Cg (10.01 MPa m 21), and
the matric potential, Cm. As long as Cg is greater than
Cm, water will ow downward through the soil. When
the gravitational potential is exactly balanced by the
soil matric potential, water ow equals zero. Finally,
under conditions of Cm gradient (opposite direction)
greater than Cg, the water ow direction will be
upward. Eq. (8) was rst derived for saturated materials by Darcy in 1856 (Waring and Running, 1998).
The soil hydraulic conductivity falls rapidly as u
decreases. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity
depends on soil texture and pore size distribution
(Carbon et al., 1980), which can be described with
reasonable accuracy by empirical equations as a function of the clay fraction and the ratio u /u sat (Clapp and
Hornberger, 1978), where u is the water content and
u s is the saturated water content or, in this case, the
total porosity. Campbell (1974) gave the following
relationship to compute the hydraulic conductivity
when soil water falls below saturation as a function
of the water potential (C f(u )) while considering
pore size distribution within the soil:
KC

k
Ks

u
us

2b13

where k is the relative conductivity, KC is the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, K s is the saturated
hydraulic conductivity and b is an empirical coefcient related to texture. Clapp and Hornberger showed
Eq. (9) to be reasonably accurate over a wide range of
b values (0.1713.6). For a mean clay fraction varying from 0.03 (sand textural class) to 0.63 (clay
textural class), average values of b vary from 4 to
11. We used the representative values of hydraulic
parameters published by these authors (with corresponding standard deviations) and MBE soil textural
properties to derive the b values, for our site. The
values chosen for b were 9.6 (Sandy loam,
10:4 ^ 1:64) and 4.6 (Sandy clay, 4:90 ^ 1:75). The
Ks values corresponding to these textural classes were
125 mm h 21 and 7.7 mm h 21.
The average matric potential of each individual

J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

layer was estimated daily using soil water characteristic curves obtained from destructive soil samples
representing the textural classes found in the experimental basin. When Cm is expressed in cm of water
and u v is cm 3 cm 23, the two characteristic curves
representing the two textural classes found in the
study site are (EMBRAPA-CNPS, 1995).

C m 81027 uv216:8

10

Representing the three layers in the sandy clay loam

textural class (surface to 10 m deep).

C m 91020 uv214:7

11

Representing the two layers in the sandy loam, from

10 m down to the water table.
Eqs. (10) and (11) were tted to laboratory
measurements made on soil samples using pressures
between 0.01 MPa (eld capacity) and 1.5 MPa (wilting point), the range corresponding to the available
soil moisture. The hysteresis effect cannot be
accounted for by these measurements, which were
done only for the drying stage. Hysteresis errors in
the estimation of matric potential from water content
are higher when moisture redistribution occurs at soil
moisture values in the middle of the availability range,
but the capacity of deeper soil layers to contribute
water to the rooting zone during drying periods may
be of more concern. Also, as the hydraulic conductivity of soils decreases rapidly when volumetric water
content drops below saturation, it is critical that
texture and pore size distribution be well known so
that the associated parameter b is estimated as well as
possible.
During rainy periods, when the soil was saturated or
close to saturation, the downward movement of water
was computed using a classic mass balance approach:
once the storage capacity of each layer was reached,
the surplus percolated to the next layer, and so on.
Running and Coughlan (1988), used this approach to
calculate deep drainage below the rooting zone in the
FOREST-BGC model. Downward ux continues as
long as the driving potential gradient, from a given
layer to the one below, is in the same direction. Once
the redistribution of moisture has ceased, drying in the
rooting zone, driven by transpiration, leads to an
inversion of water potential gradient forcing upward
moisture ow, which can be computed using Eqs.

137

(8)(11). Good estimates of initial conditions and

unsaturated soil properties are essential, otherwise
the use of the soil ux sub model may give erroneous
results.
Each layer is represented by one set of averaged
values of Ks(C) and Cm, allowing the gradient (DC/
DZ) between a pair of neighboring layers, and water
movement between them, to be computed using Eqs.
(8)(11). The most restrictive conductivity is used to
estimate the ux between layers. A good estimate of
water storage in the rooting zone at the beginning of
the hydrological year is mandatory. Starting at a date
when storage is close to eld capacity (after a rainy
month, for example) is a safe way to initialize this
critical state variable.
There are successful models reported in the recent
literature that estimate both tree transpiration and soil
water movement (see, for example, WAVES, Zhang
and Dawes 1995; Dawes et al., 1998), although the
way the processes are treated and the level of parameterization may differ according to the desired application. UAPE is a hybrid bucket/soil water movement
model with plant transpiration feedback control by
water availability in the root zone. It was designed
specically to estimate water use by tree plantations,
while other models also deal with other processes
related to net primary biomass production, carbon
allocation (for example, FOREST-BGC, WAVES),
plant growth (3-PG) and solute transport (WAVES).
The key point for choosing a particular model is its
level of complexity for an intended application.
WAVES (Zhang et al., 1996), for instance, is one of
the most complete soilvegetationatmosphere
coupling models available in the literature. The
water balance in the root zone of Eucalyptus plantations, as described above, does not require the level of
complexity of the models of the kind (in terms of
processes treated, number and type of variables and
parameters).
WAVES, besides dealing with water movement in
the soil, has a solute transport module and treats more
physical and physiological processes than UAPE.
WAVES uses an energy balance scheme to estimate
net radiation whereas UAPE assumes net radiation as
a direct input. WAVES deals with the physiological
control of transpiration based on CO2 assimilation
rate, while UAPE uses a straightforward hydrological
approach with plant transpiration feedback control by

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J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

water availability in the root zone. WAVES also has a

rather complex representation of the canopy for which
it computes aerodynamic resistances based on micrometeorology principles while UAPE uses a single
layer represented by its LAI with a constant aerodynamic conductance. Furthermore, WAVES uses an
analytical solution for solving the Richards equation
for soil water movement while UAPE, as shown in
this section, do not solve the Richards equation but
uses numerical solutions for layers of uniform soil
texture and pore size distribution, and, hence, consistent hydraulic conductivity, which represents the
physical structure of the soil prole for which it was
developed and renders the computation of soil water
uxes simpler.
2.3. Test site and eld measurements
The experimental catchment, MBE, established and
operated by Aracruz Celulose S.A. is at 19851 0 S,
40814 0 W, on Brazil's Atlantic Ocean coast, at Aracruz
in the State of Esprito Santo. The catchment is
286 ha, of which 190 ha are covered by Eucalyptus
plantations and 86 by the original tropical rainforest
(`Mata Atlantica'), the remainder being roads. The
topography of the plantation area is at while the
tropical forest covers the hilly drainage area of the
system. The site was chosen for its location, soils,
cover and drainage system, representing the main
eucalypt production area (40,000 ha). Hydrogeological sounding using geophysical techniques was done
to make sure the basin was closed and the surface and
subsurface water divides coincided (Albuquerque et
al., 1997; Blanco et al., 1997).
The hydrometeorological equipment and measurements at MBE included:
sixteen access tubes for neutron probes designed to
measure soil moisture in the rst 2.8 m of the soil,
at vertical intervals of 20 cm. The measurements
started in 1995 at a weekly frequency (sometimes
every other week depending on the weather);
one piezometer measuring the water table since
1994. Four new tubes were installed at the beginning of 1999. The piezometers reach a depth of
55 m; soil samples were taken for texture characterization that the time of installation.
three fully automatic weather stations, measuring

precipitation (mm) above and below the canopy,

air temperature (8C), relative humidity (%), global
solar radiation (Wm 22), net radiation (Wm 22),
PAR (mmol m 22 s 21), wind speed (ms 21) and
wind direction. Data can be acquired at intervals
of 1, 30 or 60 min. Two stations were mounted
on towers above the canopy and the other in a
clearing;
two precipitation interception experiments for
Eucalyptus and natural forest, established in 1994;
a V-notch weir measuring water discharge out of
the basin, built in 1996.
The data collected during intensive ecophysiology
campaigns included LAI (both destructive and using
LICOR 2000 instruments), pre-dawn leaf water potential (Cl), stomatal conductance, gs, and root depth and
distribution. Mielke et al. (1999, 2000) reported on the
physiological measurements done in the eld on 13
sampling days between November 1995 and August
1996 at the MBE, including Cl and gs. These data
were used to generate UAPE's working Cl vs fraction
of water availability [Eq. (2)].
3. Testing the model
The model was used to calculate the water balance
for 9-year-old Eucalyptus plantations in the MBE,
during the water year October 1995September
1996. This covered the period before the trees were
harvested. Since no direct measurement of transpiration was available, independent soil moisture
measurements by neutron probes were the key for
assessing UAPE's accuracy. Water discharge and
water table uctuation are also used as integrated
controls of the water budget.
The model is driven by daily meteorological data:
precipitation (mm), net radiation (Wm 22), relative
humidity (%), and air temperature (8C). Derived
variables, such as D and slope of the saturation
vapor pressure curve, D, are calculated from these
four variables. Daylight length, t, was calculated
taking into account the latitude and yearday (1
365), as in Running and Coughlan (1988). Table 2
lists the parameters and initial conditions used as
inputs to UAPE. The parameters in italics
(1, 6, 7, 1012, 14, 15) are taken from the literature

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139

Table 2
Initial conditions and parameter values for test and validation of UAPE, using MBE's E. grandis x urophylla hybrids data basis. The parameters
in italics (1, 6, 7, 1012, 14, 15) are taken from the literature
Parameter/initial condition description (unit)

Number

Value

BeerLambert interception coefcient

Rain interception coefcient (m LAI 21 day 21)
Reference maximum potential (-Mpa)
Maximum stomata conductance (ms 21)
Leaf Water Potential inducing stomata closure (2MPa)
Radiation threshold for stomata conductance (MJ m 22day 21)
Fraction of stomata conductance at Vapor Pressure Decit 3 kPa
Dry season LAI (m 2 m 22)
Wet season LAI modier
Boundary layer aerodynamic resistance (s m 21)
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (layers 1, 2 and 3) (mm day 21)
Saturated hydraulic conductivity (layers 4 and 5) (mm day 21)
Porosity (%, averaged in the whole soil prole)
b exponent of Campbell's function (layers 1, 2 and 3)Eq. (9)
b exponent of Campbell's function (layers 4 and 5)Eq. (9)
Wilting point of soil layer 1rooting zone (% cm 3 cm 23)
Wilting point of soil layer 2 (% cm 3 cm 23)
Wilting point of soil layer 3 (% cm 3 cm 23)
Wilting point of soil layer 4 (% cm 3 cm 23)
Wilting point of soil layer 5 (% cm 3 cm 23)
Water holding capacity of soil layer 1rooting zone (mm)
Water holding capacity of soil layer 2 (mm)
Water holding capacity of soil layer 3 (mm)
Water holding capacity of soil layer 4 (mm)
Water holding capacity of soil layer 5 (mm)
Initial storage at layer 1rooting zone (mm)
Initial storage at layer 2 (mm)
Initial storage at layer 3 (mm)
Initial storage at layer 4 (mm)
Initial storage at layer 5 (mm)
Thickness of soil layer 1rooting zone (cm)
Thickness of soil layer 2 (cm)
Thickness of soil layer 3 (cm)
Thickness of soil layer 4 (cm)
Thickness of soil layer 5 (cm)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35

20.42
0.00045
0.5
0.009
1.9
2.5
0.3
2.5
1.35
12
185
2995
38
9.6
4.6
24
24.5
25
16
16
220
220
350
200
200
70
150
300
200
200
250
250
500
500
500

(Dye, 1987; Hatton et al., 1992; Running and

Coughlan, 1988; Clapp and Hornberger, 1978).
The others were estimated from physiological
measurements,
canopy
structure
assessment
{2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9}, hydrologic monitoring {26}
and soil sampling {12, 13, 16 2 25} at the catchment experimental site. Thickness of the various
soil layers {3135} is based on the conceptual
structure of UAPE and on the texture properties of
the soil aeration zone. The initial water storage for
layer 1 {26} was determined by eld measurements.

Layer 2 {27} is initialized by extrapolation of the

water content measured in the third meter and that
of layers 35 {2830} estimated from the water
holding capacities of these layers and assumptions
based on the theoretical distribution of moisture in
the soil prole. Layer 5, for example, is initialized
by assuming that its matric potential roughly
balances the gravimetric potential. The water table
level was falling at the beginning of the test year,
indicating upward ux, because there was no interception with the catchment drainage network.

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J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

Table 3
Water balance of 9-year-old eucalyptus plantationfrom October
1995 to September 1996. Precipitation is measured (mean of three
stations inside MBE), interception is a model estimate that ts
measurements (11% of precipitation), Transpiration, Soil Evaporation and Net Deep Drainage are model estimates. Storage change is
model estimate conrmed by neutron probe measurements

Input
Output

Storage change

Component of
hydrological cycle

Value (mm)

Precipitation
Intercepted evaporation
Soil evaporation
Net deep drainage
Transpiration

1396
151
78
25
1116
24

4. Results and discussion

The components of the water balance of the 9-yearold Eucalyptus are shown in Table 3.
Interception (re-evaporation) average was 11% of
precipitation; this value is consistent with direct
measurements during the study period. Precipitation
interception can present wide variation depending of
rainfall intensity and duration. Fig. 4 shows that the

higher interception rates are more concentrated in dry

periods when storms are less intense than those in wet
season. Preble and Stirk (1980), working with Eucalyptus melanopholia trees in Australia, found similar
interception values. Over the period 19711975
throughfall was equal to 88% of rainfall whereas
stemow was 0.6%. Average interception therefore
was about 11% of annual rainfall. Soil surface
evaporation was 6% of transpiration. Total evapotranspiration, was 1345 mm and the ratio evapotranspiration/precipitation was 0.96. The water balance was
closed by a net ow below the root zone of about
25 mm and an increase in water storage (in the rst
soil layer) of 24 mm. The net ow has two components: runoff (deep drainage) of 129 mm and upward
ux of 104 mm.
The model provided an estimate of a transpiration
decit (difference between potential and actual transpiration) of 125 mm for the period. This decit was
concentrated in dry months and reects stomatal
control of transpiration (see Fig. 5), induced by soil
water availability. The relationship between soil water
decit and transpiration also provides information
about canopy photosynthesis since stomatal resistance
limits photosynthesis as well as transpiration.

Fig. 4. Measured precipitation interception (throughfall and stemow) in E. grandis plantationSeptember 1995June 1996.

J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

141

Fig. 5. Transpiration decit estimated by UAPE through the tested hydrological year.

Almeida and Soares (1997) found a signicant correlation between stand eucalypt volumetric growth and
soil water decit.
The main test of UAPE (theory, implementation
and initialization) is the comparison between
measured and modeled root zone soil moisture
(Fig. 6). The overall agreement between modeled
soil moisture content and soil moisture measured
weekly, or every other week, by neutron probes was
very good. Nearly identical rates of measured and
estimated soil moisture loss during January 1996 (a
dry month commencing with soil water at maximum
capacity, as a result of 770 mm of rainfall during the

previous 3 months) indicate that the estimation of

transpiration is accurate. An upward ux of 11 mm
and a soil evaporation of 5 mm have been estimated
for January, so water storage loss is assumed to be
basically due to transpiration. From April through
mid September (dry fall/winter season), modeled
and measured soil moisture contents match well;
during the month of August the match was perfect,
indicating that the soil water ux parameterization
and calculations were able to account for the upward
moisture ux that balances transpiration, maintaining
about 30 mm of minimum available water (13% of
capacity). This assessment is also supported by the

Fig. 6. Estimated water storage (line) and measured water storage in the root zone (2.5 m) (diamonds), along with precipitation (bars) for the
hydrologic year October 1995September 1996.

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J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

Fig. 7. Transpiration (mm day 21) (dotted line) for the hydrologic year October 1995September 1996. The solid line is a 7-day moving average
to lter out high frequency variations caused by uctuations in net radiation.

fact that corresponding measured Cl (21.3 MPa) did

not induce stomata closure (Mielke et al., 1999); and
conductance remained at about 3538 % of maximum. This corresponds to an average transpiration
decit of 2.53.0 (3.54.0 mm being the potential
transpiration), a 7075% reduction (Fig. 5). Although
there were no independent measurements of
transpiration to validate the model, many authors
have already tested the PenmanMonteith equation
and shown that it gives accurate estimates of canopy
transpiration (see, for example, Roberts et al., 1993;
Zhang and Dawes, 1995; Running and Coughlan,
1988; Dye, 1987; Mielke et al., 1999). In this work,
the meteorological inputs came from real measurements, including net radiation, and the functional
relationship describing canopy conductance as a function of soil water availability was obtained independently through ecophysiological campaigns and soil
moisture measurements. We are condent that UAPE
produces accurate estimates of transpiration in
eucalypt plantations.
It must be acknowledged that tting a model with
many parameters to real data may lead to non-unique
calibrations, but the initial set of values of the parameters represent functional relationships developed
independently for the test site as a result of ecophysiological measurements, soil moisture, interception
experiment, LAI measurements, soil prole texture
and water retention curve. Most parameters would
not need to be changed for a specic site.
Transpiration is the critical factor determining the
water balance in the root zone. Precipitation is

measured and modeled interception is consistent real

measurements. There is little energy available for soil
evaporation (estimated to be about 7% of transpiration) and deep drainage is less than 10% of transpiration, so errors in these terms do not affect the water
use estimates as much as errors in transpiration. In
UAPE the key factor in modeling transpiration using
the PenmanMonteith equation is the formulation of
the feedback control relationships between soil water
and stomatal (and hence canopy) conductance based
on plant physiology measurements done within the
experimental basin.
Fig. 7 shows the time course of transpiration (mm
day 21) for the hydrologic year October 1995September 1996. The solid line is a 7 days moving average
that lters out high frequency variations due to net
radiation uctuation. Transpiration (smoothed)
ranged from 5.8 mm day 21 during summer days
with high soil moisture and radiant energy to
1.1 mm day 21 during winter days with low soil moisture and high vapor pressure decit, D. These values
agree quite well with those published by Dye (1987),
Mielke et al. (1999) and Kallarackal and Somen
(1997). Again, condence in these numbers comes
mainly from the fact that functional relationships
were established using data collected at the test site
(stomatal control as a function of soil water availability) and from careful analysis of good published data
sets (Dye, 1987) to establish the vapor pressure decit
limitation on canopy conductance. The high values for
the period JanuaryFebruary 1996 (average 5.5 mm
day 21) corresponded to a drop in moisture availability

J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

143

Fig. 8. Water ow below rooting zone (mm day 21) for the period October 1995September 1996. Positive values denote downward uxes and
negative values denote upward uxes. Integrated value is 2104 mm, which means a net upward ux for the hydrologic year.

of 160 mm for a 40 day period (both measured and

estimated), with the gradient inversion supplying
50 mm of upward ux to the rooting zone. The high
correlation between soil water in the upper meter of
soil with daily transpiration has also been demonstrated by Mielke et al. (2000) and Teskey and Sheriff
(1996).
Fig. 8 shows the water ow through the lower
boundary of the root zone, i.e. between the rst and
second soil layers. Positive values indicate downward
water movement and negative values indicate upward
movement. The downward ux took place during the
rainy months of NovemberDecember 1995. Since
the model assumes runoff to be included in percolation (deep drainage) of excess water when the storage
capacity is reached, ux below the root zone is
included in runoff. The net value of this ux for the
whole year was 25 mm. The positive values during the
rainy season averaged close to 3.5 mm day 21. By mid
January 1996, after a few days of high transpiration
rates, the potential gradient was inverted and upward
ux began; the maximum value was about 1.9 mm
day 21 by the end of January. During the dry season,
from April to August upward ux was close to 1 mm
day 21, which helped supply water to the roots and
prevent stomata shutting down completely. By the
end of August, the upward ux balanced the lowest
transpiration rate of about 1 mm day 21 estimated by
the model, so that the available water remained stable
around 30 mm (13% of storage capacity). The
transpiration rate fell as a result of a combination of

low water availability (lowest predawn Cl) and high

vapor pressure decit, D (dry days with low relative
humidity).
The estimated upward ux from the water table into
its neighboring upper layer was around 82 mm while
piezometric measurements showed a 2.5 m recession
for the period (Fig. 9). A simple calculation indicates
that 1 m variation of water table level represents about
30 mm loss (or gain) of water. Whether this is an
accurate estimate may not be known until considerably more data are available, preferably from a whole
growing cycle.
The combination of Darcy's law with a nonlinear
formulation of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity
leads to a nonlinear equation (Richard's equation). In
setting up the model for MBE, texture was the only
available criteria for dividing the soil into layers with
constant diffusivity (% of clay is critical). In order to
apply the model to another area with a different texture
prole, the number of layers with equal diffusivity
would have to correspond to the texture prole.
Being able to change parametric values, including
number and properties of soil layers, and recompile
with ease, is a key factor for building a costumized
version of a water use model. As already stated elsewhere, good estimates of initial conditions and unsaturated soil properties are essential, otherwise the use
of the soil ux sub model may give erroneous results,
due to the nonlinear nature of the soil water ux formulation. The soil prole for the rst 6 m in the MBE is
described with careful detail and we are condent

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J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

Fig. 9. Measured water table level (m above sea level) and accumulated rainfall (mm) between water table measurements.

about the uxes between the root zone and its neighbor
layer (secondary storage). Although the estimates
obtained by UAPE for the uxes between deep layers
and from the saturated zone also appear to be sound,
there is a need for a long-term monitoring before the
redistribution of water in the soil and variation of water
table level can be predicted with reasonable accuracy.
The hydraulic conductivity is much higher as satura-

tion is approached, which compensates for smaller

hydraulic gradients; so the uxes among deeper
moist layers could be of the same order of those
between the root zone and the layer below it.
Fig. 10 shows the measured weir water ow out of
MBE for the period November 1996February 1997
(wet season and when good weir measurements
started). It is clear that runoff events are very short

Fig. 10. Precipitated volume and runoff volume in the catchment during November 1996February 1997.

J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

145

Fig. 11. Relationship between daily transpiration (solid line) and available energy (approximated by net radiation, dotted line) throughout the
year. Both curves are 7 days running mean.

following rainfall, i.e. runoff is basically due to direct

precipitation over MBE's channel network or to
sub-supercial ux from neighboring areas. Integrated runoff over the hydrologic year October 96/
September 97 was 45 mm for a 1600 mm of precipitation (3% of precipitation). No base ow has been
measured showing that the water table never intercepted the drainage system. The assumption (and estimation) of capillary rise from the water table to
explain recession therefore appears to be supported.
The dependence of transpiration on available energy
is shown in Fig. 11. Net radiation was low in the rainy
season (Spring 1995) because of the cloud cover. Transpiration generally followed net radiation closely, with
the low rates of JulySeptember 1996 being the result of
integrated effects of soil moisture, net radiation and
vapor pressure decit. The low transpiration rates in
early March 1996, when net radiation was not limiting,
resulted from soil water stress (see Fig. 6). The two-fold
difference between net radiation from summer to winter
is probably an important reason why stomata do not
close completely (gs remained at 35% of its maximum
value) under the low soil water availability conditions
(less than 15% of storage capacity) at the end of the of
the dry season.

5. Concluding remarks
The main conclusion from this work is that the

model for estimating water use by plantations appears

to have been successfully initialized and tted to local
Aracruz conditions. The agreement between modeled
and independent measurements of water available in
the rooting zone was excellent overall.
It is clear that the E. grandis hybrids are able to
exert good stomatal control over water loss by transpiration. At the end of the dry season, transpiration
was about 5 times lower than during moist, clear days
conditions during the summer.
We have demonstrated that the soil layer below the
rooting zone functions as a secondary storage `reservoir'
of water for the roots. An upward ux is established
from that layer, driven by water depletion in the rst
layer causing a water potential gradient inversion. At
the end of the dry season, the upward ux of 1 mm
day 21 balanced the transpiration rate, so that the water
content in the root zone remained constant at about 15%
of maximum capacity, keeping the predawn c l close to
21.2 MPa and preventing complete stomata closure.
Stomatal conductance in such conditions was around
35% of its maximum. The energy available for evapotranspiration varied by a factor of more than 2 from wet
summer to dry winter. Although the dependence of transpiration on net radiation appears to be obvious from the
PenmamMonteith equation, the lower energy inputs,
and hence lower demand for water, may explain why the
stomata do not close any further.
The hydrologic year used to test the model represents a typical climate of the region. Rainfall supplies

146

J.V. Soares, A.C. Almeida / Journal of Hydrology 253 (2001) 130147

most of the water use by the eucalypt plantation.

There is a transpiration decit of around 125 mm,
caused by the concentration of precipitation during
spring and summer, and a rather long dry period in
fall and winter.
As knowledge of the system improves, through
ecophysiological campaigns and hydrologic measurements extended through a whole plantation growing
cycle, some functional relationships used in the model
could change, but the model is formulated to handle
changing parametric values.
The unidimensional water balance model is quite
simple and universal. It could be easily adapted to
other forest ecosystems and soil types, as long as
parameters dening those systems, and forcing hydrometeorological variables, are available. The main
constraint is that the dominant topography must be
at and soil inltration capacity must be higher than
rainstorm intensity, which is in general the case for
forest soils, because the model does not account for
overland ow. If the topography is not at then run-off
has to be explicitly accounted for.
The model discussed (UAPE) embodies well-established principles and belongs to a class of models that
simulate both tree transpiration and soil water movement. It was shown that upward uxes of water from
below the root zone help prevent stomata closure and
keeps the Eucalyptus plantation functioning at
approximately 30% of its potential at the end of a
long dry season
The model is a promising tool for forecasting water
use (and transpiration decit at any time) by eucalyptus plantations. It can also provide information about
stomatal conductance for growth prediction models.
Acknowledgements
We would especially like to thank Dr Joe
Landsberg for the many useful comments and
suggestions he made on the manuscript. We are also
grateful for the support of Aracruz Celulose S.A. that
funded this study.
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