Röll, AlexanderAlexanderRöllNiu, F.F.NiuMeijide Orive, AnaAnaMeijide OriveAhongshangbam, J.J.AhongshangbamEhbrecht, M.M.EhbrechtGuillaume, T.T.GuillaumeGunawan, D.D.GunawanHardanto, A.A.HardantoHendrayanto, nullnullHendrayantoHertel, DietrichDietrichHertelKotowska, M.M.M.M.KotowskaKreft, H.H.KreftKuzyakov, YakovYakovKuzyakovLeuschner, ChristophChristophLeuschnerNomura, M.M.NomuraPolle, AndreaAndreaPolleRembold, K.K.RemboldSahner, J.J.SahnerSeidel, DominikDominikSeidelZemp, D.C.D.C.ZempKnohl, AlexanderAlexanderKnohlHölscher, DirkDirkHölscher2019-11-142019-11-142019https://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gro-2/62625Following large-scale conversion of rainforest, rubber and oil palm plantations dominate lowland Sumatra (Indonesia) and other parts of South East Asia today, with potentially far-reaching ecohydrological consequences. We assessed how such land-use change affects plant transpiration by sap flux measurements at 42 sites in selectively logged rainforests, agroforests and rubber and oil palm monoculture plantations in the lowlands of Sumatra. Site-to-site variability in stand-scale transpiration and tree-level water use were explained by stand structure, productivity, soil properties and plantation age. Along a land-use change trajectory forest-rubber-oil palm, time-averaged transpiration decreases by 43 ± 11% from forest to rubber monoculture plantations, but rebounds with conversion to smallholder oil palm plantations. We uncovered that particularly commercial, intensive oil palm cultivation leads to high transpiration (827 ± 77 mm yr −1), substantially surpassing rates at our forest sites (589 ± 52 mm yr −1). Compared to smallholder oil palm, land-use intensification leads to 1.7-times higher transpiration in commercial plantations. Combined with severe soil degradation, the high transpiration may cause periodical water scarcity for humans in oil palm-dominated landscapes. As oil palm is projected to further expand, severe shifts in water cycling after land-cover change and water scarcity due to land-use intensification may become more widespreaenjournal_article10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.04.017sfb990_journalarticles