Ecology of Phreatophytes

Thomas, Frank M.

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-38797-5_11

Cited by 33 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 144 publications

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“…In conclusion, our results provide further evidence that a longer distance to the groundwater results in reduced stem growth; thus, they are in accordance with the findings of several other studies on woody phreatophytes (see Thomas, 2014). The sensitive growth response of the trees in plot GD1 to changes in the water supply via the Tarim River should be taken into consideration in the future planning of water distribution on a landscape scale; the negative effects of diverting water from sites with a short distances to the water table to sites with longer distances to the groundwater might outweigh any positive effect on P. euphratica stands that are already growing at longer distances to the water table and exhibit low productivity regardless.…”

Section: Major Findings and Conclusionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Under given climatic conditions, P. euphratica stand development from seedlings is only possible along rivers, in river beds, or after flooding events, when the upper soil has been thoroughly wetted and the distance to groundwater is short enough to be bridged by rapid vertical root growth (Runge, 2004;Thomas, 2014). Thereafter, the distance to the groundwater may become longer through the lowering of the water table (due to groundwater use by the human population or by natural shifts in the course of a river) or by sand accumulation.…”

Section: Major Findings and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainable management of river oases along the Tarim River (SuMaRiO) in Northwest China under conditions of climate change

Rumbaur¹,

Thevs

Disse³

et al. 2015

Earth Syst. Dynam.

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Abstract. The Tarim River basin, located in Xinjiang, NW China, is the largest endorheic river basin in China and one of the largest in all of Central Asia. Due to the extremely arid climate, with an annual precipitation of less than 100 mm, the water supply along the Aksu and Tarim rivers solely depends on river water. This is linked to anthropogenic activities (e.g., agriculture) and natural and semi-natural ecosystems as both compete for water. The ongoing increase in water consumption by agriculture and other human activities in this region has been enhancing the competition for water between human needs and nature. Against this background, 11 German and 6 Chinese universities and research institutes have formed the consortium SuMaRiO (Sustainable Management of River Oases along the Tarim River; http://www.sumario.de), which aims to create a holistic picture of the availability of water resources in the Tarim River basin and the impacts on anthropogenic activities and natural ecosystems caused by the water distribution within the Tarim River basin. On the basis of the results from field studies and modeling approaches as well as from suggestions by the relevant regional stakeholders, a decision support tool (DST) will be implemented that will then assist stakeholders in balancing the competition for water, Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 84 C. Rumbaur et al.: Sustainable management of river oases along the Tarim River acknowledging the major external effects of water allocation to agriculture and to natural ecosystems. This consortium was formed in 2011 and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. As the data collection phase was finished this year, the paper presented here brings together the results from the fields from the disciplines of climate modeling, cryology, hydrology, agricultural sciences, ecology, geoinformatics, and social sciences in order to present a comprehensive picture of the effects of different water availability schemes on anthropogenic activities and natural ecosystems along the Tarim River. The second objective is to present the project structure of the whole consortium, the current status of work (i.e., major new results and findings), explain the foundation of the decision support tool as a key product of this project, and conclude with application recommendations for the region. The discharge of the Aksu River, which is the major tributary of the Tarim, has been increasing over the past 6 decades. From 1989 to 2011, agricultural area more than doubled: cotton became the major crop and there was a shift from small-scale to large-scale intensive farming. The ongoing increase in irrigated agricultural land leads to the increased threat of salinization and soil degradation caused by increased evapotranspiration. Aside from agricultural land, the major natural and semi-natural ecosystems are riparian (Tugai) forests, shrub vegetation, reed beds, and other grassland, as well as urban and peri-urban vegetation. ...

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Section: Major Findings and Conclusionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Major Findings and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable management of river oases along the Tarim River (SuMaRiO) in Northwest China under conditions of climate change

Rumbaur¹,

Thevs

Disse³

et al. 2015

Earth Syst. Dynam.

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“…On the other hand, these practices might be a major contributor for producing a higher biomass by means of improving water availability and leading to the sequestration of carbon. However, some studies also indicated that current water diversion practices are less effective for the large-scale establishment of new seedlings and juvenile trees [20,49]. It was observed that young forests have greater annual carbon sequestration rates while mature forests store more carbon [5].…”

Section: Potential Effect Of Water Diversion Project In Relation To Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass Carbon Sequestration Potential by Riparian Forest in the Tarim River Watershed, Northwest China: Implication for the Mitigation of Climate Change Impact

Aishan

Betz

Halik

et al. 2018

Forests

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Carbon management in forests has become the most important agenda of the first half of the 21st century in China in the context of the mitigation of climate change impact. As the main producer of the inland river basin ecosystem in arid region of Northwest China, the desert riparian forest maintains the regional environment and also holds a great significance in regulating the regional/global carbon cycle. In this study, we estimated the total biomass, carbon storage, as well as monetary ecosystem service values of desert riparian Populus euphratica Oliv. in the lower reaches of the Tarim River based on terrestrial forest inventory data within an area of 100 ha (100 plots with sizes of 100 m × 100 m) and digitized tree data within 1000 ha (with 10 m × 10 m grid) using a statistical model of biomass estimation against tree height (TH) and diameter at breast height (DBH) data. Our results show that total estimated biomass and carbon storage of P. euphratica within the investigated area ranged from 3.00 to 4317.00 kg/ha and from 1.82 to 2158.73 kg/ha, respectively. There was a significant negative relationship (p < 0.001) between biomass productivity of these forests and distance to the river and groundwater level. Large proportions of biomass (64% of total biomass) are estimated within 200 m distance to the river where groundwater is relatively favorable for vegetation growth and biomass production. However, our data demonstrated that total biomass showed a sharp decreasing trend with increasing distance to the river; above 800 m distance, less biomass and carbon storage were estimated. The total monetary value of the ecosystem service "carbon storage" provided by P. euphratica was estimated to be $6.8 × 10 4 USD within the investigated area, while the average monetary value was approximately $70 USD per ha, suggesting that the riparian forest ecosystem in the Tarim River Basin should be considered a relevant regional carbon sink. The findings of this study help to establish a better understanding of the spatial distribution pattern of P. euphratica forest under water scarcity and can also provide an alternative approach to local decision-makers for efficient and precise assessment of forest carbon resources for emission reduction programs.

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“…As a typical phreatophyte, P. euphratica relies on permanent access to the groundwater (Wang et al, 1996;Thevs, 2005;Thomas et al, 2006;Thomas, 2014). The formation of xylem conduits with large diameters facilitates a high hydraulic conductivity (Rzepecki et al, 2011) and allows for high rates of biomass production (Gries et al, 2005;Thomas et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Wood harvest by pollarding exerts long-term effects on Populus euphratica stands in riparian forests at the Tarim River, NW China

Lang

Jeschke

Wommelsdorf

et al. 2015

Forest Ecology and Management

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Ecology of Phreatophytes

Cited by 33 publications

References 144 publications

Sustainable management of river oases along the Tarim River (SuMaRiO) in Northwest China under conditions of climate change

Sustainable management of river oases along the Tarim River (SuMaRiO) in Northwest China under conditions of climate change

Biomass Carbon Sequestration Potential by Riparian Forest in the Tarim River Watershed, Northwest China: Implication for the Mitigation of Climate Change Impact

Wood harvest by pollarding exerts long-term effects on Populus euphratica stands in riparian forests at the Tarim River, NW China

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