Effects of Woody Plants on Microclimate in a Semiarid Woodland: Soil Temperature and Evaporation in Canopy and Intercanopy Patches

Breshears, David D.; Nyhan, J.W.; Heil, Christopher; Wilcox, Bradford P.

doi:10.1086/297622

Cited by 114 publications

(164 citation statements)

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“…During the growing season, the upper soil layers, from which grasses extract water (Schulze et al 1996), remained above permanent wilting point (10%Vol for the studied soils). The similarity of the values for soil water content of surface horizons between open grassland and the two silvopastoral treatments may have occurred because the lower evaporation rates in the latter compensated for the increased interception of rain by the tree crowns (Breshears et al 1998), particularly at the higher tree densities. The similar pre-dawn leaf water potentials observed in all treatments reflect the similar values recorded for soil water content in all treatments throughout the growing season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Growth of Festuca pallescens in Silvopastoral Systems in Patagonia, Part 1: Positive Balance between Competition and Facilitation

2006

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Silvopastoral systems may overyield compared to monocultures as a result of higher resource capture and/ or facilitation effects of the trees on the pastures. Festuca pallescens (St. Ives) Parodi, a forage species of Patagonia, is vulnerable to water deficit, suggesting that it may benefit from the facilitative effects of trees. Radiation (PPFD), temperature, relative humidity (RH) and soil water distribution during the growing season were measured under different tree cover levels in ponderosa pine-based silvopastoral systems. PPFD decreased with increasing tree cover, and the decrease was lower in the positions under than between tree crowns. No significant differences were observed for temperature, RH nor for soil water content between treatments. Pre-dawn water potential of grasses during the growing season showed similar high values in all treatments. However, cumulative water stress was slightly lower in high tree cover treatments than in open situations. Leaf water potential of the grasses during the day was always lower in open grassland than in forested plots. The growth of the grasses showed no significant differences between treatments, but mean growth tended to decrease in the more densely planted treatments. We concluded that F. pallescens is a species that is biologically sound for use in silvopastoral systems, because the balance between facilitation and competition can be positive under the semiarid conditions of Patagonia.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Growth of Festuca pallescens in Silvopastoral Systems in Patagonia, Part 1: Positive Balance between Competition and Facilitation

2006

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“…Trees may directly affect nutrient cycling by altering the rates of nutrient inputs and uptake (Binkley 1997), as well as decreasing the supply of water (Ravina 1983), light (Harrington and Fownes 1995) and temperature (Breshears et al 1998) to micro-organisms. They may also have indirect effects on nutrient cycling through disparate C inputs (quality and quantity) (Gleason and Ewel 2002;Hobbie et al 2006), production of root exudates (Landi et al 2006), production of anti-herbivory compounds (Cornelissen and Thompson 1997), and modification of the soil environment through acidification (Zinke 1962;Finzi et al 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species–soil associations, disturbance, and nutrient cycling in an Australian tropical rainforest

et al. 2009

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Resource availability and disturbance are important factors that shape the composition, structure, and functioning of ecosystems. We investigated the effects of soil fertility and disturbance on plant-soil interactions and nutrient cycling in a diverse tropical rainforest. Our goal was to determine how common soil specialisation is among species and how plant-soil interactions affect ecosystem functioning in the presence of disturbance. Most species (59%) showed significant fidelity to either fertile (basalt) or infertile (schist) soils. Obligate schist specialists (six species) contributed 39 and 37% to total stand-level basal area and aboveground net primary productivity, respectively. High nutrient use efficiency of schist specialists reduced the rates of within-stand nutrient cycling through the production of nutrient-poor plant tissues and litter. Although forests on schist soils had higher basal area and similar rates of productivity to forests on basalt, uptake of Mg, K, P, and N were markedly less on schist than on basalt, particularly after a cyclone disturbance. Stands on schist soils were also less affected by the cyclone and, as a result, contributed less (ca. 50%) Mg, K, P, and N inputs to the forest floor (via litterfall) than stands on basalt soils. System "openness" (i.e. the risk of nutrient loss) from cyclone-affected basalt forests was minimised by high rates of uptake following disturbance and large effective cation exchange capacities of soils. Soil-plant-disturbance interactions are likely to engender different fitness-enhancing strategies on fertile and infertile soils, possibly leading to the development and/or maintenance of diversity in rainforests.

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“…In arid and semiarid areas of the Mediterranean region where water is the main limiting factor, any amelioration of the environmental physical conditions may have an important impact upon the habitat water regime (Cernusca and Seeber 1981;Hennessy et al 1985;Breshears et al 1998;Kieft et al 1998;Snyder et al 2006;Kidron 2009). Shrub structure defines patterns of light-capturing areas, and the air temperature buffering effect of the canopy (Hennessy et al 1985;Scoles and Archer 1997;Snyder et al 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering that forest ecosystems play an irreplaceable role in regulating the carbon balance, mitigating greenhouse gas concentration, such as carbon dioxide, and maintaining global climate (Jasal et al 2010), there is large interest in estimating carbon sequestration by the forest sector (Lal and Singh 1998;Gibbs et al 2007;Laumonier et al 2010). Mediterranean shrubs may improve the air quality of densely urbanised areas developing along the Mediterranean Basin coasts, by having a role in carbon dioxide sequestration and oxygen releasing through photosynthesis; moreover, canopy structure of Mediterranean shrubs species influences the microclimate beneath and around them, thus contributing to air temperature mitigation by shading and transpiration (Miller et al 1981;Sala et al 1994;Breshears et al 1998;Gratani and Bombelli 2001;Gratani and Varone 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quercus ilex L. carbon sequestration capability related to shrub size

Gratani

Catoni

Varone

2010

Environ Monit Assess

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CO(2) sequestration capacity of Quercus ilex L., an evergreen species developing in shrub and forest communities widely distributed in the Mediterranean Basin, was analysed. Experiments were carried out in the period of January to December 2009 on 20 shrubs of different size, growing at the Botanical Garden of Rome. At shrub level, the largest differences concern total photosynthetic leaf surface area per shrub and shrub volume. Shrubs structure significantly contribute to reduce total irradiance and air temperature below the canopy. Leaf mass per area is higher in sun leaves than in shade ones (20 ± 1 and 12 ± 2 mg cm( -2), respectively). Sun leaves are also characterised by the highest leaf thickness (78% higher in sun than in shade leaves), the spongy parenchyma thickness (71% higher in sun than in shade leaves) and the highest adaxial cuticle thickness (7.2 ± 1.2 and 4.7 ± 0.5 μm, respectively). Net photosynthetic rates (P (N)) of sun and shade leaves are the highest in spring, and shade leaves contribute 6% to the whole shrub P (N). Q. ilex CO(2) sequestration depends on shrub size. In particular, the CO(2) sequestration per shrub was 0.20 ± 0.02 Kg CO(2) year( -1) in small shrubs, and it was 75% and 98% lower than in medium and large ones. The highest CO(2) sequestration is measured in spring, decreasing 77% during drought. Q. ilex may play a significant role in mitigating carbon dioxide concentration and lowering air and soil temperature in areas around the Mediterranean Basin.

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Effects of Woody Plants on Microclimate in a Semiarid Woodland: Soil Temperature and Evaporation in Canopy and Intercanopy Patches

Cited by 114 publications

References 0 publications

Growth of Festuca pallescens in Silvopastoral Systems in Patagonia, Part 1: Positive Balance between Competition and Facilitation

Growth of Festuca pallescens in Silvopastoral Systems in Patagonia, Part 1: Positive Balance between Competition and Facilitation

Species–soil associations, disturbance, and nutrient cycling in an Australian tropical rainforest

Quercus ilex L. carbon sequestration capability related to shrub size

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