Hydraulic lift: soil processes and transpiration in the Mediterranean leguminous shrub Retama sphaerocarpa (L.) Boiss

Prieto, Iván; Kikvidze, Zaal; Pugnaire, Francisco I.

doi:10.1007/s11104-009-0170-3

Cited by 80 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…We found that the quantity of water released though HL into shallow soil layers was minimal when these layers were very dry (-4 to -6 MPa), whereas more water could be redistributed into moderately dry upper soil layers (-1 MPa), even though the soil water potential gradient was smaller. Similar results were also found under R. sphaerocarpa shrubs in the same area by Prieto et al (2010). An explanation could be the nonlinear relationship between soil water potential and soil water content, which in our model resulted in decreased HL magnitude at low water potentials (see Figs.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…4,5). The large gradients in soil water potential present during drought resulted in the release of smaller amounts of water into the top soil layers under R. sphaerocarpa (Prieto et al 2010). Nonetheless, factors such as a decrease in root hydraulic conductivity or a loss of root-soil contact can also explain the sharp decrease in HL rates in very dry soils (Domec et al 2004;Warren et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hydraulic lift through transpiration suppression in shrubs from two arid ecosystems: patterns and control mechanisms

et al. 2010

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Hydraulic lift (HL) is the passive movement of water through the roots from deep wet to dry shallow soil layers when stomata are closed. HL has been shown in different ecosystems and species, and it depends on plant physiology and soil properties. In this study we explored HL patterns in several arid land shrubs, and developed a simple model to simulate the temporal evolution and magnitude of HL during a soil drying cycle under relatively stable climatic conditions. This model was then used to evaluate the influence of soil texture on the quantity of water lifted by shrubs in different soil types. We conducted transpiration suppression experiments during spring 2005 in Chile and spring 2008 in Spain on five shrub species that performed HL, Flourensia thurifera, Senna cumingii and Pleocarphus revolutus (Chile), Retama sphaerocarpa and Artemisia barrelieri (Spain). Shrubs were covered with a black, opaque plastic fabric for a period of 48-72 h, and soil water potential was recorded at different depths under the shrubs. While the shrubs remained covered, water potential continuously increased in shallow soil layers until the cover was removed. The model output indicated that the amount of water lifted by shrubs is heavily dependent on soil texture, as shrubs growing in loamy soils redistributed up to 3.6 times more water than shrubs growing on sandy soils. This could be an important consideration for species growing in soils with different textures, as their ability to perform HL would be context dependent.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydraulic lift through transpiration suppression in shrubs from two arid ecosystems: patterns and control mechanisms

et al. 2010

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“…This increases the aboveground biomass of the herbaceous understory (Moro et al 1997;Rivest et al 2011a). Prieto et al (2010) also provided evidence to show that Retama is able to hydraulically lift and release water from deep to shallow soil layers during pronounced dry periods. However, when estimating pasture production at plot scale in this study, no significant response to the presence of Retama was observed.…”

Section: Shrub Browse Productionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Shrub encroachment of Iberian dehesas: implications on total forage productivity

et al. 2015

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The Iberian dehesa, a grazed Mediterranean open woodland, is an outstanding example of a silvopastoral system. Shrub encroachment has been proposed as an effective method to facilitate natural tree regeneration and ensure the sustainability of silvopastoral systems. At the same time, shrubs can affect both pasture understory and tree overstory production. The effects of varying intensities of shrub encroachment on the productivity of four forage components of this system-pasture, acorns, shrub browse and tree browse-were tested and the overall metabolisable energy (ME) under different scenarios of vegetation structure was calculated. Two common shrub species with contrasting plant architectures and ecological functions were studied as models: Cistus ladanifer and Retama sphaerocarpa. Cistus negatively affected acorn, tree browse and pasture production, whereas Retama positively affected pasture and browse production and was neutral for acorn production. The highest ME values were found when tree cover was ca. 70 % and C. ladanifer cover was low or R. sphaerocarpa cover was medium. The authors recommend conserving and promoting patched three-layered plots in Iberian dehesas and similar extensive silvopastoral systems where certain shrub species could simultaneously encourage the sustainability of these systems and reinforce (with R. sphaerocarpa) or maintain (with C. ladanifer) their productivity.

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“…However, a study of two species (beech and spruce) in the Tharandt forest, Germany showed that soil water shortage led to a significant reduction in the transpiration rate of spruce, but not of beech (Schwärzel et al, 2009). Root distribution reduces the influence of soil water drought on plant transpiration, especially in deep-rooted species that have the ability to access and utilize deep soil water and groundwater overcoming soil drought without any significant changes in transpiration (Prieto et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of shelterbelt stand transpiration to drought and groundwater variations in an arid inland river basin of Northwest China

Shen

Gao

et al. 2015

Journal of Hydrology

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s u m m a r yPlant water use characteristics and transpiration responses under dry conditions are considered essential for effective and sustainable ecosystem management in arid areas. This study was conducted to evaluate the response of shelterbelt stand transpiration to precipitation, soil drought and groundwater variations in an oasis-desert ecotone in the middle of the Heihe River Basin, China. Sap flow was measured in eight Gansu Poplar trees (Populus Gansuensis) with different diameter at breast height over three consecutive growing seasons (2012)(2013)(2014). The groundwater evapotranspiration via plant use was estimated by the White method with diurnal water table fluctuations. The results showed that precipitation increased the stand transpiration but not statistically significant (paired t-test, p > 0.05). The recharge of soil water by irrigation caused stand transpiration acceleration significantly (t-test, p < 0.05). Stand transpiration and canopy conductance increased by 27% and 31%, respectively, when soil water conditions changed from dry to wet. Canopy conductance decreased logarithmically with vapor pressure deficit, while there was no apparent relationship between canopy conductance and solar radiation. The sensitivity of canopy conductance to vapor pressure deficit decreased under dry soil conditions. Groundwater evapotranspiration (0.6-7.1 mm day À1) was linearly correlated with stand transpiration (1.1-6.5 mm day À1 ) (R 2 = 0.71), and these two variables had similar variability. During the drought period, approximately 80% of total stand transpiration came from groundwater evapotranspiration. This study highlighted the critical role of irrigation and groundwater for shelterbelt, and might provide the basis for the development of water requirement schemes for shelterbelt growth in arid inland river basins.

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Hydraulic lift: soil processes and transpiration in the Mediterranean leguminous shrub Retama sphaerocarpa (L.) Boiss

Cited by 80 publications

References 48 publications

Hydraulic lift through transpiration suppression in shrubs from two arid ecosystems: patterns and control mechanisms

Hydraulic lift through transpiration suppression in shrubs from two arid ecosystems: patterns and control mechanisms

Shrub encroachment of Iberian dehesas: implications on total forage productivity

Responses of shelterbelt stand transpiration to drought and groundwater variations in an arid inland river basin of Northwest China

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