Response of riparian vegetation to water-table changes in the lower reaches of Tarim River, Xinjiang Uygur, China

Chen, Yaning; Pang, Zhonghe; Chen, Yapeng; Li, Weihong; Xu, Chong‐Yu; Hao, Xin; Huang, Xiang; Huang, Tianming; Ye, Zhaoxia

doi:10.1007/s10040-008-0306-1

Cited by 79 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In arid regions, soil water content is affected primarily by groundwater because of small precipitation events and high evaporation [3,6,51]. Our results showed that soil water content decreased significantly with increased groundwater depth (Figure 2), and this is consistent with many other studies in the Tarim River [10,22]. In addition, human irrigation disturbances and high community coverage might significantly affect soil water content and lead to high soil moisture for sites near the river bank (Table 2).…”

Section: Impacts Of Increased Groundwater Depth On Soil Propertiessupporting

confidence: 81%

Groundwater Depth and Soil Properties Are Associated with Variation in Vegetation of a Desert Riparian Ecosystem in an Arid Area of China

Zhang

Guan

Zhou

et al. 2018

Forests

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Abstract:Groundwater is a major driving force for plant community distribution in arid areas worldwide. Although it is well known that groundwater has a significant impact on soil and vegetation, there is little information on how groundwater depth affects soil and vegetation in an arid inland basin desert riparian ecosystem. Therefore, quantitative analysis of the relationships among groundwater depth, soil properties and plant community distribution is necessary. A desert riparian ecosystem in the lower reaches of the Heihe River in an arid area of Northwest China was used to determine quantitative relationships among groundwater depth, soil and vegetation. Groundwater depth significantly increased with increased distance from the river. Soil and vegetation characteristics showed a significant trend with increasing groundwater depth. With increasing groundwater depth, soil water content, soil total nitrogen, soil total carbon, soil available phosphorus and soil available potassium decreased, while the soil bulk density and soil carbon:nitrogen (C:N) ratio increased. Soil pH and soil electrical conductivity followed quadratic function relationships with groundwater depth. Species richness, aboveground biomass, community coverage, community height, foliage projective cover and leaf area index all significantly decreased with increased groundwater depth. Groundwater depth and soil were associated with vegetation variance, explaining 85.8% of the vegetation variance. Groundwater depth was more important in explaining vegetation variance than soil properties (soil bulk density) and soil pH. Our observations indicate that changes in groundwater depth would have a significant influence on desert riparian forest vegetation, and that maintaining appropriate groundwater depth is necessary to preserve the riparian ecosystem.

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Section: Impacts Of Increased Groundwater Depth On Soil Propertiessupporting

confidence: 81%

Groundwater Depth and Soil Properties Are Associated with Variation in Vegetation of a Desert Riparian Ecosystem in an Arid Area of China

Zhang

Guan

Zhou

et al. 2018

Forests

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“…In fact, the values were well above the rational depth (i.e., 3.5-4.5 m) for the growth of P. euphratica [49] and the critical depth of ground water which was greater than 5 m. During the growing season, evapotranspiration is normally intensive due to the extremely dry climate, thus the changes in groundwater depth are likely to directly affect the accumulation of surface salinity that could eventually lead to the disturbance of the growth and development of the riparian forest. This is because the shallower is the groundwater depth, the greater is the evapotranspiration and the more serious is the soil salinization.…”

Section: Controls On the Carbon Fluxes Of Riparian Forestmentioning

confidence: 72%

Carbon Dioxide Fluxes and Their Environmental Controls in a Riparian Forest within the Hyper-Arid Region of Northwest China

Feng

et al. 2017

Forests

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Abstract:Hyper-arid regions are expected to undergo climatic change, but only a few research works have so far been conducted on the dynamics of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) fluxes and their consequent responses to various bioclimatic factors, which is mainly attributable to a limited set of flux observations. In this study, the CO 2 fluxes exchanged between the forest and the atmosphere have been measured continuously by the eddy covariance approach from June 2013 to December 2016 in a riparian forest, which is a primary body of natural oases located within the lower reaches of inland rivers in China. The present results revealed that the climatic conditions characterized by relatively high mean air temperatures (T a ) with fluctuating annual precipitation (P) during the prescribed study periods were comparable to the historical mean value. The annual net ecosystem productivity (NEP) ranged from approximately 278 g C m −2 year −1 to 427 g C m −2 year −1 , with a mean value of 334 g C m −2 year −1 . The mean annual ecosystem respiration (Re) and the gross primary productivity (GPP) were found to be 558 and 892 g C m −2 year −1 , respectively. The results also ascertained that the high inter-annual variations in NEP were attributable to Re rather than to GPP, and this result was driven primarily by T a and the groundwater depth under similar eco-physiological processes. In addition, the CO 2 fluxes were also strongly correlated with the soil temperature and photosynthetically active radiation for the present study site. In conclusion, the desert riparian forest is a considerably significant carbon sink, particularly in the hyper-arid regions.

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“…Since year 2000, several rounds of water diversions from the upper stream and from the neighboring Kaidu-Kongque River have been implemented to alleviate the ecosystem disaster. After the impulsive water diversions, the water tables have risen at differing degrees from the river bed and the composition, types, distribution and growth status of the riparian vegetation and water chemistry have changed correspondingly [30,31]. As the water-table depth suitable for the growth of Populus euphratica is less than 4-5 m in the LTR, according to the relationship among groundwater quality [31,32] and proline accumulation [33], the zone with the required groundwater depth is restricted, about 200 m from the river bank, which further narrows down towards downstream [34].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zhou et al [35] investigated the groundwater in the Tikanlik oasis and pointed out that there was evident positive correlation between salinity of surface water and salt content in 0-50 cm soil and soil salt content was closely related to groundwater depth. In riparian zone, the main arbor is Populus euphratica, the main shrubs are Tamarix ramosissima, Lycium ruthenicum Mur and Halimodendron halodendron, and the main herbs are Phragmites cornmurlis, Poacynum hendersonii, Alhagi sparsifo, Karelinia caspic, Glycarhiza inflate [28,31].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Groundwater circulation relative to water quality and vegetation in an arid transitional zone linking oasis, desert and river

et al. 2013

Self Cite

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In groundwater-dependent ecosystems, groundwater circulation controls the overall water quality and ecosystem dynamics. Groundwater and vegetation across a 30-km groundwater transect linking oasis, desert and river in an extremely arid area were investigated with a series of soil profiles drilled into the unsaturated zone to understand groundwater circulation and its control on groundwater quality and surface vegetation in the extremely arid Lower Tarim River, NW China. Measurements have included water-table depth, water chemistry and water isotopes ( 2 H, 18 O, 3 H) for 15 water samples, soil moisture and chloride content for 11 soil profiles, and vegetation investigation. Results show that the groundwater in desert zone is characterized by slow recharge rate (pre-modern water), great water-table depth (6.17-9.43 m) and high salinity (15.32-26.50 g/L), while that in oasis (uncultivated land) and riparian zone is characterized by relatively fast recharge rate (modern water), small groundwater-table depth (3.56-8.36 m) and low salinity (1.25-1.95 g/L). Stable isotopes show that secondary evaporation takes place during irrigation in oasis. The vegetation characteristics (coverage, richness, evenness and number of plants) are closely related to soil moisture and water-table depth. Groundwater recharge from irrigation in oasis and from river in riparian zone sustains a better ecosystem than that in the desert area, where lateral and vertical groundwater recharge is limited. The more evapotranspirative enrichment may occur in the vegetated and water-rich riparian zone as compared to desert. This study also demonstrates the effectiveness of environmental tracers in studying ecohydrological processes in arid regions.isotope, soil profile, riparian zone, ecosystem, salinity, arid zone hydrology Citation:Huang T M, Pang Z H, Chen Y N, et al. Groundwater circulation relative to water quality and vegetation in an arid transitional zone linking oasis, desert and river.

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Response of riparian vegetation to water-table changes in the lower reaches of Tarim River, Xinjiang Uygur, China

Cited by 79 publications

References 14 publications

Groundwater Depth and Soil Properties Are Associated with Variation in Vegetation of a Desert Riparian Ecosystem in an Arid Area of China

Groundwater Depth and Soil Properties Are Associated with Variation in Vegetation of a Desert Riparian Ecosystem in an Arid Area of China

Carbon Dioxide Fluxes and Their Environmental Controls in a Riparian Forest within the Hyper-Arid Region of Northwest China

Groundwater circulation relative to water quality and vegetation in an arid transitional zone linking oasis, desert and river

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