Soil‐water movement under natural‐site and waste‐site conditions: A multiple‐year field study in the Mojave Desert, Nevada

Andraski, Brian J.

doi:10.1029/97wr01502

Cited by 87 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(36 reference statements)

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“…12, which is published as supporting information on the PNAS web site). Water potential monitoring indicates that wetting from infiltration is restricted to the upper meter of the soil profile (30)(31)(32)(33). For example, a 12-yr monitoring record from a vegetated sandy site in the Chihuahuan Desert shows that the wetting front (zero water potential) penetrated to a maximum depth of 0.8 m in response to elevated (three times normal) winter precipitation in 1991-1992 ( Figs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological controls on water-cycle response to climate variability in deserts

Scanlon¹,

Levitt²,

Reedy³

et al. 2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

139

138

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The impact of climate variability on the water cycle in desert ecosystems is controlled by biospheric feedback at interannual to millennial timescales. This paper describes a unique field dataset from weighing lysimeters beneath nonvegetated and vegetated systems that unequivocally demonstrates the role of vegetation dynamics in controlling water cycle response to interannual climate variability related to El Niñ o southern oscillation in the Mojave Desert. Extreme El Niñ o winter precipitation (2.3-2.5 times normal) typical of the U.S. Southwest would be expected to increase groundwater recharge, which is critical for water resources in semiarid and arid regions. However, lysimeter data indicate that rapid increases in vegetation productivity in response to elevated winter precipitation reduced soil water storage to half of that in a nonvegetated lysimeter, thereby precluding deep drainage below the root zone that would otherwise result in groundwater recharge. Vegetation dynamics have been controlling the water cycle in interdrainage desert areas throughout the U.S. Southwest, maintaining dry soil conditions and upward soil water flow since the last glacial period (10,000 -15,000 yr ago), as shown by soil water chloride accumulations. Although measurements are specific to the U.S. Southwest, correlations between satellite-based vegetation productivity and elevated precipitation related to El Niñ o southern oscillation indicate this model may be applicable to desert basins globally. Understanding the two-way coupling between vegetation dynamics and the water cycle is critical for predicting how climate variability influences hydrology and water resources in water-limited landscapes.climate change ͉ ecohydrology ͉ El Niñ o

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological controls on water-cycle response to climate variability in deserts

Scanlon¹,

Levitt²,

Reedy³

et al. 2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

139

138

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“…The shallowness of infiltration was due, in part, to the frequent dry antecedent conditions, high evaporation demand, and the high intensity and short duration convective rainfall that quickly overwhelms infiltration rates and then runs off. These are typical characteristics of the region, and for this site in particular (Cable, 1980;Andraski, 1997;Scott et al, 2000;Kurc and Small, 2004). Following all rain events, the increase in soil moisture at both 5 and 15 cm declined to near pre-event levels within ¾10 days of rain-free weather.…”

Section: Evapotranspiration Partitioningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partitioning of evapotranspiration and its relation to carbon dioxide exchange in a Chihuahuan Desert shrubland

Scott

Huxman

Cable

et al. 2006

Hydrological Processes

194

154

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Key to evaluating the consequences of woody plant encroachment on water and carbon cycling in semiarid ecosystems is a mechanistic understanding of how biological and non-biological processes influence water loss to the atmosphere. To better understand how precipitation is partitioned into the components of evapotranspiration (bare-soil evaporation and plant transpiration) and their relationship to plant uptake of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) as well as ecosystem respiratory efflux, we measured whole plant transpiration, evapotranspiration, and CO 2 fluxes over the course of a growing season at a semiarid Chihuahuan Desert shrubland site in south-eastern Arizona. Whole plant transpiration was measured using the heat balance sap-flow method, while evapotranspiration and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO 2 were quantified using the Bowen ratio technique.Before the summer rainy season began, all water and CO 2 fluxes were small. At the onset of the rainy season, evapotranspiration was dominated by evaporation and CO 2 fluxes were dominated by respiration as it took approximately 10 days for the shrubs to respond to the higher soil moisture content. During the growing season, periods immediately following rain events (<2 days) were dominated by evaporation and respiration while transpiration and CO 2 uptake peaked during the interstorm periods. The surface of the coarse, well-drained soils dried quickly, rapidly reducing evaporation. Overall, the ratio of total transpiration to evapotranspiration was 58%, but it was around 70% during the months when the plants were active. Peak respiration responses following rain events generally lagged after the evaporation peak by a couple of days and were better correlated with transpiration. Transpiration and CO 2 uptake also decayed rather quickly during interstorm periods, indicating that optimal plant soil moisture conditions were rarely encountered. NEE of CO 2 was increasingly more negative as the growing season progressed, indicating a greater net uptake of CO 2 and greater water use efficiency due mainly to decreases in respiration.

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“…Andraski (1997) has investigated water movement in the upper 16 ft of the vadose zone in the Amargosa Desert. On a vegetated native soil plot, no evidence of water accumulation or percolation below 3.3 ft was observed over a five-year period.…”

Section: Recent Shallow Vadose Zone Research and Development Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Closure Report for the 92-Acre Area and Corrective Action Unit 111: Area 5 WMD Retired Mixed Waste Pits, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada

2012

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Soil‐water movement under natural‐site and waste‐site conditions: A multiple‐year field study in the Mojave Desert, Nevada

Cited by 87 publications

References 32 publications

Ecological controls on water-cycle response to climate variability in deserts

Ecological controls on water-cycle response to climate variability in deserts

Partitioning of evapotranspiration and its relation to carbon dioxide exchange in a Chihuahuan Desert shrubland

Closure Report for the 92-Acre Area and Corrective Action Unit 111: Area 5 WMD Retired Mixed Waste Pits, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada

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