Stable oxygen isotopes reveal distinct water use patterns of two Haloxylon species in the Gurbantonggut Desert

Dai, Yue; Zheng, Xin; Tang, Lisong; Li, Yan

doi:10.1007/s11104-014-2342-z

Cited by 134 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Moving from the southern edge to the interior of the Gurbantunggut Desert, the population size of H. ammodendron decreases, and H. persicum becomes the monospecific dominant species in the shrub layer. H. ammodendron is more salt tolerant and shows a higher affinity to groundwater (Xu and Li, 2008;Dai et al, 2015). In contrast, H. persicum is more drought resistant and less dependent on groundwater (Dai et al, 2015).…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…H. ammodendron is more salt tolerant and shows a higher affinity to groundwater (Xu and Li, 2008;Dai et al, 2015). In contrast, H. persicum is more drought resistant and less dependent on groundwater (Dai et al, 2015). The current study was carried out in the southern part of the Gurbantonggut Desert, near the Fukang Station of Desert Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (44°17 0 N, 87°56 0 E, 475 m above sea level).…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patterns of biomass allocation in Haloxylon persicum woodlands and their understory herbaceous layer along a groundwater depth gradient

2017

Forest Ecology and Management

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a b s t r a c tTo investigate above-and belowground biomass allocation patterns and the relationship of root distribution between different functional groups (shrubs vs. herbs) along a groundwater depth gradient, an experiment was carried out in a Haloxylon persicum woodland. Four sites were selected along the groundwater depth gradient. At each site, five sample plots (20 Â 20 m) and 15 subplots (1 Â 1 m) were established for a vegetation inventory of Haloxylon persicum and the herbaceous layer. The vegetation inventory included plant density, canopy coverage, height, and basal stem diameter of H. persicum. Allometric equations were established for H. persicum based on the biomass of 22 excavated trees, which were then applied to inventory data to provide stand estimates of aboveground biomass (AGB), belowground biomass (BGB), and total biomass (TB) of H. persicum. The AGB of the herbaceous layer was measured in subplots (1 Â 1 m) and BGB was excavated and measured to a depth of 100 cm at 10-cm intervals. Our results indicated that the BGB-to-AGB ratio at the community level in the herbaceous layer increased notably along the gradient of declining groundwater depth. The depth of the soil horizon that contained 65% of the root surface area and 85% of the root biomass was shallower (0-2.5 m) in the deep end of the groundwater depth gradient than in the shallow end (0-3 m) of the gradient. H. persicum adjusted root distribution to capture water in the upper soil layers in response to the decline in groundwater depth. However, this adjustment was not sufficient to compensate for the decline in the water table: the BGB-to-AGB ratio showed no significant increase as AGB declined. On the contrary, herbaceous plants seemed better adapted to changes in the water table by effectively adjusting their BGB-to-AGB ratio. Use of BGB-to-AGB ratios that are specific to groundwater tables will significantly improve our estimates of BGB carbon stocks in these woodlands. Considering the scarcity of information on biomass stocks and partitioning in desert woodlands, our results might be applicable to other desert regions in Central Asia dominated by H. persicum.

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Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of biomass allocation in Haloxylon persicum woodlands and their understory herbaceous layer along a groundwater depth gradient

2017

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…However, uneven and stochastic precipitations usually cause spatiotemporal changes in the soil water availability (Noy-Meir 1973) and, thus, shape the plant acclimation traits because of periodic or persistent water stresses (Ramírez et al 2009). Previous studies have shown that deep-rooted plants have the ability to exploit a deep or dependable water source than enables them to survive long periods without rain or to overcome seasonal water limitations (Dodd et al 1998;Rossatto et al 2012;Dai et al 2015;Wu et al 2016). In contrast, shallow-rooted plants mainly rely on the soil water recharge from precipitation pulses (Ehleringer et al 1991;Williams and Ehleringer 2000;Yang et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential soil moisture pulse uptake by coexisting plants in an alpine Achnatherum splendens grassland community

et al. 2016

Environ Earth Sci

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The niche differentiation of resources among coexisting plants commonly reflects the fundamental functions of plant coexistence in water-limited ecosystems. However, the dynamics of water use patterns by coexisting plants that respond to soil moisture pulses are scarcely known in the semiarid alpine ecosystems of the QinghaiTibetan Plateau, particularly for deep-rooted grasses such as Achnatherum splendens in the Qinghai Lake watershed. Hence, we used the stable deuterium isotope method to detect the potential water sources for A. splendens during two growing seasons of 2013 and 2014. Our results indicate that SWC and dD values of shallow soil layer (0-10 cm) showed the highest variations in comparison with those in other soil layers during the growing seasons due to the combined effect of evaporation and precipitation inputs. A. splendens depended largely on shallow soil water availability at the early growing season. At the peak of the growing season, this deep-rooted grass A. splendens and shallow-rooted grass Leymus chinensis showed a high degree of response in the water use source to the changes in soil moisture pulses and shifted their water source from shallow to deep soil layer because water in the shallow soil layer became less available due to a long-time rainless days with strong evaporation effect on the shallow soil layer. In contrast, shallow soil water was utilized by all coexisting plants owing to an abrupt increase in shallow SWC with large events or long-lasting small events. At the late growing season, A. splendens used water from the shallow (0-10 cm) and middle soil layer (10-30 cm), while L. chinensis mainly relied on the shallow soil layer water. Comparatively, shallow-rooted herbs (Heteropappus altaicus and Allium tanguticum) predominantly used water from the shallow soil layer (0-10 cm) over the entire growing seasons regardless of soil water availability. Overall, the contrasting water use patterns by coexisting plants demonstrate their adaptations to the fluctuations of soil moisture pulses in water-limited ecosystems.

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“…This fundamental understanding of water uptake and transport from roots to shoots underlies the utility of stable isotopes in plant water uptake investigations17. While many site-based studies have now been completed18192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114…”

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confidence: 99%

Prevalence and magnitude of groundwater use by vegetation: a global stable isotope meta-analysis

Evaristo

McDonnell

2017

Sci Rep

127

111

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The role of groundwater as a resource in sustaining terrestrial vegetation is widely recognized. But the global prevalence and magnitude of groundwater use by vegetation is unknown. Here we perform a meta-analysis of plant xylem water stable isotope (δ2H and δ18O, n = 7367) information from 138 published papers – representing 251 genera, and 414 species of angiosperms (n = 376) and gymnosperms (n = 38). We show that the prevalence of groundwater use by vegetation (defined as the number of samples out of a universe of plant samples reported to have groundwater contribution to xylem water) is 37% (95% confidence interval, 28–46%). This is across 162 sites and 12 terrestrial biomes (89% of heterogeneity explained; Q-value = 1235; P < 0.0001). However, the magnitude of groundwater source contribution to the xylem water mixture (defined as the proportion of groundwater contribution in xylem water) is limited to 23% (95% CI, 20–26%; 95% prediction interval, 3–77%). Spatial analysis shows that the magnitude of groundwater source contribution increases with aridity. Our results suggest that while groundwater influence is globally prevalent, its proportional contribution to the total terrestrial transpiration is limited.

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Stable oxygen isotopes reveal distinct water use patterns of two Haloxylon species in the Gurbantonggut Desert

Cited by 134 publications

References 52 publications

Patterns of biomass allocation in Haloxylon persicum woodlands and their understory herbaceous layer along a groundwater depth gradient

Patterns of biomass allocation in Haloxylon persicum woodlands and their understory herbaceous layer along a groundwater depth gradient

Differential soil moisture pulse uptake by coexisting plants in an alpine Achnatherum splendens grassland community

Prevalence and magnitude of groundwater use by vegetation: a global stable isotope meta-analysis

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