Vegetation changes along a precipitation gradient in Central Argentina

Cabido, Marcelo; Gonz, C.; Acosta, Alicia Teresa Rosario; Dı́az, Sandra

doi:10.1007/bf00149541

Cited by 70 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Leaves with thick cell walls and/or dense structure protect the plant against water loss. They have a low specific leaf area (SLA) and tend to be more abundant in the vegetation when summer temperatures are high and when water availability is low (Mooney & Dunn 1970a;Specht & Rundel 1990;Cabido et al 1993;Niinemets 2001). However, other strategies, such as effective stomatal closure and cuticular restriction of water loss by the presence of wax on the cuticle, can delay severe water deficits (Jefferson et al 1989).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between plant traits and climate in the Mediterranean region: A pollen data analysis

et al. 2004

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Question: What are the correlations between the degree of drought stress and temperature, and the adoption of specific adaptive strategies by plants in the Mediterranean region? Location: 602 sites across the Mediterranean region. Method: We considered 12 plant morphological and phenological traits, and measured their abundance at the sites as trait scores obtained from pollen percentages. We conducted stepwise regression analyses of trait scores as a function of plant available moisture (α) and winter temperature (MTCO). Results: Patterns in the abundance for the plant traits we considered are clearly determined by α, MTCO or a combination of both. In addition, trends in leaf size, texture, thickness, pubescence and aromatic leaves and other plant level traits such as thorniness and aphylly, vary according to the life form (tree, shrub, forb), the leaf type (broad, needle) and phenology (evergreen, summer-green). Conclusions: Despite conducting this study based on pollen data we have identified ecologically plausible trends in the abundance of traits along climatic gradients. Plant traits other than the usual life form, leaf type and leaf phenology carry strong climatic signals. Generally, combinations of plant traits are more climatically diagnostic than individual traits. The qualitative and quantitative relationships between plant traits and climate parameters established here will help to provide an improved basis for modelling the impact of climate changes on vegetation and form a starting point for a global analysis of pollen-climate relationships.Keywords: CCA; Drought; Leaf phenology; Leaf size; Morphological trait; Plant functional type; Response function.Abbreviations: α = ratio of actual to equilibrium evapotranspiration; EPD = European pollen database; MTCO = Mean temperature of the coldest month; SLA = Specific leaf area.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between plant traits and climate in the Mediterranean region: A pollen data analysis

et al. 2004

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“…3 Precipitation data for x=0 (Prilangimpi, Australia) taken from Cook and Heerdegen (2001), all other data taken from Table 1 of Austin and Sala (2002) and Figs. 1 and 2 of Cabido et al (1993), respectively. In region 4b atmospheric moisture comes from the Pacific Ocean (Austin and Sala, 2002), in region 4a the ultimate source of moisture is the Atlantic Ocean (Zhou and Lau, 1998), hence the opposite directions of counting x in the two regions.…”

Section: Biotic Pump Of Atmospheric Moisturementioning

confidence: 99%

Biotic pump of atmospheric moisture as driver of the hydrological cycle on land

Makarieva

Gorshkov

2007

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

262

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Abstract. In this paper the basic geophysical and ecological principles are jointly analyzed that allow the landmasses of Earth to remain moistened sufficiently for terrestrial life to be possible. 1. Under gravity, land inevitably loses water to the ocean. To keep land moistened, the gravitational water runoff must be continuously compensated by the atmospheric ocean-to-land moisture transport. Using data for five terrestrial transects of the International Geosphere Biosphere Program we show that the mean distance to which air fluxes can transport moisture over non-forested areas, does not exceed several hundred kilometers; precipitation decreases exponentially with distance from the ocean. 2. In contrast, precipitation over extensive natural forests does not depend on the distance from the ocean along several thousand kilometers, as illustrated for the Amazon and Yenisey river basins and Equatorial Africa. This points to the existence of an active biotic pump transporting atmospheric moisture inland from the ocean. 3. Physical principles of the biotic moisture pump are investigated based on the previously unstudied properties of atmospheric water vapor, which can be either in or out of aerostatic equilibrium depending on the lapse rate of air temperature. A novel physical principle is formulated according to which the low-level air moves from areas with weak evaporation to areas with more intensive evaporation. Due to the high leaf area index, natural forests maintain high evaporation fluxes, which support the ascending air motion over the forest and "suck in" moist air from the ocean, which is the essence of the biotic pump of atmospheric moisture. In the result, the gravitational runoff water losses from the optimally moistened forest soil can be fully compensated by the biotically enhanced precipitation at any distance from the ocean. 4. It is discussed how a continent-scale biotic water pump mechanism could be produced by natural selection acting on individual trees. 5. Replacement of the natural forest Correspondence to: A. M. Makarieva (elba@infopro.spb.su) cover by a low leaf index vegetation leads to an up to tenfold reduction in the mean continental precipitation and runoff, in contrast to the previously available estimates made without accounting for the biotic moisture pump. The analyzed body of evidence testifies that the long-term stability of an intense terrestrial water cycle is unachievable without the recovery of natural, self-sustaining forests on continent-wide areas.

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“…Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco Schltdl. (perennial) and Prosopis flexuosa (semideciduous) are the dominant tree species, while shrublands are dominantly leguminous and zygophyllaceous with an herbaceous stratum of prevailing megathermal grasses (Cabido et al 1993). The mosaic pattern of the vegetation is closely related to human activities, where the forests have been gradually replaced by cultivation.…”

Section: Description Of the Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Annual variation and influence of climate on the ring width and wood hydrosystem of Prosopis flexuosa DC trees using image analysis

Giantomasi

Roig

Villagra

et al. 2008

Trees

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We developed chronologies based on the width of tree rings, total area of vessels, and the number of vessels per tree ring of the Prosopis flexuosa wood samples from the xerophytic woodlands of central Argentina. We evaluated the influence of climate on these tree-ring characteristics considering the period from 1940 to 2004 (65 years). The width of the rings, the number of vessels, and the total area of vessels were positively influenced by regional precipitation corresponding to the seasonalized November to December period, which reflects the importance of the water availability in the initial stage of the formation of the wood. The width of the rings and the total area of vessels were negatively influenced by temperature during the same period, while the number of vessels was not significantly correlated with temperature. The high temperatures in spring increase evapotranspiration, which reduces water availability to plants and results in an inverse growth response. This study was the first to develop chronologies based on anatomical characters of wood from the arid and semiarid regions of South America and with significant applications in ecological and climatic studies.

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Vegetation changes along a precipitation gradient in Central Argentina

Cited by 70 publications

References 15 publications

Relationships between plant traits and climate in the Mediterranean region: A pollen data analysis

Relationships between plant traits and climate in the Mediterranean region: A pollen data analysis

Biotic pump of atmospheric moisture as driver of the hydrological cycle on land

Annual variation and influence of climate on the ring width and wood hydrosystem of Prosopis flexuosa DC trees using image analysis

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