Water balance for Great Basin phreatophytes derived from eddy covariance, soil water, and water table measurements

Steinwand, A. L.; Harrington, Robert F.; Or, Dani

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.03.013

Cited by 66 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Dahm et al [2002] estimated the annually averaged riparian ET in the Middle Río Grande as 150 to 250 Â 10 6 m 3 /a, which accounted for 20 -30% of water consumption from Otowi gauge to Elephant Butte Reservoir. Although few studies have identified contributions of evaporation and transpiration, a significant portion of total evapotranspiration in semiarid riparian ecosystems can occur from vegetative consumption of groundwater [e.g., Ferretti et al, 2003;Yepez et al, 2003;Scott et al, 2005;Lauenroth and Bradford, 2006;Steinwand et al, 2006]. Research along the San Pedro River in Arizona revealed that transpiration accounted for close to 100% of the total riparian water loss during dry periods, and near 35% during large precipitation events that led to an increase in soil evaporation [Corell et al, 1996;Goodrich et al, 2000;Yepez et al, 2003;Leenhouts, 2005;Scott et al, 2005].…”

Section: Riparian Evapotranspiration and Groundwater Hydrographsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Direct consumption of groundwater by phreatophytes (ET g ) represents an explicit link between ecosystem processes and subsurface hydrological dynamics. Evidence for groundwater evapotranspiration has been frequently observed in the diurnal fluctuations of shallow water tables in vegetated riparian zones [e.g., Dahm et al, 2002;Healy and Cook, 2002;Schilling et al, 2006;Steinwand et al, 2006;Zhang and Schilling, 2006;Butler et al, 2007, Gribovszki et al, 2008. Groundwater hydrographs in riparian corridors exhibit distinct diurnal patterns during the summer growing season corresponding to phreatophyte transpiration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On groundwater fluctuations, evapotranspiration, and understory removal in riparian corridors

Martinet

Vivoni

Cleverly

et al. 2009

Water Resources Research

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[1] This study utilizes 7 years of continuously monitored groundwater-level data from four sites along the Río Grande riparian corridor in central New Mexico to calculate evapotranspiration from groundwater and assess impacts of understory vegetation removal during a restoration project. Diurnal groundwater fluctuation measurements were used to compare the well-known White method for estimating evapotranspiration from groundwater (ET g ) to colocated measurements of total riparian evapotranspiration (ET) measured using the eddy covariance method. On average, the two methods were linearly correlated and had similar variability, but groundwater hydrograph estimates of ET g tended to be larger than tower ET estimates. Average ET g estimates for two wells at one site ranged from 91.45% to 164.77% of measured tower ET estimates, but were also shown to range from 57.35% to 254.34% at another site. Comparisons between the methods improved with deeper water tables, reduced groundwater and river connectivity, and where soil profiles were dominated by coarse-sized particles. Using a range of texturebased estimates of specific yield (S y ) with water table position improves the field application of the White method. River-induced fluctuations in groundwater increased the variability of ET g measurements. Removal of understory vegetation at one site resulted in a small but significant reduction in diel groundwater fluctuation amplitude of 19-21%. Caution is required when understory vegetation removal is used as a means to decrease overall riparian ET. Diel groundwater fluctuation amplitudes can be useful in gauging the hydrological effects of vegetation removal. Riparian groundwater hydrographs are critical to investigating the hydrologic connectivity between river and shallow groundwater, the temporal patterns of vegetative consumption, and monitoring changes to the vegetation community.

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Section: Riparian Evapotranspiration and Groundwater Hydrographsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On groundwater fluctuations, evapotranspiration, and understory removal in riparian corridors

Martinet

Vivoni

Cleverly

et al. 2009

Water Resources Research

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“…In wetland and playa areas, or in semiarid riparian environments, groundwater evaporation represents the major source of water for plants, particularly during drought periods (Schmidhalter et al 1994;Dahm et al 2003;Snyder and Williams 2000;Scott et al 2006;Steinwand et al 2006). Sophocleous and Perry (1985) found in Kansas that under shallow water table conditions, 70% of springtime groundwater recharge was lost by evapotranspiration during the subsequent summer and fall.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional Groundwater Evapotranspiration in Illinois

Yeh

Famiglietti

2009

Journal of Hydrometeorology

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The role of shallow unconfined aquifers in supplying water for evapotranspiration (i.e., groundwater evaporation) is investigated in this paper. Recent results from regional land surface modeling have indicated that in shallow water table areas, a large portion of evapotranspiration comes directly from aquifers. However, little field evidence at the regional scale has been reported to support this finding. Using a comprehensive 19-yr (1984-2002) monthly hydrological dataset on soil moisture, water table depth, and streamflow in Illinois, regional recharge to and evaporation from groundwater are estimated by using soil water balance computation. The 19-yr mean groundwater recharge is estimated to be 244 mm yr 21 (25% of precipitation), with uncertainty ranging from 202 to 278 mm yr 21 . During the summer, the upward capillary flux from the shallow aquifer helps to maintain a high rate of evapotranspiration. Groundwater evaporation (negative groundwater recharge) occurs during the period of July-September, with a total of 31.4 mm (10% of evapotranspiration). Analysis of the relative soil saturation at 11 depths from 0 to 2 m deep supports the dominance of groundwater evaporation across the water table in dry periods. The zero-flux plane separating the recharge zone from the evapotranspiration zone propagates downward from about 70-to 110-cm depth during summer, reflecting the water supply from progressively lower layers for evapotranspiration. Despite its small magnitude, neglecting regional groundwater evaporation in shallow groundwater areas would result in underestimated root-zone soil moisture and hence evapotranspiration by as large as 20% in the dry summer seasons.

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“…While groundwater is abundant in Owens Valley, there is little summer growing season precipitation. Therefore, there is a large decline in soil moisture in the upper soil layers during the growing season (Carbone et al 2008;Steinwand et al 2006) that likely limits N mineralization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variations in plant nitrogen relations and photosynthesis along a grassland to shrubland gradient in Owens Valley, California

2009

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Community composition in semi-arid ecosystems has largely been explained by water availability; however, nitrogen is a common limiting nutrient, and may be an important control on plant function and carbon uptake. We investigated nitrogen relations and photosynthesis of several dominant species at shallow groundwater sites in Owens Valley, California. We measured soil nitrogen (N) availability, leaf N and isotopes, water isotopes, and gas exchange of dominant shrub species Atriplex torreyi and Ericameria nauseosa and grass species Distichlis spicata throughout the summer season in three sites that had similar watertable depths, but that varied in community composition and N availability. Surface soil inorganic N was greatest at the grassland site and declined from June to September at all sites. Leaf N declined throughout the season in all species, and was correlated with soil inorganic N. Photosynthesis of A. torreyi remained relatively constant throughout the season. In contrast, D. spicata and E. nauseosa experienced seasonal declines in photosynthesis at sites with greater inorganic N availability. Leaf N was significantly correlated with photosynthesis in D. spicata across all sites and measurement periods. Controls on N cycling are likely to be an important determinant of photosynthesis of D. spicata in this region.

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Water balance for Great Basin phreatophytes derived from eddy covariance, soil water, and water table measurements

Cited by 66 publications

References 39 publications

On groundwater fluctuations, evapotranspiration, and understory removal in riparian corridors

On groundwater fluctuations, evapotranspiration, and understory removal in riparian corridors

Regional Groundwater Evapotranspiration in Illinois

Seasonal variations in plant nitrogen relations and photosynthesis along a grassland to shrubland gradient in Owens Valley, California

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