Effect of Plant Morphological Traits on Throughfall, Soil Moisture, and Runoff

Liu, Yu; Zhao, Liang

doi:10.3390/w12061731

Cited by 14 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Plant characteristics dramatically affect soil moisture variations by regulating rainfall characteristics [61]. The effects of plant characteristics on the SMC are stronger in the medium soil layer (60-180 cm) than in the surface/subsurface layer (0-60 cm) and deeper layer (180-280 cm; Figure 9).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Rainfall and Plant Characteristics on the Spatiotemporal Variation of Soil Moisture in a Black Locust Plantation (Robinia pseudoacacia) on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Ding

Wang

Jin

2023

Water

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Soil moisture is a key factor controlling vegetation construction and ecological restoration in arid and semiarid areas. Understanding its spatiotemporal patterns and influencing factors is essential for effective vegetation water management. In this study, we analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of black locust plants using field investigations and statistical analyses and determined the effects of the rainfall and plant characteristics on the soil moisture content (SMC) in a typical watershed in the Loess Plateau, China. The results show that the SMC increases with increasing distance from the tree trunk in the horizontal direction. The vertical profile of the SMC includes layers characterized by rapid decrease, decreased fluctuation, and slow increase. Temporal SMC changes exhibit higher variabilities in the surface layer than in deeper soil layers. Rainfall characteristics notably affect soil moisture. The influence of the rainfall amount is stronger than that of the rainfall duration and intensity. The diameter at breast height, tree height, and canopy width positively affects the soil moisture, whereas the leaf area index and canopy openness negatively affect it. The results of this study provide insights into soil moisture change mechanisms and theoretical references for sustainable plant water use management in arid and semiarid areas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Rainfall and Plant Characteristics on the Spatiotemporal Variation of Soil Moisture in a Black Locust Plantation (Robinia pseudoacacia) on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Ding

Wang

Jin

2023

Water

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“…Variation in these retention percentages is likely due to different experimental approaches, how retention was measured (some look at plant canopies alone, others take account of soil holding capacity too, whilst others incorporate moisture losses through ET in the calculations), as well as vary due to different rainfall characteristics and plant size/age. As with trees, Liu and Zhao (2020) suggested that plant morphological traits, especially leaf morphology, should be considered when selecting ground-cover species for managing surface run-off.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional urban ground-cover plants: identifying traits that promote rainwater retention and dissipation

2023

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Urban vegetation can influence urban hydrology and reduce the risk of flooding. Urban forestry studies have suggested that tree type and species choice affect the amount of rainwater intercepted and retained. Little information exists, however, for other landscape typologies, and the sorts of ground-cover plants that are best used to retain/detain rainwater during storm events. This is important as many urban spaces are too small to facilitate trees, but can accommodate roadside vegetation, buffer strips, rain gardens, green roofs and stormwater planters. Thus, this research aimed to determine how choice of ground-cover taxa affected rainwater interception and retention. Six model species with contrasting leaf morphologies were used to determine how well rainwater was intercepted, but also dissipated through evapotranspiration (ET). A pot-based system was used to determine how plant water balance changed during late summer in the UK, with the aim to understand how leaf traits affected hydrological processes. Plant choice was important, with fine-leaved taxa, Festuca glauca and Dianthus ‘Haytor White’ showing best rainwater interception and Festuca demonstrating highest rates of dissipation from the substrate. Overall, compared to non-planted pots, those with plants present were more effective at capturing water (by 2.3–3.0x), and evapo-transpiring water (by 2.5-4.0x). Results indicate that ground cover vegetation has potential to aid urban water management in those localities where space is limited for trees. Plant choice and community-structure should be considered, especially when there is a desire to dry out soil/substrate quickly and restore maximum soil moisture holding capacity.

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“…Gu et al (2020) concluded that vegetation restoration increased the infiltration capacity by 6.5–23.4% and reduced the runoff rate by 13–19.7% compared with farmland slopes. Kervroëdan et al (2018) and Liu and Zhao (2020) studied the effects of vegetation functional and morphological traits on runoff and erosion and concluded that greater stem density and leaf area could help to reduce runoff and erosion.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of ryegrass canopy and roots on the distribution characteristics of eroded sediment particles during heavy rainfall events on steep loess‐cinnamon slopes in Zhangjiakou, China

Liu

Fan

et al. 2020

Land Degrad Dev

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To evaluate the effects of ryegrass (Lolium perenne) canopy and roots on eroded sediment particle distribution characteristics, simulated rainfall tests were implemented on grass caopy, roots, and bare slopes. The grass coverage density were 0, 20, 40, and 60%. The results showed that ryegrass canopies mainly contributed to runoff reduction and ryegrass roots primarily contributed to erosion reduction. With increasing rainfall duration, smaller particles (clay and fine silt particles) increased and larger particles (coarse silt and sand particles) decreased in the eroded sediment on the grass slope while the opposite trend was observed for the roots and bare slopes. Moreover, the clay and sand particles were eroded as aggregates and most silt particles were transported in the form of primary particles. Compared to the original soil, larger particles in the eroded sediment mainly occurred on the grass slopes because smaller particles were intercepted by the grass canopies, while smaller particles primarily occurred in the eroded sediment of the root slopes because grass roots inhibited soil erosion. These results illustrate that grass cover can prevent the loss of small particles in the topsoil and avoid soil coarsening, which provides guidance for the comprehensive control of soil erosion.

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Effect of Plant Morphological Traits on Throughfall, Soil Moisture, and Runoff

Cited by 14 publications

References 42 publications

Effects of Rainfall and Plant Characteristics on the Spatiotemporal Variation of Soil Moisture in a Black Locust Plantation (Robinia pseudoacacia) on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Effects of Rainfall and Plant Characteristics on the Spatiotemporal Variation of Soil Moisture in a Black Locust Plantation (Robinia pseudoacacia) on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Functional urban ground-cover plants: identifying traits that promote rainwater retention and dissipation

Effects of ryegrass canopy and roots on the distribution characteristics of eroded sediment particles during heavy rainfall events on steep loess‐cinnamon slopes in Zhangjiakou, China

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