Gradients of soil salinity and moisture, and plant distribution, in a Mediterranean semiarid saline watershed: a model of soil–plant relationships for contributing to the management

González-Alcaraz, María Nazaret; Jiménez-Cárceles, Francisco J.; Álvarez, Y.; Álvarez-Rogel, José

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2013.11.011

Cited by 70 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…This result is consistent with previous studies that found that soil salinity was the decisive factor, especially in inland salt marshes 1,6,12–16 . However, not all ions increased with soil salinity.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Edaphic characterization and plant zonation in the Qaidam Basin, Tibetan Plateau

Xian-jie

Kong

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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This paper presents a study of edaphic characteristics and their relationship with plant distribution in the Qaidam Basin, Tibetan Plateau, and establishes a distribution model for plants in sandy gravel Gobi to dry salt lake areas. All of the communities in the study area were dominated by plants with strong saline-alkaline tolerance. In this area, salts appeared to migrate to the surface; the surface soil was striped, and the salt distribution varied from sandy gravel Gobi to dry salt lake areas. The salt composition mainly consisted of NaCl in the surface crust. In the subsurface layers, the salt composition was dominated by Ca2+, Cl− and SO42−. The type of vegetation at the study site can be divided into two categories: salt-tolerant vegetation and weakly salt-tolerant vegetation. The salt-tolerant vegetation is influenced by Na+, Cl−, and the salinity. The soil of these vegetation communities had a higher salt and Na+ concentration and a lower Ca2+ and K+ concentration. The weakly salt-tolerant vegetation is mainly affected by the Ca2+/Na+ and K+/Na+ ratios. Based on the above results, a vegetation distribution model for saline lakes on the inland plateau was established.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Edaphic characterization and plant zonation in the Qaidam Basin, Tibetan Plateau

Xian-jie

Kong

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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“…So. alopecuroides and Thermopsis lanceolat) form dense stands, favoured by a strong system of rhizomes that facilitated soil exploration and nutrients absorption (Yu and Dong 1999;Gonza´lez-Alcaraz et al 2014). In our study, the sites colonized by type I had the lowest soil moisture and salinity, but the highest species diversity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 49%

Soil moisture and salt ionic composition effects on species distribution and diversity in semiarid inland saline habitats, northwestern China

Zhang

Zhao

Zhang

2018

Ecological Research

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Salinization is one of the main types causing land desertification in arid and semi‐arid regions. Little is known about the impacts of salinization on the distribution and diversity of plant species, especially in semiarid inland saline habitats. We established a total of 40 sampling plots to determine plant community (floristic composition, species abundance, cover, frequency, and aboveground biomass) and soil characteristics (moisture, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and the contents of Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, SO42− and HCO3−). The TWINSPAN method was used to distinguish plant communities, by which three plant communities (I, II, III) were identified, namely Artemisia scoparia + Agropyron cristatum + Sophora alopecuroides (I), Kalidium gracile + Atriplex centralasiatica (II), and Salicornia europaea + Suaeda salsa (III). From I to III, the indices reflecting species diversity all decreased except for Pielou's index of evenness, while the aboveground biomass and cover increased; the characteristic indices of soil moisture, EC, the contents of Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl−, SO42− and total dissolved salts (TDS) significantly increased, while the Ca2+/Na+, K+/Na+ ratios and HCO3− content significantly decreased. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that the most important environmental factors influencing species distribution were: soil moisture, SO42−, K+/Na+ and pH. Stepwise multiple‐regression analysis indicated that species richness was correlated mainly with TDS and moisture. These results also suggested that vegetation can be used as a proxy indicating soil salt conditions, and their relationships can further provide important information for the improvement of salt‐affected soil's management and salt‐tolerant species utilization in environmental restoration.

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“…Saline water evaporation from porous media is an important topic in many hydrological processes which influence plant growth and vegetation, water balance, soil stability, beach intertidal zone processes and land-atmosphere interaction (Odeh and Onus, 2008;Deinlein et al, 2014;González-Alcaraz ET AL., 2014;Jambhekar et al, 2015;Geng et al, 2016). It is controlled by complex interactions between type of salt, transport properties of the porous media and external conditions (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of type of salt and ambient conditions on saline water evaporation from porous media

Shokri-Kuehni

Rad

Webb

et al. 2017

Advances in Water Resources

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HIghlights• Evaporation from porous media saturated with different salt solutions was investigated • Effects of ambient temperature, relative humidity and type of salt were discussed • Salt precipitation does not necessarily limit the evaporative flux • Strong direct correlation between evaporation and surface salt precipitation was found AbstractSaline water evaporation from porous media is important in many processes such as soil salinization, CO 2 sequestration, crop production and water management. This process is influenced by the transport properties of porous media, properties of the evaporating solution and external conditions. In this work, we investigated the effects of external conditions and type of salt on the drying behaviour of sandy media and on the dynamics of surface salt precipitation. To do so, a comprehensive series of evaporation experiments were conducted using 33 columns packed with sand saturated with salt solutions. The evaporation experiments were conducted in an environmental chamber to investigate the effects of relative humidity, ambient temperature and type of salt on the evaporation process. Sodium Chloride, Calcium Chloride and Potassium Iodide with a wide range of concentration were used to saturate the sand columns mounted on digital balances. A digital camera was fixed at the surface of the sand packs to record the dynamics of salt precipitation at the surface. The results provide further confirmation that ambient conditions are the controlling factors during stage-1 evaporation of pure water. Additionally, the minor impact of the presence of precipitated salt at the surface on the saline water evaporation during the early stages of the process is discussed. Strong correlations between the cumulative water losses and the precipitation at the surface were found under different ambient conditions. The results obtained from different types of salt highlight the significant influence of the relationship between the saturated vapour pressure and salt concentration on the general dynamics of the process.

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Gradients of soil salinity and moisture, and plant distribution, in a Mediterranean semiarid saline watershed: a model of soil–plant relationships for contributing to the management

Cited by 70 publications

References 32 publications

Edaphic characterization and plant zonation in the Qaidam Basin, Tibetan Plateau

Edaphic characterization and plant zonation in the Qaidam Basin, Tibetan Plateau

Soil moisture and salt ionic composition effects on species distribution and diversity in semiarid inland saline habitats, northwestern China

Impact of type of salt and ambient conditions on saline water evaporation from porous media

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