Phenology determines water use strategies of three economic tree species in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China

Wu, Wen-Rong; Tao, Ze; Chen, Guangjie; Meng, Tingfang; Feng, Huijun; Feng, Hao; Si, Bingcheng; Manevski, Kiril; Andersen, Mathias Neumann; Siddique, Kadambot H. M.

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108716

Cited by 38 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Our results indicated that apple trees with different ages mainly absorbed shallow soil water (0–2 m) at the beginning of growing season, while they extracted more water from soils below 2 m in late growing season (Figure 8), which is consistent with Wu et al. (2022), who reported that apple trees increased their uptake of deep soil water below 4 m in August to September in similar loess regions. This suggests that apple trees shifted their water source from shallow (0–2 m) to deep soils (below 2 m) over the growing season, which is different from Gessler et al.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Partitioned Soil Water Balance and Its Link With Water Uptake Strategy Under Apple Trees in the Loess‐Covered Region

Shi

Gai

2022

Water Resources Research

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It is important, but challenging, to partition soil water balance (SWB) to understand the impacts of afforestation on soil hydrological processes. This study will investigate the partitioning of SWB by combining stable and radioactive water isotopes to quantify the effects of afforestation, and analyze the mechanism by which SWB changes through identifying the water uptake strategies of apple trees of 18 and 26 years old (A18 and A26). Compared to the reference farmland, apple orchards significantly increased evapotranspiration (ET) by 5%–10%, which in turn decreased soil water storage and deep drainage by 5%–14% and 50%–95%, respectively. Further, the partitioning of ET showed that apple tree planting increased transpiration by 15%–28% but decreased evaporation by 17%–30%. The above change in SWB appeared to be closely related to plant water uptake strategies. The apple trees shifted their water source from shallow (0–2 m) to deep soils (below 2 m), utilizing approximately 62% of deep soil water in the late growing season. In particular, 23% of source water may come from soil water older than 50 years. The older apple trees tended to extract more water from deeper soils (45% for A26 vs. 38% for A18). Therefore, the soil water deficit was the cumulative effects of root water uptake. The methods for SWB partitioning provides technical support for similar studies, and the findings are helpful to better understand the hydrological processes in the thick loess deposition.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Partitioned Soil Water Balance and Its Link With Water Uptake Strategy Under Apple Trees in the Loess‐Covered Region

Shi

Gai

2022

Water Resources Research

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“…In contrast, plant species in humid environments use open-water strategies (Wu et al, 2022). In our study area, vegetation type also strongly affected precipitation use efficiency.…”

Section: Impact Of Environmental Factors On the Root: Shoot Ratio In ...mentioning

confidence: 74%

“…In general, plants in semiarid and arid environments adopt a conservative water use strategy, and their photosynthates are mainly used to resist water stress and maintain growth. In contrast, plant species in humid environments use open‐water strategies (Wu et al, 2022). In our study area, vegetation type also strongly affected precipitation use efficiency.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant biomass allocation is mediated by precipitation use efficiency in arid and semiarid ecosystems

et al. 2022

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The arid and semiarid grassland ecosystems are characterized by limited water resources and are generally vulnerable to climate change. Understanding how plants in arid and semiarid ecosystems respond to global climatic variation is crucial for ecological restoration under a changing climate. Although the effects of climate on aboveground biomass (AGB) and belowground biomass (BGB) have been widely explored, how AGB and BGB respond to climatic variation is seldom disentangled.There is still a need to understand how plant communities respond to global climate change. In this study, we conducted a transect survey across grasslands in Inner Mongolia to capture changes in AGB and BGB in plant communities. Then, we used structural equation modelling (SEM) to explore the relationship between environmental factors and the root:shoot ratio to understand how plant communities respond to ecological drought under global climate change. Our results showed that low precipitation use efficiency (LPUE) results in a high root:shoot (HRS) ratio, and BGB was more sensitive to environmental changes. By contrast, high precipitation use efficiency (HPUE) led to a low root:shoot (LRS) ratio, and environmental factors had a greater impact on AGB. For the LPUE pattern, soil water content (SWC), pH, and soil total nitrogen (STN) mainly affected the HRS ratio. Soil water content and STN influenced the HRS ratio through a positive effect on BGB . For the HPUE pattern, SWC, STN, and plant abundance (PA) predominantly regulate the LRS ratio, while biodiversity (plant abundance) affects the LRS ratio by positively affecting AGB. Our results highlight the differential impact of precipitation use efficiency on aboveground and belowground biomass allocation. This is important for monitoring the impact of drought events on plant biomass, improving productivity assessment models in arid and semi-arid regions, and assessing local carbon storage accurately.

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“…The rainwater collector consisted of a 13-cm diameter polyethylene funnel connected to a polyethylene bottle at the bottom. A ping pong ball was fitted in the funnel to prevent the evaporation of collected rainwater and to block the debris from falling in (Wu et al, 2022). In addition, groundwater was sourced from groundwater wells approximately 20 m from the isotope sampling sites.…”

Section: Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water use characteristics of coexisting sand‐binding vegetation in two typical soil habitats in the desert steppe of China

Chen,

Yang

et al. 2024

Hydrological Processes

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Understanding the water use characteristics and water relationship of coexisting vegetation in a mixed‐species plantation of trees and shrubs is crucial for the sustainable restoration of degraded arid areas. This study investigated the water use characteristic of coexisting sand‐binding vegetation combinations in the sierozem habitat (Populus przewalskii Maxim namely Populus‐S and Caragana liouana) and aeolian sandy soil habitats (Populus przewalskii Maxim namely Populus‐A and Salix psammophila) of the desert steppe. By analysing the δ2H and δ18O isotopes in xylem, soil water, groundwater and precipitation, a Bayesian MixSIAR model was employed to quantitatively assess the water utilization characteristics of plants. Throughout the growing season, in the sierozem habitat, C. liouana exhibits the highest efficiency in utilizing soil moisture above 60 cm (53.45%) and displays adaptable water use strategies. In contrast, Populus‐A predominantly relies on deep soil moisture below 60 cm plus groundwater (63.89%). In the aeolian sandy soil habitat, both Populus‐A and S. psammophila similarly favour deep soil moisture below the 60 cm soil plus groundwater (66.77% and 67.60%, respectively). During the transition period from the dry to the wet seasons, although both Populus‐A and S. psammophila in the aeolian sandy soil habitat shifted their water sources from deeper to shallower ones, there was considerable overlap in the water sources used by Populus‐A and S. psammophila. This overlap led to competition for water resources and exacerbated the depletion of deep soil moisture in both seasons. Conversely, in the sierozem habitat, the partitioning of water sources between Populus‐S and C. liouana facilitated the allocation and utilization of water resources between the two species. The findings highlight the need for species‐specific consideration in water resource allocation within mixed‐species plantations of trees and shrubs, which is crucial for sustainable vegetation restoration in sand‐binding ecosystems.

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Phenology determines water use strategies of three economic tree species in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China

Cited by 38 publications

References 76 publications

Partitioned Soil Water Balance and Its Link With Water Uptake Strategy Under Apple Trees in the Loess‐Covered Region

Partitioned Soil Water Balance and Its Link With Water Uptake Strategy Under Apple Trees in the Loess‐Covered Region

Plant biomass allocation is mediated by precipitation use efficiency in arid and semiarid ecosystems

Water use characteristics of coexisting sand‐binding vegetation in two typical soil habitats in the desert steppe of China

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