Removing woody vegetation has little effect on conduit flow recharge

Bazan, Roberto; Wilcox, Bradford P.; Munster, C. L.; Gary, Marcus O.

doi:10.1002/eco.1277

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…), and removal of shrubs may have little effect on recharge (Bazan et al . ). In Australia, the recent introduction of a price on carbon has provided renewed financial incentives for landholders to be involved in long‐term carbon sequestration programmes such as the Carbon Farming Initiative (http://www.climatechange.gov.au/cfi) which allows farmers and land managers to earn carbon credits by storing carbon or reducing greenhouse gas emissions on the land.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Grazing dampens the positive effects of shrub encroachment on ecosystem functions in a semi‐arid woodland

Eldridge

Soliveres

Bowker

et al. 2013

Journal of Applied Ecology

100

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Summary The encroachment of woody plants into grasslands, open woodlands and savannah has been widely reported over the past few decades. Overgrazing is a probable cause of shrub encroachment and could be a stronger driver of declining ecosystem structure and functioning in shrublands than encroachment per se. We examined the relative effects of changes in shrub cover and grazing rate on ecosystem functions at sandy and loamy sites in eastern Australia varying in shrub cover and grazing. Our aim was to test the notion that the negative effects on ecosystem functioning commonly attributed to encroachment are more likely due to grazing than to increase in shrub cover per se. Structural equation modelling indicated a generally strong positive effect of increasing shrub cover, and a generally negative, or slight effect of grazing on multiple measures of ecosystem function related to plant productivity, water infiltration, nutrient cycling and surface stability. On loamy soils, grazing generally dampened the positive effects of increasing shrub cover on most response variables. On sandy soils, however, although there were generally stronger effects of grazing, most attributes did not change in response to increasing shrub cover. Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that, contrary to the prevailing opinion, increasing shrub cover was generally associated with increases (or no change) in functional and structural measures indicative of healthy systems. The dampening of the positive effects of shrub cover caused by grazing was site (soil texture) specific, reinforcing the notion that the effects of increasing shrub cover and their interaction with grazing are context dependent. Our study provides the basis for improved understanding and management of shrublands for a number of competing goals and suggests that managing grazing rates is a better strategy than focusing on shrub removal. Using low levels of grazing is likely to maximize the benefits from shrublands, such as the maintenance of biodiversity, water infiltration and C sequestration, while maintaining a productive herbaceous community.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Grazing dampens the positive effects of shrub encroachment on ecosystem functions in a semi‐arid woodland

Eldridge

Soliveres

Bowker

et al. 2013

Journal of Applied Ecology

100

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“…Shallow caves at the field site made it possible to capture drainage out of the root zone as cave drip. Juniper removal had no significant effect on the amount of water captured as cave drip (Bazan et al 2013). Decades of controlled experiments in this region have generally returned the same result, that the effect of removing encroaching woody plants on ET and/or spring flow is small and short-lived (Wilcox et al 2005) (Chapter 3, this volume).…”

Section: Hydrologymentioning

confidence: 92%

Woody Plant Encroachment: Causes and Consequences

Archer

Andersen

Predick

et al. 2017

Springer Series on Environmental Management

384

379

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Woody vegetation in grasslands and savannas has increased worldwide over the past 100-200 years. This phenomenon of "woody plant encroachment" (WPE) has been documented to occur at different times but at comparable rates in rangelands of the Americas, Australia, and southern Africa. The objectives of this chapter are to review (1) the process of WPE and its causes, (2) consequences for ecosystem function and the provision of services, and (3) the effectiveness of management interventions aimed at reducing woody cover. Explanations for WPE require consideration of multiple interacting drivers and constraints and their variation through time at a given site. Mean annual precipitation sets an upper limit to woody plant cover, but local patterns of disturbance (fire, browsing) and soil properties (texture, depth) prevent the realization of this potential. In the absence of these constraints, seasonality, interannual variation, and intensity of precipitation events determine the rate and extent of woody plant expansion. Although probably not a triggering factor, rising atmospheric CO 2 levels may have favored C 3 woody plant growth. WPE coincided with the global intensification of livestock grazing that by reducing fine fuels, hence fire frequency and intensity, facilitated WPE. From a conservation perspective, WPE threatens the maintenance of grassland and savanna

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“…The NARGFM was calibrated to steady-state conditions for groundwater flow that were assumed to exist in 1910 and for transient conditions between 1910 and 2005 (Pool et al 2011). Recharge for the NARGFM was derived from the Basin Characterization Model (BCM) of Flint and Flint (2008) and isotopic analyses developed by Blasch and Bryson (2007). Although recharge to the deep, bedrock, aquifers of the region is focused and ephemeral, the NARGFM uses areal distributed, average annual recharge values.…”

Section: Northern Arizona Regional Groundwater-flow Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Semi‐Arid Aquifer Responses to Forest Restoration Treatments and Climate Change

2014

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The purpose of this study was to develop an interpretive groundwater-flow model to assess the impacts that planned forest restoration treatments and anticipated climate change will have on large regional, deep (>400 m), semi-arid aquifers. Simulations were conducted to examine how tree basal area reductions impact groundwater recharge from historic conditions to 2099. Novel spatial analyses were conducted to determine areas and rates of potential increases in groundwater recharge. Changes in recharge were applied to the model by identifying zones of basal area reduction from planned forest restoration treatments and applying recharge-change factors to these zones. Over a 10-year period of forest restoration treatment, a 2.8% increase in recharge to one adjacent groundwater basin (the Verde Valley sub-basin) was estimated, compared to conditions that existed from 2000 to 2005. However, this increase in recharge was assumed to quickly decline after treatment due to regrowth of vegetation and forest underbrush and their associated increased evapotranspiration. Furthermore, simulated increases in groundwater recharge were masked by decreases in water levels, stream baseflow, and groundwater storage resulting from surface water diversions and groundwater pumping. These results indicate that there is an imbalance between water supply and demand in this regional, semi-arid aquifer. Current water management practices may not be sustainable into the far future and comprehensive action should be taken to minimize this water budget imbalance.

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Removing woody vegetation has little effect on conduit flow recharge

Cited by 8 publications

References 28 publications

Grazing dampens the positive effects of shrub encroachment on ecosystem functions in a semi‐arid woodland

Grazing dampens the positive effects of shrub encroachment on ecosystem functions in a semi‐arid woodland

Woody Plant Encroachment: Causes and Consequences

Semi‐Arid Aquifer Responses to Forest Restoration Treatments and Climate Change

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