The Effect of Carbonate Deposition Layers ("Caliche") on the Water Status of Larrea divaricata

Cunningham, Gary L.; Burk, Jack H.

doi:10.2307/2424473

Cited by 39 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…In aridland ecosystems, variation in soil surface and subsurface layer development influences patterns of water infiltration, runoff, deep soil recharge and water content/ water potential relationships (Noy-Meir 1973;McAuliffe 2003). For example, the presence of cemented subsurface calcic horizons and surface vesicular components affect soil water balance, and thus, plant water-relations and net primary productivity (Cunningham and Burke 1973;Hamerlynck et al 2002). The interaction between plants and soil characteristics are important for hydrological processes, such as runoff and sediment transport (Wainwright et al 2002).…”

Section: Hydraulic Redistributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precipitation pulses and carbon fluxes in semiarid and arid ecosystems

et al. 2004

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In the arid and semiarid regions of North America, discrete precipitation pulses are important triggers for biological activity. The timing and magnitude of these pulses may differentially affect the activity of plants and microbes, combining to influence the C balance of desert ecosystems. Here, we evaluate how a "pulse" of water influences physiological activity in plants, soils and ecosystems, and how characteristics, such as precipitation pulse size and frequency are important controllers of biological and physical processes in arid land ecosystems. We show that pulse size regulates C balance by determining the temporal duration of activity for different components of the biota. Microbial respiration responds to very small events, but the relationship between pulse size and duration of activity likely saturates at moderate event sizes. Photosynthetic activity of vascular plants generally increases following relatively larger pulses or a series of small pulses. In this case, the duration of physiological activity is an increasing function of pulse size up to events that are infrequent in these hydroclimatological regions. This differential responsiveness of photosynthesis and respiration results in arid ecosystems acting as immediate C sources to the atmosphere following rainfall, with subsequent periods of C accumulation should pulse size be sufficient to initiate vascular plant activity. Using the average pulse size distributions in the North American deserts, a simple modeling exercise shows that net ecosystem exchange of CO2 is sensitive to changes in the event size distribution representative of wet and dry years. An important regulator of the pulse response is initial soil and canopy conditions and the physical structuring of bare soil and beneath canopy patches on the landscape. Initial condition influences responses to pulses of varying magnitude, while bare soil/beneath canopy patches interact to introduce nonlinearity in the relationship between pulse size and soil water response. Building on this conceptual framework and developing a greater understanding of the complexities of these eco-hydrologic systems may enhance our ability to describe the ecology of desert ecosystems and their sensitivity to global change.

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Section: Hydraulic Redistributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precipitation pulses and carbon fluxes in semiarid and arid ecosystems

et al. 2004

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“…Several L. trident at a on sideslopes of sites 28 and 29 with moderately large basal diameters (up to 40 em) were obviously pedestalled. This problem would be especially acute if restrictive layers (e.g., impervious petrocalcic horizons underlying soils of truncated Pleistocene surfaces) prevented additional downward root growth Mallery 1933, Cunningham andBurk 1973). Plants pedestalled to this degree were often completely dead or exhibited considerable stem death similar to that attributed to drought effects by Runyon (1934).…”

Section: Ecological Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape Evolution, Soil Formation, and Ecological Patterns and Processes in Sonoran Desert Bajadas

McAuliffe¹

1994

Ecological Monographs

275

243

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Three alluvial piedmonts (bajadas or alluvial fans) studied in the Sonoran Desert near Tucson, Arizona are complex mosaics of distinct geological landforms. These landscape mosaics have been produced through the temporally episodic and spatially discontinuous aggradation of alluvial surfaces and the destruction of other parts of the landscape by erosion. These geomorphic processes produce abrupt juxtapositions of soils of different ages and degrees of profile development. Vegetation patterns correspond closely to this geomorphic mosaic. Larrea tridentata predominates on most Holocene-aged surfaces and all parts of highly dissected, early Pleistocene surfaces. This shrub is generally excluded from Pleistocene-aged surfaces containing soils with strongly developed argillic (clay-rich) horizons. The highest species diversity is encountered on some of the most unstable, erosional slopes of early Pleistocene surfaces. Comparisons among the three study areas indicated the importance of igneous lithology (highly weatherable intrusives vs. weatheringresistant extrusives) in controlling geomorphic processes, and ultimately, vegetation patterns. The areal extent of late Holocene alluvial aggradation and patterns of erosion and dissection of older Pleistocene deposits are strongly influenced by the weatherability of different lithologies and provide a strong control over the spatial scale of ecological patterns.Processes limiting the distributions and abundances of plants are directly linked to landscape characteristics in many ways. Landform age and stability affect the structure of populations of long-lived Larrea tridentata. Individuals of this shrub species can exhibit clone-like growth and increase considerably in size (diameter) over time spans of many centuries to millennia. The growth and persistence of these long-lived clones in some parts of the landscape apparently contribute to the exclusion of other species. However, development of large clones and dominance by L. tridentata are impossible or greatly inhibited in several landscape settings including: (I) extremely young alluvial deposits that have existed for too short a time for large clones to have developed, (2) hillslopes subject to considerable erosional disturbance, and (3) extremely thin soils underlain by impenetrable petrocalcic horizons (caliche), which magnify drought conditions and apparently contribute to episodic mortality in L. tridentata.Soil horizon development as determined by landform age controls the vertical movement and distribution of soil water, in turn affecting the distribution of various plant life forms. Clay-rich (argillic) horizons that have required tens to hundreds of thousands of years to form greatly limit the downward infiltration, vertical distribution, and the temporal availability of soil water. Despite surficial stability for extremely long periods of times, sites with strongly developed argillic horizons lack L. tridentata and are instead occupied by drought-deciduous or succulent plants that are capable of highly seasona...

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“…The result is a three-dimensional landscape mosaic made up of fan surfaces of different ages, each with different edaphic conditions (Parker, 1995). Numerous authors have reported contrasts in plant species composition on alluvial fan surfaces of different ages in arid environ ments (e.g., Cunningham and Burk, 1973;Burk and Dick-Peddie, 1973;Stein and Ludwig, 1979;Wierenga et al, 1987;McAuliffe, 1991), even when surfaces are positioned at similar elevations and similar points along the longitudinal axis of the fan (McAuliffe, 1994;Parker, 1995). Older surfaces on many fans in the south western United States date from the early Pleistocene or earlier (Dorn, 1988).…”

Section: Alluvial Fans In Arid Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Older surfaces on many fans in the south western United States date from the early Pleistocene or earlier (Dorn, 1988). Soils on these surfaces often have petrocalcic horizons, which interfere with root growth and the downward movement of water through the soil (Lattman, 1973;Cunningham and Burk, 1973), or argillic horizons that alter the soil moisture regime relative to sites lacking pedogenic clay enrichment (McAuliffe, 1994). For example, on many fans in the northern Sonoran Desert, older surfaces with petrocalcic horizons are strongly dominated by creosote bush and many of the cactus and shrub species that are abundant on nearby younger fan surfaces are less common (McAuliffe, 1994;Parker, 1995).…”

Section: Alluvial Fans In Arid Environmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%