Water funnelling by the crown of Flourensia cernua, a Chihuahuan Desert shrub

Mauchamp, André; Janeau, Jean‐Louis

doi:10.1006/jare.1993.1062

Cited by 84 publications

(46 citation statements)

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“…However, as to biotic mechanisms, although the canopy structure (Mauchamp and Janeau, 1993;Crockford and Richardson, 2000;Pypker et al, 2011) and branch architecture (Herwitz, 1987;Murakami, 2009;Carlyle-Moses and Schooling, 2015) have been studied for years, the most important plant traits vary with location and shrub species and have not yet been determined. The effects of the leaves have been studied more recently at a smaller scale, e.g., leaf orientation (Crockford and Richardson, 2000), shape (Xu et al, 2005), arrangement pattern (Owens et al, 2006), pubescence (Garcia-Estringana et al, 2010), area (Sellin et al, 2012), epidermis microrelief (RothNebelsick et al, 2012), amount , or biomass (Yuan et al, 2016).…”

Section: Yuan Et Al: Comparisons Of Stemflow and Its Bio-/abioticmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparisons of stemflow and its bio-/abiotic influential factors between two xerophytic shrub species

Yuan

Gao

2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Stemflow transports nutrient-enriched precipitation to the rhizosphere and functions as an efficient terrestrial flux in water-stressed ecosystems. However, its ecological significance has generally been underestimated because it is relatively limited in amount, and the biotic mechanisms that affect it have not been thoroughly studied at the leaf scale. This study was conducted during the 2014 and 2015 rainy seasons at the northern Loess Plateau of China. We measured the branch stemflow volume (SF b ), shrub stemflow equivalent water depth (SF d ), stemflow percentage of incident precipitation (SF %), stemflow productivity (SFP), funnelling ratio (FR), the meteorological characteristics and the plant traits of branches and leaves of C. korshinskii and S. psammophila. This study evaluated stemflow efficiency for the first time with the combined results of SFP and FR, and sought to determine the inter-and intra-specific differences of stemflow yield and efficiency between the two species, as well as the specific bio-/abiotic mechanisms that affected stemflow. The results indicated that C. korshinskii had a greater stemflow yield and efficiency at all precipitation levels than that of S. psammophila. The largest inter-specific difference generally occurred at the 5-10 mm branches during rains of ≤ 2 mm. Precipitation amount was the most influential meteorological characteristic that affected stemflow yield and efficiency in these two endemic shrub species. Branch angle was the most influential plant trait on FR. For SF b , stem biomass and leaf biomass were the most influential plant traits for C. korshinskii and S. psammophila, respectively. For SFP of these two shrub species, leaf traits (the individual leaf area) and branch traits (branch size and biomass allocation pattern) had a great influence during lighter rains ≤ 10 mm and heavier rains > 15 mm, respectively. The lower precipitation threshold to start stemflow allowed C. korshinskii (0.9 mm vs. 2.1 mm for S. psammophila) to employ more rains to harvest water via stemflow. The beneficial leaf traits (e.g., leaf shape, arrangement, area, amount) might partly explain the greater stemflow production of C. korshinskii. Comparison of SF b between the foliated and manually defoliated shrubs during the 2015 rainy season indicated that the newly exposed branch surface at the defoliated period and the resulting rainfall intercepting effects might be an important mechanism affecting stemflow in the dormant season.

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Section: Yuan Et Al: Comparisons Of Stemflow and Its Bio-/abioticmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparisons of stemflow and its bio-/abiotic influential factors between two xerophytic shrub species

Yuan

Gao

2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…The interception losses by A. ordosica and C. korshinskii accounted for 15% and 27% of the precipitation on a crown area basis and 6% and 11% of the precipitation on a ground area basis [12,13]. The interception losses were less than those in the Chihuahua and Negev deserts, where the interception loss accounted for 10%-60% of the rainfall [14][15][16][17][18], mainly due to the sparse shrub canopy structure and lower leaf area index. Therefore, with regards to rainfall interception, species with relatively sparse stems and branches should be selected as potential sand-binding species [12,13].…”

Section: Rainfall Interception and Redistribution By Sandbinding Shrubsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of the ecohydrological processes and feedback mechanisms controlling sand-binding vegetation systems in sandy desert regions of China

et al. 2013

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Soil water is the key abiotic limiting factor in desert areas and hydrological processes determine the vegetation composition, patterns and processes in desert regions. The hydrological processes can be altered by vegetation succession. In this paper, we review the major advances in ecohydrological research and their potential impact on plant-water relations in revegetated desert communities. The major advances in ecohydrological research over the past 50 years in desert areas were analyzed using a case study that investigated the long-term ecosystem effects of sand-binding vegetation in the Tengger Desert. Key challenges and opportunities for ecohydrology research in the future are also discussed in the context of the major scientific issues affecting sand binding vegetation.

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“…Even comparatively minor micro-climatic gradients at very small spatial scales had significant effects on understorey plants growing beneath the Retama canopy, as indicated by the substantial decrease in plant productivity from the centre to the intermediate canopy positions. The canopy also produces spatial variation in soil moisture by rainfall interception (Pressland 1973;Mauchamp & Janeau 1993;M. J. Moro, unpublished data) and hydraulic lift of water from deep-seated sources (Caldwell & Richards 1989;Caldwell 1990;Dawson 1993).…”

Section: The Role Of Littermentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of the canopy of Retama sphaerocarpa on its understorey in a semiarid environment

et al. 1997

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Summary 1.A dense understorey of annual and perennial herbs grow under the canopy of Retama sphaerocarpa shrubs in semiarid environments of south-east Spain, influencing plant productivity and diversity at a regional scale. We investigated the facilitation by the shrub on its understorey in field and laboratory experiments with Barley designed to explore the mechanisms of interaction between both vegetation layers and their spatial variation. 2.There was a gradient of spatial heterogeneity in soil chemical fertility under the shrub canopy, with organic matter and soil nitrogen contents higher at the centre than at the edge of the canopy. Dry mass production of Barley was also higher in soils from intermediate positions, and lower in soils from both the centre and edge of the canopy. 3. In the field, pots sown with Barley placed near the centre, at an intermediate position and at the edge of the canopy of Retama shrubs showed significant differences in productivity, suggesting a mulching effect of the canopy that also affects seedling establishment. 4. Micro-climatic measurements showed significant differences in total radiation reaching the soil, mean air and soil temperatures and maximum temperature among different positions in the understorey, increasing radially from the centre to the edge of the canopy. 5. These results and field observations suggest that the optimal association of climatic factors under the canopy would combine with a high soil fertility mediated by litter decomposition to increase biomass production mid-way between the centre and the edge of the canopy. Overstorey and understorey thus interact to increase nutrient retention locally, which benefits both the shrub and the herb layer.

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Water funnelling by the crown of Flourensia cernua, a Chihuahuan Desert shrub

Cited by 84 publications

References 0 publications

Comparisons of stemflow and its bio-/abiotic influential factors between two xerophytic shrub species

Comparisons of stemflow and its bio-/abiotic influential factors between two xerophytic shrub species

Review of the ecohydrological processes and feedback mechanisms controlling sand-binding vegetation systems in sandy desert regions of China

Effect of the canopy of Retama sphaerocarpa on its understorey in a semiarid environment

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