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www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci-discuss.net/7/5213/2010/
doi:10.5194/hessd-7-5213-2010
© Author(s) 2010. This work is distributed
under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Stemflow of desert shrub and its significance in soil moisture replenishment
1Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
2Department of Water Resources Engineering, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden
Abstract. Stemflow of xerophytic shrubs represents a significant component of water replenishment to the soil-root systems influences water utilization of plant roots at the stand scale, especially for water scarce desert ecosystems. In this study, stemflow of Caragana korshinskii was quantified by aluminum foil collar collection method at re-vegetated sand dunes of the Shapotou restored desert ecosystem in Northwestern China. Meanwhile, time domain reflectometry probes were inserted horizontally at 20 different soil profile depths under the C. korshinskii shrub to monitor soil moisture variation at hourly intervals. Results indicated that 2.2 mm precipitation were necessary for the generation of stemflow for C. korshinskii. Stemflow averaged 8% of the gross precipitation, and the average funneling ratio was as high as 90. The soil moisture in the uppermost soil profile was strongly correlated with individual rainfall and the stemflow strengthened this relationship. Therefore, it is favorable for infiltrated water redistribution in the deeper soil profile of the root zone. We conclude that stemflow contributes significantly to a positive soil moisture balance in the root zone and the replenishment of soil moisture at deeper soil layers. This plays an important role in plant survival and the general ecology of arid desert environments.
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Notice on Discussion StatusCitation: Wang, X.-P., Wang, Z.-N., Berndtsson, R., Zhang, Y.-F., and Pan, Y.-X.: Stemflow of desert shrub and its significance in soil moisture replenishment, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., 7, 5213-5234, doi:10.5194/hessd-7-5213-2010, 2010. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
