Contrasting water use characteristics of riparian trees under different water tables along a losing river

Abstract

• Water use of riparian trees under various water table depth (WTD) along a losing river was determined. • Riparian trees accessed more upper soil water and had lower leaf δ 13 C under deep WTD compared to shallow WTD. • Water source contribution was a parabolic function of WTD and 2.1 m was the optimum WTD to utilize deep water. • Leaf δ 13 C had a positive linear relation with proportional contribution of deep water. Rivers losing flow into surrounding aquifers (‘losing’ rivers) are common under changing climates and groundwater overexploitation. The riparian plant-water relations under various water table dynamics along a losing river remain unclear. In this study, the water isotopes (δ 2 H and δ 18 O), leaf δ 13 C, and MixSIAR model were used combinedly for determining the root water uptake patterns and leaf water use efficiency (WUE) of Salix babylonica (L.) at three sites (A, B, and C) with different water table depths (WTDs) in the riparian zone of Jian and Chaobai River in Beijing, China. The correlations of water source contributions with WTD and WUE were quantified. The riparian S. babylonica primarily took up upper (0–80 cm) soil water (71.5%) with the lowest leaf δ 13 C (−28.8 ± 1.1 ‰) at site A under deep WTD (20.5 ± 0.5 m). In contrast, deep water below 80 cm depth including groundwater contributed 55.1% to S. babylonica at site B with fluctuated shallow WTD (1.9 ± 0.4 m), where leaf δ 13 C was highest (−27.9 ± 1.0 ‰). The S. babylonica mainly used soil water in 30–170 cm layer (56.9%) with mean leaf δ 13 C of − 28.2 ‰ ± 0.7 ‰ at site C with stable shallow WTD (1.5 ± 0.1 m). It was found that both the contributions of upper soil water in 0–80 cm and deep water below 80 cm had significantly quadratic correlations with WTD under shallow water table conditions ( p < 0.05). Leaf δ 13 C was negatively correlated with contributions of upper soil water above 80 cm depth, but it was positively related to the contributions of deep water below 80 cm in linear functions ( p < 0.001). The results indicated that 2.1 m was the optimum WTD for riparian trees, because they maximized the use of deep water sources to get the highest WUE. This study provides insights into managing groundwater, surface water resources and riparian afforestation in losing rivers.