Abstract
Plant canopy morphology plays an important role in water balance, peculiarly in semiarid environments. Through a field experiment, the impact of plant morphology of two native plant species, Artemisia sacrorum Ledeb (ASL) and Spiraea pubescens Turcz (SPT), on partitioning rainwater was revealed. The results indicated that a fragmented leaf shape and apparently high stem density of ASL reduced the throughfall and its intensity effectively but facilitated soil moisture replenishment. Although SPT has a greater canopy cover and canopy depth than ASL does, larger throughfall, a smaller throughfall threshold, and stronger throughfall intensity were observed in the SPT site. Moreover, the SPT site has a higher soil steady infiltration rate, but produced more surface runoff and caused lower soil moisture content. This study highlights the importance of plant morphological traits, peculiarly leaf morphology, in partitioning rainwater in this semiarid region. We argue that plant morphological traits should be considered when selecting plant species for revegetation and assessing water balance.
Highlights
Revegetation increases evapotranspiration and decreases runoff in both wet and arid regions [1,2,3].The ecohydrological function of plants is an important concern in vegetation restoration in arid and semiarid settings
The two morphologically contrasting plant species, Artemisia sacrorum Ledeb (ASL) and Spiraea pubescens Turcz (SPT), in this study led to different hydrological behaviors, which coincide with the literature [29,30]
ASL produced a larger threshold for throughfall (TRT) (Figure 5), smaller throughfall depth (Figure 4), and lower throughfall intensity (Figure 3) than SPT. Though both the canopy coverage and depth of SPT were apparently greater than ASL (Table 2), it was revealed that ASL intercepted precipitation and reduced rainfall intensity more effectively (Figure 4) than SPT
Summary
The ecohydrological function of plants is an important concern in vegetation restoration in arid and semiarid settings. In these regions, proper revegetation requires that plant species that consume less water be adopted [4,5,6]. It is fundamental to understand how the interception storage capacities differ among plant species [7]. Exploring the role plant morphology traits play is of particular importance in interpreting the variation of interception storage capacities among ecosystems [7]. Plants with small and fragmented leaves may crack the raindrops into smaller droplets and prevent the formation of large droplets for throughfall, increasing evaporation and leading to a smaller throughfall intensity
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
