Plant Available Water Storage Research Articles

Inclusion of bedrock vadose zone in dynamic global vegetation models is key for simulating vegetation structure and function

Abstract. Across many upland environments, soils are thin and plant roots extend into fractured and weathered bedrock where moisture and nutrients can be obtained. Root water extraction from unsaturated weathered bedrock is widespread and, in many environments, can explain gradients in vegetation community composition, transpiration, and plant sensitivity to climate. Despite increasing recognition of its importance, the “rock moisture” reservoir is rarely incorporated into vegetation and Earth system models. Here, we address this weakness in a widely used dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM; LPJ-GUESS). First, we use a water flux-tracking deficit approach to more accurately parameterize plant-accessible water storage capacity across the contiguous United States, which critically includes the water in bedrock below depths typically prescribed by soil databases. Secondly, we exploit field-based knowledge of contrasting plant-available water storage capacity in weathered bedrock across two bedrock types in the Northern California Coast Ranges as a detailed case study. For the case study in Northern California, climate and soil water storage capacity are similar at the two study areas, but the site with thick weathered bedrock and ample rock moisture supports a temperate mixed broadleaf–needleleaf evergreen forest, whereas the site with thin weathered bedrock and limited rock moisture supports an oak savanna. The distinct biomes, seasonality and magnitude of transpiration and primary productivity, and baseflow magnitudes only emerge from the DGVM when a new and simple subsurface storage structure and hydrology scheme is parameterized with storage capacities extending beyond the soil into the bedrock. Across the contiguous United States, the updated hydrology and subsurface storage improve annual evapotranspiration estimates as compared to satellite-derived products, particularly in seasonally dry regions. Specifically, the updated hydrology and subsurface storage allow for enhanced evapotranspiration through the dry season that better matches actual evapotranspiration patterns. While we made changes to both the subsurface water storage capacity and the hydrology, the most important impacts on model performance derive from changes to the subsurface water storage capacity. Our findings highlight the importance of rock moisture in explaining and predicting vegetation structure and function, particularly in seasonally dry climates. These findings motivate efforts to better incorporate the rock moisture reservoir into vegetation, climate, and landscape evolution models.

Age- and Drought-Related Variation in Plant-Available Water of Rain-Fed Jujube Orchards on the Loess Plateau of China

As an important part of the large-scale ecological restoration project of “Grain for Green”, the planting area of jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) trees has increased significantly in the hilly region on the Loess Plateau of China, which aims to improve water and soil conservation and develop economic prospects of the region. Understanding the long-term effects of expanding orchards and the responses of soil water dynamics to drought are important for orchard management. Therefore, we use a space-for-time substitution to investigate the variations of plant-available water storage in returning cropland to orchards with different stand ages (2, 6, 10, and 15 years) in a normal year (NY2014, 442.1 mm rainfall) and the next year with low annual precipitation (DY2015, 388 mm rainfall). The results showed that the plant-available water storage in jujube orchards decreased with increasing stand age, and the trend was most obvious in the 60–180 cm layer. The mature stands (10 and 15 years) primarily absorbed soil water from the deep layer (180–300 cm) in DY2015, leading to negative values of plant-available water storage. The whole soil profiles were all subjected to severe water deficits in our study. The findings will help guide rain-fed orchard management in the loess hilly region of China and similar dryland regions.

Dispose of Chinese cabbage waste via hydrothermal carbonization: hydrochar characterization and its potential as a soil amendment.

Landfill of waste biomass not only poses a threat to environmental protection but also leads to a great waste of biomass resources. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) has been considered a promising method to convert the wet biomass into hydrochar, a high-value-added product with multiple application potentials. The cabbage waste, typical wet waste biomass with a huge production per year, was hydrothermally carbonized under 190°C and 260°C, respectively. The results indicated that the majority of nutrients from feedstock were dissolved in spent liquor during HTC, with only a few amounts retained on hydrochar. Temperature showed a more significant impact on hydrochar properties than retention time, which enables hydrochar to be potentially used as a soil conditioner. Particularly, the hydrochar produced at 190°C could improve plant nutrition in the short term, while that produced at 260°C may benefit in C sequestration. Moreover, the hydrochar dominated by meso/macropores (> 90%) would be conducive to the storage of plant-available water. But both BTX and VOCs may release during hydrochar application; thus, further field experiments are needed to test the environmental risks of hydrochar when applied as a soil amendment.

The Counteracting Effects of Snowmelt Rate and Timing on Runoff

AbstractThe declining mountain snowpack is expected to melt earlier and more slowly with climate warming. Previous work indicates that lower snowmelt rates are associated with decreased runoff. However, earlier snowmelt could increase runoff via lower vegetation water use in early spring. The relative importance of these factors with regard to runoff is linked to site‐specific conditions such as plant available water storage (PAWS) and energy availability. To disentangle the effects of snowmelt rate and timing on runoff production, we conducted a hydrologic modeling experiment at sites in Colorado (NR1) and California (P301) that controlled for snowmelt rate and timing multicollinearity. We tested the sensitivity of snowmelt season potential runoff (R), changes in subsurface storage (ΔS), and other water budget components to snowmelt rate (smr) and timing (smt) using multiple linear regression and global sensitivity analysis (GSA). Regression results confirmed that R was governed by the competing influence of smr and smt. At both sites, ΔS was more sensitive to smt than smr while R was more sensitive to smr at P301 and to smt at NR1, reflecting energy limitation at NR1. GSA analyses mirrored the regressions for R, confirming that smt was more important at NR1 than P301. This work suggests that runoff increases from earlier snowmelt may counteract runoff losses due to slower snowmelt and that this process is mediated by PAWS and energy availability. These results suggest that R will be more susceptible to future changes in smr and smt at sites with greater PAWS and available energy.

A framework for the predictive mapping of forest soil properties in mountain areas

The modelling of forest ecosystems is a broad scientific field, encompassing species distribution, dynamic forest succession, growth and disturbance, and biogeochemical cycles. Soil information is frequently required for a holistic and spatially explicit modelling approach. Information on soil properties at sufficient resolution to be incorporated in spatially distributed models is rare however, in particular for mountain forest areas that are poorly accessible and where the required sampling effort is high. In order to bridge this gap, we aim to develop a concept for predicting spatially continuous forest soil properties in mountain areas and substantiate it by comparing different statistical approaches to digital soil mapping, namely Random Forests and Generalized Additive Models. Therefore, we used field descriptions of 1653 legacy soil profiles from a forest area of 5130 km2 in Tyrol and modelled a variety of soil properties that are essential for the characterisation of forest sites with respect to tree growth. A set of 23 spatially explicit predictor variables, grouped according to geological substrate information, topography, climate, biotic variables, and time–space, were included in the concept and tested. There was a special focus on the predictive relevance of the newly developed geological substrate information, which includes lithogenetic units, lithological composition, and the multilayering of sediments. As a physical soil property, it was possible to predict the plant-available water storage capacity with a significant degree of accuracy, with r2 = 0.49–0.56, while for the biologically driven state variable organic humus layer thickness, r2 = 0.22–0.27 was achieved. For describing soil reaction, Ellenberg’s indicator value of vegetation turned out to be a suitable proxy for soil pH value, and was modelled with a high degree of predictive power with r2 = 0.75–0.77. All model results were verified by different evaluation methods, ranging from cross-validation to comparison with independent datasets, tests for spatial autocorrelation, and considering ecological soundness in variable selection. We were able to show that in addition to variables derived from Digital Terrain Models and climate information, the new type of detailed geological substrate information is the most relevant predictor and is promising for digital soil mapping in mountain areas. This finding was independent of the applied statistical approaches and both Generalized Additive Models and Random Forests showed comparable accuracy and proved to be appropriate for these tasks. In addition, we were able to support the modelling results by interpreting the predictors’ mode of action with regard to the underlying processes controlling soil properties.

Satellite detection of varying seasonal water supply restrictions on grassland productivity in the Missouri basin, USA

Climate observations indicate more frequent drought in recent years, and model predictions suggest that drought occurrence will continue to rise with global warming. Understanding drought impacts on ecosystem functioning requires accurate quantification of vegetation sensitivity to changes in water supply condition. This is complicated by the seasonal variation in plant structural and physiological response to water stress, especially for semi-arid grasslands with characteristic strong spatial and temporal variability in carbon uptake. Here, we use complementary satellite soil moisture (SM) and total water storage (TWS) observations to delineate plant-accessible water supply variations for natural grasslands in the Missouri basin, USA. We evaluate how water supply influences the spatiotemporal variations in grassland productivity as a function of seasonal timing and climate condition. We identify a 128-day period from mid-June to early October when grassland growth is sensitive to soil moisture changes. We find the strongest SM sensitivity after the peak of the growing season associated with high temperature and VPD. SM limitation can extend to early and late growing season under warm conditions, while grassland sensitivity to SM is generally stronger in the late growth stage than in the green-up period given similar temperature and soil moisture. We find that complementary to the surface SM observations, TWS provides plant-available water storage information from the deeper soil, and both SM and TWS exert a lagged impact on grassland productivity. We find that the lag between the inter-annual variation of SM and associated plant response increases through the season, and overall there is a transition from SM-limitation to TWS-limitation on productivity during the late growing period when the TWS level is near the seasonal low. Future global change projections should account for a seasonally varying vegetation-moisture relationship to accurately assess the impact of the water supply constraint on plant productivity in a warming climate.

An In-Situ Rainwater Collection and Infiltration System to Improve Plant-Available Water and Fine Root Growth for Drought Resistance

HighlightsAn in-situ rainwater collection and infiltration (RWCI) method is a rainwater catchment utilization techniqueRWCI is advantageous for increasing sustainable plant-avaibale water to increase drought resistanceRWCI significantly increased the amount of water and nutrients in the rhizosphere for uptake by apple tree rootsABSTRACT. A two-year field experiment was undertaken to determine the spatial distribution of plant-available water and roots in soil profiles under two rainfall control systems—an in-situ rainwater collection and infiltration (RWCI) method and a semi-circular basin (SCB)—in apple orchards in the Loess Plateau of China. The results showed that the RWCI treatments with a soil depth of 40 cm (RWCI40), 60 cm (RWCI60), and 80 cm (RWCI80) significantly increased plant-available water in different seasons and depths and increased root growth of apple trees in the experimental soil profile (0–200 cm). At 0–200 cm soil depth, then RWCI treatments had significantly higher (91.86%-110.01%) mean plant-available water storage (PAWS) than the SCB treatment in both study years (2015 and 2016). From 0–120 cm soil depth, the RWCI60 treatment had significantly higher growing season mean PAWS than RWCI40 and RWCI80; however, RWCI80 had the highest from 120–200 cm. From 0–60 cm, the RWCI treatments had 25.84%-36.86% a smaller proportion of root system than the SCB treatment. However, from 60–120 cm, the proportion of root system increased by 131.53% (RWCI40), 157.95% (RWCI60) and 129.98% (RWCI80), relative to SCB. From 0–200 cm, the RWCI treatments had 1.49–1.94 times more root dry weight density than the SCB treatment. The highest concentration of fine roots occurred in the RWCI treatments. Thus, RWCI enabled roots to absorb more water and nutrients from a wider wetted area and improved drought resistance. Keywords: Drought resistance, Fine roots, Loess Plateau, Plant-available water, Spatial distribution.

Variations in capacity and storage of plant-available water in deep profiles along a revegetation and precipitation gradient

Knowledge of regional characteristics and variability in available soil water is important for water resource management and vegetation restoration in arid and semi-arid regions. However, few studies have evaluated the available water-holding capacity (AWHC) and plant-available water storage (PAWS) for plant growth or determined the saturation of available soil water (SASW) in deep profiles (>2 m). This study investigated characteristics of AWHC and PAWS to a depth of 5 m along a revegetation and precipitation gradient on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). The results showed that AWHC5 m exhibited a decreasing trend along the transect, with a mean value of 762.9 mm. PAWS5 m first decreased, then increased following changes in vegetation types with a mean value of 257.3 mm. The PAWS5 m significantly differed under different soil layers and showed high variation (coefficient of variation = 88.0%) in its profile. AWHC5 m was significantly correlated with all environmental factors except slope aspect and slope gradient. A comparative analysis showed that PAWS5 m had a small portion of AWHC5 m, both of which varied among different vegetation species. Variations in PAWS5 m and AWHC5 m were higher in the 450–550 mm precipitation zone and silt loam soil. Planted forests with deep root systems introduced in the 450–550 mm precipitation zone had lower SASW5 m values than the areas with shallow root vegetation. A complete understanding of the spatial variations of PAWS, AWHC, and SASW along the revegetation and precipitation gradient will be helpful in assessing regional water resources and optimizing vegetation species on the CLP and possibly in other water-limited regions around the world.

Effects of pyrolysis temperature on the hydrologically relevant porosity of willow biochar

Biochar pore space consists of porosity of multiple length scales. In direct water holding applications like water storage for plant water uptake, the main interest is in micrometre-range porosity since these pores are able to store water that is easily available for plants. Gas adsorption measurements which are commonly used to characterize the physical pore structure of biochars are not able to quantify this pore-size range. While pyrogenetic porosity (i.e. pores formed during pyrolysis process) tends to increase with elevated process temperature, it is uncertain whether this change affects the pore space capable to store plant available water. In this study, we characterized biochar porosity with x-ray tomography which provides quantitative information on the micrometer-range porosity. We imaged willow dried at 60 °C and biochar samples pyrolysed in three different temperatures (peak temperatures 308, 384, 489 °C, heating rate 2 °C min−1). Samples were carefully prepared and traced through the experiments, which allowed investigation of porosity development in micrometre size range. Pore space was quantified with image analysis of x-ray tomography images and, in addition, nanoscale porosity was examined with helium ion microscopy. The image analysis results show that initial pore structure of the raw material determines the properties of micrometre-range porosity in the studied temperature range. Thus, considering the pore-size regime relevant to the storage of plant available water, pyrolysis temperature in the studied range does not provide means to optimize the biochar structure. However, these findings do not rule out that process temperature may affect the water retention properties of biochars by modifying the chemical properties of the pore surfaces.

Quantitative characterization of pore structure of several biochars with 3D imaging.

Pore space characteristics of biochars may vary depending on the used raw material and processing technology. Pore structure has significant effects on the water retention properties of biochar amended soils. In this work, several biochars were characterized with three-dimensional imaging and image analysis. X-ray computed microtomography was used to image biochars at resolution of 1.14 μm and the obtained images were analysed for porosity, pore size distribution, specific surface area and structural anisotropy. In addition, random walk simulations were used to relate structural anisotropy to diffusive transport. Image analysis showed that considerable part of the biochar volume consist of pores in size range relevant to hydrological processes and storage of plant available water. Porosity and pore size distribution were found to depend on the biochar type and the structural anisotopy analysis showed that used raw material considerably affects the pore characteristics at micrometre scale. Therefore, attention should be paid to raw material selection and quality in applications requiring optimized pore structure.

Ecosystem services of regulation and support in Amazonian pioneer fronts: searching for landscape drivers

Landscape dynamics result from forestry and farming practices, both of which are expected to have diverse impacts on ecosystem services (ES). In this study, we investigated this general statement for regulating and supporting services via an assessment of ecosystem functions: climate regulation via carbon sequestration in soil and plant biomass, water cycle and soil erosion regulation via water infiltration in soil, and support for primary production via soil chemical quality and water storage. We tested the hypothesis that patterns of land-cover composition and structure significantly alter ES metrics at two different scales. We surveyed 54 farms in two Amazonian regions of Brazil and Colombia and assessed land-cover composition and structure from remote sensing data (farm scale) from 1990 to 2007. Simple and well-established methods were used to characterize soil and vegetation from five points in each farm (plot scale). Most ES metrics were significantly correlated with land-use (plot scale) and land-cover (farm scale) classifications; however, spatial variability in inherent soil properties, alone or in interaction with land-use or land-cover changes, contributed greatly to variability in ES metrics. Carbon stock in above-ground plant biomass and water infiltration rate decreased from forest to pasture land covers, whereas soil chemical quality and plant-available water storage capacity increased. Land-cover classifications based on structure metrics explained significantly less ES metric variation than those based on composition metrics. Land-cover composition dynamics explained 45 % (P < 0.001) of ES metric variance, 15 % by itself and 30 % in interaction with inherent soil properties. This study describes how ES evolve with landscape changes, specifying the contribution of spatial variability in the physical environment and highlighting trade-offs and synergies among ES.

Atributos físicos de um Latossolo Vermelho e produtividade de culturas cultivadas em sucessão e rotação

Este estudo objetivou avaliar os efeitos da sucessão e rotação de culturas nos atributos físicos e na produtividade dos cultivos agrícolas de um Latossolo Vermelho sob plantio direto, localizado no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Os tratamentos contaram de quatro seqüências de culturas cultivadas de 1998 a 2001: 1) sucessão trigo / soja; 2) rotação milho / aveia / milho+guandu anão / trigo / soja / trigo; 3) rotação guandu anão / trigo / soja / trigo / soja / aveia; e 4) rotação Crotalária / trigo / soja / aveia / milho / trigo. Em outubro de 2000 e de 2001, foram coletadas amostras de solo para determinar os atributos físicos do solo. Em todas as safras foi medida a produtividade das culturas. O Latossolo Vermelho cultivado com plantio direto apresenta um grau de compactação elevado, com densidade do solo acima e volume de macroporos abaixo do limite crítico para a classe textural muito argiloso. As maiores limitações ocorrem abaixo da camada de 0 a 0,03m, pois na camada mais superficial, apesar das pressões exercidas, a mobilização do solo nas operações de semeadura e adubação em linha aumenta a porosidade e reduz a densidade do solo. Nessa camada, houve maior volume de poros entre a saturação e a capacidade de campo, responsáveis pela aeração do solo, e entre a capacidade de campo e o ponto de murcha permanente, responsáveis pelo armazenamento da água disponível para as plantas. A introdução de plantas de cobertura a cada três anos não foi eficiente para reduzir a compactação. A produtividade das culturas foi influenciada positivamente na rotação com Crotalária, enquanto os demais sistemas não diferiram da sucessão de culturas.

Mechanical Disturbance of Microbiotic Crusts Affects Ecohydrological Processes in a Region of Revegetation-fixed Sand Dunes

ABSTRACT Microbiotic crusts (MC), also called biological soil crusts or cryptogamic crusts, are formed by cyanobacteria, fungi, blue-green algae, lichens, and mosses, and are widespread in arid and semiarid zones such as the area of sands fixed in place by revegetation near Shapotou at the southeastern edge of China's Tengger Desert. We studied mechanically disturbed and 40-year-old intact MC in this area using a series of soil hydrological experiments and ecological investigations to examine the ecohydrological responses after mechanical disturbance of the MC. Once the MC was disturbed, the MC layer became ore primitive or disappeared entirely, resulting in a 32.8% decrease in the fine particles content of the upper soil layers, a 28.7% increase in soil albedo and a 168.9% decrease in the topsoil's water-retention capacity. These changes greatly altered soil hydrological processes in the disturbed soils: the steady-state infiltration rates in the upper soil layer increased by 693%, the precipitation recharge layer deepened, and the surface evaporation rate decreased by 20.3%. Moreover, the disturbance increased storage of plant-available water in the herbaceous rooting zone and improved the environment for germination and subsequent growth of annual herb species, as shown by a notable increase in the coverage, density, frequency, and biomass of annual plants. We conclude that MC represent a major component of Shapotou's regional ecosystem and that disturbance will significantly alter local ecohydrological processes.

An analysis of the effect of water table depth on plant-available soil water and its application to a yellow-brown sand

Abstract The effects of a high water table on soil water storage and capillary rise into the root zone are analysed using the basic equations describing soil water statics and dynamics. When applied to a Pukepuke black sand, the analysis predicts that the equivalent depth of plant-available water increases substantially from 26 to 183 mm as the water table rises from 1.2 to 0.4 m. The effect of lateral flow from higher to adjacent lower areas of yellow -brown sand is shown to be important over distances of 400 m, and can provide further plant-available water. Traditional ways of estimating plant-available water storage are shown to be quite inappropriate where the water table is less than c. 1 m below the root zone depth. It is suggested that in sandy soils drains should be either shallow (e.g., 0.4 m deep) or very widely spaced (e.g., 400 m apart) if they are not to make the soil more droughty. The analysis presented is applicable to any soil and groundwater situation for which the relevant soil water retentivity and conductivity data are available.