沙漠人工植被区的蒸发蒸腾

研究于2003年6月至8月在沙坡头沙漠试验研究站的水分平衡观测场进行。利用微型蒸渗仪结合大型称重式土壤蒸渗仪测定了流沙、油蒿(A rtem isia ord osica)和柠条(C arag ana korsh insk ii)3类样地的土壤蒸发;油蒿和柠条的蒸腾利用表面覆盖油毡的大型非称重式蒸渗池和气孔计测定;同时对降水量、流沙渗漏量、0~200cm土层的土壤含水量进行了观测。结果表明:在沙漠人工植被区由于植被比较稀疏,土壤蒸发不受植株遮阴的影响,但不同样地的蒸发量是有差异的,样地和位置间的互作效应差异不显著;在沙漠区有很大比例的蒸发发生在稀少的降水事件之后。气孔计测定的蒸腾速率经单位换算统一,用多项式拟合得到日变化曲线均达到显著水平(p<0.05);将蒸渗池和气孔计2种方法测定结果方差分析表明油蒿的蒸腾均高于柠条的(p<0.05),测定方法间(蒸渗池和气孔计)差异不显著;从而说明本研究以叶面积指数和植物冠层盖度为基础进行叶片与种群间的尺度转换是可行的。2003年6月至8月期间,该区的降水量为159.1mm,渗漏量为48.5mm,裸沙蒸发量为63.0mm;油蒿样地的蒸发量、蒸腾量和蒸散量分别为54.1mm、59.0mm和119.4mm;柠条样地的蒸发量、蒸腾量和蒸散量分别为59.5mm、56.4mm和127.6mm。     

晋北黄土丘陵区不同人工植被对土壤质量的影响

以山西省阳高县大型径流观测场为依托,选择土壤机械组成、孔隙度、毛管孔隙度、有机质、全氮、碱解氮、速效磷和速效钾8项反映土壤特性的因子作为评价指标,采用主成分分析对裸坡、荒坡、柠条(Caragana korshinskii)、沙棘(Hippophae rhamnoides)、油松(Pinus tabuliformis)和苜蓿(Medicago sativa)6种不同植被条件下土壤质量进行综合评价。结果表明:8项理化性质指标可归纳为有机质因子、质地因子和孔隙因子3个公因子;柠条、沙棘、油松和苜蓿4种人工植被土壤有机质因子和孔隙因子均高于荒地;除苜蓿外,其他3种人工植被土壤质地因子均高于荒地;而裸地土壤的3个公因子均处于最低水平;苜蓿、柠条、沙棘、油松、荒地、裸地土壤质量综合指数分别为0.596、0.584、0.495、0.481、0.305和0.194。说明苜蓿、柠条、沙棘和油松4种人工植被均能促进土壤质量改善,其中苜蓿和柠条的优势更明显,裸坡则使土壤退化。     

黄土丘陵区不同植被根际土壤微量元素含量特征

为了解黄土高原不同植被土壤微量元素的根际效应,分析了该地区柠条、沙棘、沙打旺、柳枝稷、阿尔泰狗娃花和茵陈蒿6种植被根际与非根际土壤中有机碳、全氮、Mn、Cu、Fe、Zn含量.结果表明： 6种植被中,柠条、阿尔泰狗娃花和茵陈蒿根际土壤的有机碳、全氮含量高于非根际土壤;除柠条和沙棘外,其余4种植被非根际土壤pH值均显著高于根际土壤.6种植被根际土壤有效Mn含量均低于非根际;柠条、沙打旺和柳枝稷根际有效Cu含量显著高于非根际,表现出强烈根际富集现象.除沙打旺外,其他5种植被根际有效Fe含量均略高于非根际.沙打旺、柳枝稷、茵陈蒿和阿尔泰狗娃花表现出强烈的有效Zn根际富集现象.根际与非根际土壤有机碳、全氮与有效Mn、有效Zn,以及有效Mn与有效Zn呈极显著正相关.根际土壤pH值与有效Mn和有效Zn呈显著负相关.由于不同植物根系的生长特征、根际pH值及微生物种类等的差异,不同植被根际的微量元素含量不同,茵陈蒿根际4种微量元素含量高于其他植被.     

腾格里沙漠沙坡头地区人工植被蒸散耗水与水量平衡的研究

运用大型称重式电子蒸散系统研究沙坡头地区人工植被蒸散耗水量与水分平衡,结果表明∶固沙造林初期,年平均降水量１８６．６ ｍ ｍ 能够满足植物正常生长需要,是保证植物固沙成功的基本条件． 正常降水年份,植物（密度为７５ 株／１００ ｍ ２）蒸散耗水量大于降水量． 油蒿（Ａｒｔｅｍ ｉｓｉａ ｏｒｄｏｓｉｃａ Ｋｒａｓｃｈｅｎ．）和柠条（Ｃａｒａｇａｎａ ｋｏｒｓｈｉｎｓｋｉｉＫｏｍ ．）的蒸散量分别占同期降水量的１３６．６％ 和１３１．１％ ,两种植物的蒸腾量分别占其蒸散量的４５．６％ 和４３．４％ ． 在１００～２００ ｍ ｍ 降水范围内,沙地物理蒸发量与降水量的比值随降水量的减少而增大;降水量１００ｍ ｍ 时,是人工固沙植被所需降水的最低下限． 降水的时空分布和地表结皮的形成对人工植被水分平衡与水分利用产生较大的影响     

黄土丘陵区坡面植被盖度及其配置格局的水蚀效应模拟

黄土高原因土壤侵蚀严重被视为生态脆弱地带,探讨植被盖度及其所处坡位对土壤侵蚀的响应,对坡面侵蚀产沙的预测和调控具有重要意义。基于WEPP模型情景模拟,分析了分布广泛、耐旱性强的长芒草和典型恢复灌木植被柠条在不同雨强(0.5、1.0、1.5 mm/min)、不同植被盖度(20%、40%、60%、80%)和不同坡位(坡上、坡中、坡下)条件下的土壤侵蚀变化情况,运用双因素方差分析和相关贡献指数阐明坡面侵蚀产沙特征对坡位和植被盖度交互作用的响应,并提出植被配置的优化模式。结果表明:(1)提高植被有效覆盖度是减小土壤侵蚀的重要举措,且当植被分布在下坡位时坡面土壤侵蚀最少;(2)植被盖度可以有效减少产沙量。小雨强时,柠条和长芒草随盖度增加对泥沙的拦截率分别从38%增加到90%,64%增加到96%;中、大雨强时,植被盖度小于20%或者大于80%时,长芒草坡面产沙量大于柠条坡面。盖度为40%—60%时,长芒草坡面产沙量小于柠条坡面;(3)双因素方差分析表明:坡位和植被盖度对坡面侵蚀产沙量有极显著的影响(P0.001);当植被是长芒草时,坡位和植被盖度交互作用对坡面侵蚀产沙有显著影响(P0.01),植被是柠条时,坡位和植被盖度交互作用对坡面侵蚀产沙作用不显著;(4)通过模拟柠条和长芒草不同配置情景得出:长芒草分布在坡面下部产沙量较小,且当柠条和长芒草配比为1∶2时产沙量最小。     

灌丛化的蒸散耗水效应数值模拟研究——以内蒙古灌丛化草原为例

灌丛化是干旱半干旱草原一种常见的全球性变化现象,由于野外土壤、灌丛和草本的蒸散耗水难于拆分的限制,关于灌丛化蒸散耗水效应的研究较少。该文将已有的二源模型应用于我国内蒙古灌丛化草原估算其蒸散发,并用波文比系统观测结果对模型进行了率定。研究结果表明改进的模型可以较好地重建灌丛化草地的蒸散发特征;敏感性分析结果表明模型输入变量及参数对蒸散发组分拆分结果产生的误差较小。在此基础上进行了灌丛化的情景模拟,研究其耗水效应。结果表明:灌丛化对蒸散发总量影响较小,而对蒸散发组分影响较大。灌丛化初期盖度5%、中期盖度15%及后期盖度为30%的情境下,对应的生长季内蒸散发(ET)平均值分别为182.97、180.38和176.72 W·m~(–2);土壤蒸发(E)占蒸散发比率(E/ET)平均值分别为52.9%、53.9%和55.5%。灌丛化从初期到中期、中期至后期,蒸散发降幅平均值分别为0.34%和0.44%,E/ET升幅分别达2.04%及3.25%。该研究结果表明在内蒙古太仆寺旗站点灌丛化导致的土壤水分差异并不明显,但随着灌丛化加剧,灌丛逐渐替代草本,改变了原有的生态系统结构,植被叶面积指数变小,导致冠层导度降低。研究结果强调我国半干旱草原区灌丛化加剧对生态系统总蒸散耗水量影响不大,但其土壤蒸发无效损耗快速增加会导致系统水分利用效率降低。     

华北低丘山地人工林蒸散的季节变化及环境影响要素

蒸散（ET）是生态系统水分平衡和能量平衡的重要组分,中国人工林对区域水分循环及平衡发挥着重要作用。本文基于2007—2008年涡度相关观测资料,分析了华北低丘山地近30年生栓皮栎-刺槐-侧柏人工林生态系统蒸散的变化特征及其环境影响要素。结果表明,2007—2008年实验区气候较常年偏暖、偏旱。ET表现出单峰季节变化特征,秋冬季节较低,春夏季节（4—9月）蒸散旺盛。全年最高值出现在每年5月份,日峰值出现于午后13时左右。2007—2008年平均蒸散量为546.1 mm,降水量为354.1 mm,夏季（7—8月）和冬季（12—1月）的日蒸散量分别为2.19 mm/d和0.44 mm/d。温度是驱动ET季节变化的主要环境因子,饱和差也是影响蒸散季节变化的重要环境要素。土壤含水量对ET季节变化的影响并不显著,有近1/3日数的土壤含水量为0.16—0.18 m3/m3,期间日蒸散量平均值为1.0 mm/d。年蒸散量均高于降水量,蒸散量高于降水量的部分来自深层土壤水分的供给。     

三江源区退化高寒草甸蒸散特征及冻融变化对其的影响

蒸散(ET)是陆地生态系统水分收支的重要分量。为探究三江源区退化高寒草甸的蒸散特征,基于2016和2017年涡度相关和微气象系统的观测数据,定量研究了其生态系统的蒸散变化及其环境和生物因子的影响。为深入探讨不同时段的蒸散变化,根据土壤冻融状态和植被生长状况进一步将年蒸散划分为3个时段:冻结期、冻融交替期和消融期,其中在消融期中又划分出植物生长季(5—9月),并探讨了土壤冻融对年蒸散量的影响。结果表明:研究区2016和2017年的降水量分别为451.8 mm和442.3 mm,但2017年ET为485.6 mm,明显高于2016年的428.6 mm,两年ET的季节变化趋势相同,ET的最高值出现在生长旺季的7—8月,最低值出现在12月或1月,生长季ET分别占全年ET的73%和72%。2017年的冻结期和冻融交替期比2016年分别减少了8 d,2017年消融期的蒸散量比2016年增加了63.1 mm,其中生长季的蒸散量多36.3 mm。2016和2017年消融期的日蒸散速率分别为1.81 mm/d和1.97 mm/d,其中生长季为2.05 mm/d和2.29 mm/d,冻融交替期分别为0.97 mm/d和0.73 mm/d,而冻结期最低,分别为0.27 mm/d和0.33 mm/d。逐步回归分析结果表明:2016年净辐射(R_n)对ET的影响最大,其次是气温(T_a)和土壤含水量(SWC_5);2017年ET主要受R_n和T_a的影响。生长季和消融期的冠层导度(g_c)和解耦系数(Ω)明显高于其他两个时段,且2017年g_c和Ω值均高于2016年同期。本研究说明,由于辐射、温度等引起的冻融时间变化和植被的年际间差异,导致三江源区退化草甸各时段及年蒸散量出现明显的变化,该研究结果为全面探讨三江源区蒸散特征提供了参考。     

荒漠草原区柠条人工固沙林生长过程中地表植被-土壤的变化

研究荒漠草原区柠条人工林生长过程中土壤-植被系统演变特征,对于揭示柠条人工固沙林对沙化草地生态系统恢复产生的生态效应具有重要的科学意义.以6、15、24和36年生柠条人工林为对象,通过调查每个样地的土壤性质和地表植被特征,分析了荒漠草原区柠条人工林生长过程中土壤-地表植被的变化.结果表明:随着柠条人工林的发育,柠条的冠幅、树高、分枝数和基径极显著增加,土壤粗沙粒和细沙粒含量显著降低,极细沙和粘粉粒含量显著增加,土壤有机碳、全N和全P含量呈现线性增加,而土壤pH值则显著下降;地表植被物种数和密度显著增加,地表植被盖度和高度均表现为24年生＞15年生＞6年生＞36年生林地,相关分析表明,土壤质地、容重、土壤养分与pH值是影响柠条林地地表植被物种数、个体数和盖度分布的主要因素.在荒漠草原区,柠条人工固沙林发育过程有利于土壤条件改善和地表植被恢复,促进沙化草地生态系统的恢复.     

渗漏型蒸渗仪对梭梭和柠条蒸腾蒸发的研究

利用非称量蒸渗仪对梭梭、柠条的蒸散进行了研究,结果表明：3年生的梭梭的单株蒸散量是515．3mm,3年生柠条的单株蒸散量是499．1mm。供水量和蒸散量之间存在着一定的正相关关系。3年生和2年生梭梭的单株平均蒸腾量分别是105．8mm和202.77mm;3年生和2年生柠条的单株平均蒸腾量分别为120．67mm和128．72mm。在3种供水条件下,柠条的蒸腾量都是梭梭的81％左右。在水分充足的情况下,梭梭和柠条的蒸腾量呈单峰曲线;在土壤水分亏缺的情况下,它们的蒸腾量呈双峰曲线。在干旱胁迫情况下,柠条和梭梭的蒸腾量与土壤含水率之间存在着极显著的线性关系,它们分别是:ET＝－33．29＋3217.93x（r＝0.8643）和ET＝－35．63＋1674．42x（r＝0．8273）。全年的沙面蒸发量是104.6mm-131．6mm,6－9月份的沙面蒸发量占全年沙面蒸发量的76．84％。沙面蒸发呈明显的双峰曲线。在供水条件下,沙面蒸发量随供水量的增加而增大。在无供水条件下,降水量的90．88％用于蒸发,9．12％保留于土壤中。对3年3个不同供水量蒸渗仅实测值进行多因子回归分析,得出沙面蒸发量与环境因子的关系：Ee＝－42．5131＋730．2497x1＋0．7422x2＋0．5494x3．其中Ee为月蒸发量,x1为0—40cm沙层月均含水率,x2为月均日辐射强度,x3为某月日平     

Study on Water Balance and Evapotranspiration of Artificial Vegetation in Shapotou Area,Tenger Desert

Precipitation, the only water resource available for plants, is the main limited factor to plant growth in Shapotou area. After the vegetation protective system is built, the proportion between various components of water balance changes and exerts a great influence on growth and succession of artificial vegetation. By calculation on the basis of water balance using weighing electronic lysimeters, the results showed that the average precipitation (186.6 mm) met the need of plant growth in the earlier stage of sand control. The evapotranspiration of desert plants, of which the density is 75 in 100 m2 area of the ground, was much more than the annual' average precipitation. The ratio of evapotranspiration of Artemisia ordosica Kraschen. and Caragana korshinskii Kom. to precipitation was 136.6% and 131.1 % respectively. The ratio of soil evaporation in the water equilibrium rose as the precipitation decreased in the range of 100 ～ 200 mm. However when precipitation was around 100 mm, which was the lowest limit of precipitation available for artificial vegetation, water was almost solely dependant on the soil ineffective evaporation. The effects of precipitation distribution in time and space and formation of biocrust on the soil surface on water balance and water use in artificial vegetation were highly appraised.     

基于Penman-Monteith-Leuning遥感模型的西南喀斯特区域蒸散发估算

西南喀斯特地区地形起伏大、土壤保水持水性差、生态环境脆弱.准确估算区域尺度蒸散发对研究喀斯特地区植被恢复、水资源管理等具有重要意义.本文以桂西北喀斯特植被恢复区为例,基于野外实测气象和蒸散发数据,采用最小二乘法对Penman-Monteith-Leuning(PML)模型中气孔导度土壤湿度指数进行参数优化,并结合MOD15A2叶面积指数进行空间外推,实现了区域尺度上长时序蒸散发的估算.结果表明: 研究区蒸散发模拟值与实测值有较好的一致性,模型确定系数、纳什系数和均方根误差分别为0.85、0.75和1.56 mm·d^-1.蒸散发表现出季节变化特征,并与植被生长季物候特征一致,夏季蒸散量达到峰值.研究区年蒸散量在534～1035 mm,陆面蒸散发的空间分布呈现差异性,受降水的空间分布影响较大.年蒸散发可能不仅受到降水因素的影响,还与人类活动和土地利用类型有关.     

Ecosystem Evapotranspiration as a Response to Climate and Vegetation Coverage Changes in Northwest Yunnan,China

Climate and human-driven changes play an important role in regional droughts. Northwest Yunnan Province is a key region for biodiversity conservation in China, and it has experienced severe droughts since the beginning of this century; however, the extent of the contributions from climate and human-driven changes remains unclear. We calculated the ecosystem evapotranspiration (ET) and water yield (WY) of northwest Yunnan Province, China from 2001 to 2013 using meteorological and remote sensing observation data and a Surface Energy Balance System (SEBS) model. Multivariate regression analyses were used to differentiate the contribution of climate and vegetation coverage to ET. The results showed that the annual average vegetation coverage significantly increased over time with a mean of 0.69 in spite of the precipitation fluctuation. Afforestation/reforestation and other management efforts attributed to vegetation coverage increase in NW Yunnan. Both ET and WY considerably fluctuated with the climate factors, which ranged from 623.29 mm to 893.8 mm and –51.88 mm to 384.40 mm over the time period. Spatially, ET in the southeast of NW Yunnan (mainly in Lijiang) increased significantly, which was in line with the spatial trend of vegetation coverage. Multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that climatic factors accounted for 85.18% of the ET variation, while vegetation coverage explained 14.82%. On the other hand, precipitation accounted for 67.5% of the WY. We conclude that the continuous droughts in northwest Yunnan were primarily climatically driven; however, man-made land cover and vegetation changes also increased the vulnerability of local populations to drought. Because of the high proportion of the water yield consumed for subsistence and poor infrastructure for water management, local populations have been highly vulnerable to climate drought conditions. We suggest that conservation of native vegetation and development of water-conserving agricultural practices should be implemented as adaptive strategies to mitigate climate change.     

宁夏沙坡头地区人工固沙植被种间水分竞争的初步研究

本文通过研究沙坡头地区人工固沙植被中油蒿和柠条对环境资源利用（包括时间,空间和水资源）所表现出的不同生长状况和生理生态特性,阐明了环境条件的动态变化,尤其是沙地表面结皮的形成、降水入渗浅层化对固沙植物水分利用与竞争的重要影响,结果表明,油蒿以其较强蒸腾耗水能力和根系的浅层密集分布,在与柠条的水分竞争中占据优势,能够更好地利用作为唯一水分来源的降水补给。     

内蒙古温带草原区植被盖度变化及其与气象因子的关系

利用1982-1999年内蒙古地区NOAA/AVHRR的NDVI数字遥感影像,对内蒙古温带草原区植被盖度进行了反演,探讨了近20a来温带草原植被盖度的变化情况,并对植被盖度与不同组合方式的降水及气温数据进行了相关分析,探讨了植被盖度与气象因子的关系。结果表明:①近20a来温带草原植被盖度呈上升趋势,占总面积72%的草原植被盖度发生了增长,3种不同草原类型中典型草原盖度上升趋势最为明显;②温带草原生长季平均盖度、逐月盖度与降水成正相关关系,与气温呈负相关关系,其中降水对盖度的影响存在着时滞及累积效应;③3种草原类型植被盖度对气象因子的敏感性不同,荒漠草原植被盖度与气温和降水相关性最强,其次为典型草原与草甸草原。     

黑河流域植被水分利用效率时空分异及其对降水和气温的响应

植被水分利用效率(WUE)是衡量植被生态系统碳水耦合关系的重要指标,研究其时空分异特征对区域水资源合理利用及配置有重要意义。基于改进的光能利用率模型CASA,模拟估算了黑河流域2000—2013年植被净初级生产力(NPP),结合ETWatch模型估算的黑河流域2000—2013年蒸散数据ET,进一步估算了黑河流域植被水分利用效率WUE。分析了黑河流域NPP、ET和WUE空间格局和时间变化特征,探讨了WUE变化对降水和气温的相关性。结果表明:1)黑河流域空间上植被NPP在2000—2013年多年平均值为81.05 gC m~(-2) a~(-1),ET平均值为133.38 mm,植被WUE平均值为0.448 gC mm~(-1) m~(-2)。植被NPP、ET与WUE的空间格局基本上类似,均呈现出自上游至下游逐渐减少的分布格局。2)黑河流域2000—2013年间植被平均NPP与平均WUE均呈现显著上升趋势(P0.05),而ET平均值变化不显著。WUE年际变化斜率与其平均值在空间分布上存在一定的对应关系,空间上植被WUE的高值区同时是其呈增长趋势的主要区域,植被WUE平均值较低的区域其年际变化也趋于稳定。3)不同植被类型的WUE差异较为显著,植被自身受环境影响形成的生理生态参数是其WUE差异的主要原因,不同植被类型WUE平均值关系为:灌丛草地森林农田沼泽荒漠。中游绿洲区栽培植被平均WUE仅为0.90 gC mm~(-1) m~(-2),因此应当重视提高其对水资源的利用效率。4)整体上黑河流域植被WUE年际变化主要受降水的影响,植被WUE与降水呈负相关的区域主要分布在中游绿洲灌溉区,表明人为活动干扰会削弱气候因素对植被WUE的影响。     

荒漠草原人工灌丛化对蒸散发及其组分的影响——以盐池县为例

我国西北防沙治沙工程中大量的种植中间锦鸡儿(Caragana intermedia)会导致荒漠草原发生灌丛化现象,研究人工灌丛化对荒漠草原蒸散发的影响,不仅能够揭示半干旱区人为活动对生态系统水循环的影响机理,还可以指导区域生态治理实践。以宁夏盐池县荒漠草原为例,基于植被的生理生态参数和荒漠草原水热条件,采用生物地球化学模型(Biome Bio-Geochemical Cycles,Biome-BGC)和地球呼吸系统模拟模型(Breathing Earth System Simulator,BESS)结合的方法,模拟荒漠草原生态系统人工灌丛引入前后蒸散发及其组分的变化,定量研究荒漠草原人工灌丛化对区域生态水文循环中蒸散发的影响。结果表明,人工灌丛的引入使植被结构及特征发生了变化,叶面积指数(Leaf Area Index,LAI)年最大值由0.20增加为0.67,改变了植被年内与年际变化特征。荒漠草原人工灌丛化后,生态系统年均蒸散发由251.74 mm增加到了281.42 mm;人工灌丛化对生长季的蒸散发增强明显,8月蒸散发峰值时,日均蒸散发由1.27 mm/d增加到1.56 mm/d。灌丛化过程使生态系统蒸腾量平均增加了1.35倍,蒸发量增加了1.06倍,改变了生态系统蒸散发的组分结构,导致蒸发比例降低、蒸腾比例增高。由此可知,荒漠草原在防沙治沙和生态治理中大量种植灌木的现象,加大了区域生态系统的蒸散发,并改变了水分耗散结构,从而对生态系统地气水汽交换有较大影响,研究结论对荒漠草原生态治理及未来的植被重建有一定的借鉴意义。     

Development of plant communities after restoration of the Antaibao mining site,China

To investigate the dynamic changes in the artificial vegetation in an abandoned mining site,we analyzed the relationships among community types,environmental variables and community structure in the process of vegetation restoration in the Antaibao mining site,China by survey of the communities and use of biological dating methods.By means of the quantitative classification method (two-way indicator-species analysis,TWINSPAN) and the ordination technique (de-trended correspondence analysis,DCA; and de-trended canonical correspondence analysis,DCCA),the plant communities were classified into seven groups:community Ⅰ,Robinia pseudoacacia + Pinus tabulaeformis-Caragana korshinskii-Agropyron cristatum; community Ⅱ,Robinia pseudoacacia-Hippophae rhamnoides-Artemisia capillaries; community Ⅲ,Ulmus pumila-Elaeagnus angustifolia-Artemisia capillaries;community Ⅳ,Caragana korshinskii-Agropyron cristatum+Artemisia capillaries;community Ⅴ,Hippophae rhamnoides-Elymus dahuricus;cornrnunity Ⅵ,Elaeagnus angustifolia+Hippophae rhamnoides-Brassica jucea;community Ⅶ,Hippophae rhamnoides+Elaeagnus angustifolia-Salsola collina.We conclude that the community types and diversity are mainly influenced by the succession time and the soil organic matter content.The forest community is more adaptable to the special inhabitation than the shrub community.     

Intraseasonal Variation in Water and Carbon Dioxide Flux Components in a Semiarid Riparian Woodland

Abstract We investigated how the distribution of precipitation over a growing season influences the coupling of carbon and water cycle components in a semiarid floodplain woodland dominated by the deep-rooted velvet mesquite (Prosopis velutina). Gross ecosystem production (GEP) and ecosystem respiration (R _eco) were frequently uncoupled because of their different sensitivities to growing season rainfall. Soon after the first monsoon rains, R _eco was high and was not proportional to slight increases in GEP. During the wettest month of the growing season (July), the system experienced a net carbon loss equivalent to 46% of the carbon accumulated over the 6-month study period (114 g C m⁻²; May–October). It appears that a large CO₂ efflux and a rapid water loss following precipitation early in the growing season and a later CO₂ gain is a defining characteristic of seasonally dry ecosystems. The relative contribution of plant transpiration (T) to total evapotranspiration (ET) (T/ET) was 0.90 for the entire growing season, with T/ET reaching a value of 1 during dry conditions and dropping to as low as 0.65 when the soil surface was wet. The evaporation fraction (E) was equivalent to 31% of the precipitation received during the study period (253 mm) whereas trees and understory vegetation transpired 38 and 31%, respectively, of this water source. The water-use efficiency of the vegetation (GEP/T) was higher later in the growing season when the C4 grassy understory was fully developed. The influence of rain on net ecosystem production (NEP) can be interpreted as the proportion of precipitation that is transpired by the plant community; the water-use efficiency of the vegetation and the precipitation fraction that is lost by evaporation.     

Evaluation of Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. evapotranspiration in Northern and Southern Italy

The design, operation, pollutant removal as well as hydraulic modeling of wetland systems for wastewater treatment can be improved by better understanding and simulating the evapotranspiration process. To this purpose, two experiments were carried out in Northern (Veneto region) and Southern (Sicily region) Italy to measure evapotranspiration (ET) and determine the crop coefficient of Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. using the FAO 56 approach. The experimental set-up consisted of a combination of vegetated and unvegetated plastic tanks (Veneto) or pilot sub-surface flow beds (Sicily). The ET values were obtained by measuring the amount of water needed to restore the initial volume in the tanks and in the beds after a certain period. All the needed climatic variables were measured and taken into account in the ET measurements. In the two experimental sites cumulative reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) was similar to the cumulative ET measured in the control tanks and beds (without vegetation, ET_con), while ET measured for P. australis (ET_phr) was significantly higher, underlining the strong effect of vegetation. From June 2009 to September 2009 the cumulative ET₀, ET_con and ET_phr in Veneto were 455, 424 and 3048 mm, in Sicily 653, 556 and 3899 mm, respectively. The plant coefficient trend of P. australis (K_p) estimated in Veneto was similar to that in Sicily, suggesting that the role of the plant in dispersing water is similar under different environmental conditions. Additional measurements made in the Veneto plant showed that K_p assumes different patterns and values in relation to plant age and growth stage. These results highlight the importance of the plants in regulating water losses from a wetland system, above all from small-scale constructed wetlands where the effect of the advection in ET rates is evident.