A multiple-trait analysis of ecohydrological acclimatisation in a dryland phreatophytic shrub

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

  • M. Trinidad Torres-García
  • María J. Salinas-Bonillo
  • Jamie R. Cleverly
  • Juan Gisbert
  • Manuel Pacheco-Romero
  • Javier Cabello

Water is the main limiting factor for groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) in drylands. Predicted climate change (precipitation reductions and temperature increases) and anthropogenic activities such as groundwater drawdown jeopardise the functioning of these ecosystems, presenting new challenges for their management. We developed a trait-based analysis to examine the spatiotemporal variability in the ecophysiology of Ziziphus lotus, a long-lived phreatophyte that dominates one of the few terrestrial GDEs of semiarid regions in Europe. We assessed morpho-functional traits and stem water potential along a naturally occurring gradient of depth-to-groundwater (DTGW, 2–25 m) in a coastal aquifer, and throughout the species-growing season. Increasing DTGW and salinity negatively affected photosynthetic and transpiration rates, increasing plant water stress (lower predawn and midday water potential), and positively affected Huber value (sapwood cross-sectional area per leaf area), reducing leaf area and likely, plant hydraulic demand. However, the species showed greater salt-tolerance at shallow depths. Despite groundwater characteristics, higher atmospheric evaporative demand in the study area, which occurred in summer, fostered higher transpiration rates and water stress, and promoted carbon assimilation and water loss more intensively at shallow water tables. This multiple-trait analysis allowed us to identify plant ecophysiological thresholds related to the increase in salinity, but mostly in DTGW (13 m), and in the evaporative demand during the growing season. These findings highlight the existence of tipping points in the functioning of a long-lived phreatophyte in drylands and can contribute to the sustainable management of GDEs in southern Europe, paving the way for further studies on phreatophytic species.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftOecologia
Jahrgang196
Ausgabenummer4
Seiten (von - bis)1179-1193
Anzahl der Seiten15
ISSN0029-8549
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 01.08.2021
Extern publiziertJa

Bibliographische Notiz

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).

DOI

Zuletzt angesehen

Publikationen

  1. Lean management in hospitals
  2. Artistic research and climate science
  3. The EU’s Civil Society from a Normative-Democratic Point of View
  4. "Echte Kerle lesen doch?!"
  5. Gute Aufgaben im Mathematikunterricht der Grundschule
  6. Expatriate success
  7. The principles of international space law and their relevance to space industry contracts
  8. Topthema des Alten Orients
  9. Digital technology and global mobility
  10. Berufsprofile in der IT-Beratung
  11. Wendy Hui Kyong Chun in Conversation with Adeline Koh
  12. European electricity sector decarbonization under different levels of foresight
  13. Gewerkschaften
  14. The role of attention in anticipated action effects.
  15. Training participation of a firm´s aging workforce
  16. Participation in environmental governance
  17. Elemente und Wandlungen der Mitgliedschaftsverfassung der EU – Beitritt, flexible Integration, Austritt, Ausschluss
  18. Gerd Hurm: Rewriting the Vernacular Mark Twain
  19. Burnout und chronischer beruflicher Stress
  20. LCA and post-hoc application of sustainability criteria
  21. Perspectives on new venture creation
  22. What does theology do, actually?
  23. Fate of airborne nitrogen in heathland ecosystems a - 15N tracer study
  24. Blitzlicht
  25. What You Sow Is What You Reap? (Dis-)Incentives for Adaptation Intentions in Farming
  26. § 62 Bußgeldvorschriften
  27. § 264d HGB
  28. Global Climate Protection
  29. Respondenz zum Beitrag von Monika Dommann "Reden wir über Geld! Aber wie? Und wozu?"
  30. § 117 Schadenersatzpflicht
  31. Biodiversity patterns and trophic interactions in human-dominated tropical landscapes in Sulawesi (Indonesia)
  32. Vom Normalstaat zum Ausnahmestaat
  33. Was und wo sind POPs ?
  34. Overcoming the crisis
  35. Article 77 CISG
  36. The politics of taxation in the European Union
  37. The rise and fall of GMOs in politics
  38. Wie WIR unsere Welt globalisieren
  39. Entrepreneurship and professional service firms
  40. The Quality of the KombiFiD-Sample of Business Services Enterprises
  41. Policy Change in Times of Politicization: The Case of Corporate Taxation in the European Union
  42. Strategischer Wandel in Dienstleistungsunternehmen