Water balance change for a re-vegetated xerophyte shrub area/Changement du bilan hydrique d’une zone replantée d’arbustes xérophiles

Abstract

Abstract Water balances for a re-vegetated xerophyte shrub (Caragana korshinskii) area were compared to that of a bare surface area by using auto-weighing type lysimeters during the 1990–1995 growing seasons at the southeast Tengger Desert, Shapotou, China. The six-year experiment displayed how major daily water balance components might vary for a bare and a re-vegetated sand dune area. Evapotranspiration from the C. korshinskii lysimeter represented a major part of the water balance. The average annual ET/P ratios varied between 69 and 142%. No seepage was observed for the vegetated lysimeter. For the bare lysimeter, on the other hand, 48 mm or 27% of observed rainfall per year occurred as seepage. These results suggest that re-vegetating large sandy areas with xerophytic shrubs could reduce soil water storage by transpiration. Also, the experimental results indicate that re-vegetating large sandy areas could significantly change groundwater recharge conditions. However, from a viewpoint of desert ecosystem reconstruction, it appears that natural rainfall can sustain xerophytic shrubs such as C. korshinskii which would reduce erosion loss of sand. However, re-vegetation has to be balanced with recharge/groundwater needs of local populations.     

Development of a continuous soil moisture accounting procedure for curve number methodology and its behaviour with different evapotranspiration methods

The curve number (CN) method is widely used for rainfall–runoff modelling in continuous hydrologic simulation models. A sound continuous soil moisture accounting procedure is necessary for models using the CN method. For shallow soils and soils with low storage, the existing methods have limitations in their ability to reproduce the observed runoff. Therefore, a simple one‐parameter model based on the Soil Conservation Society CN procedure is developed for use in continuous hydrologic simulation. The sensitivity of the model parameter to runoff predictions was also analysed. In addition, the behaviour of the procedure developed and the existing continuous soil moisture accounting procedure used in hydrologic models, in combination with Penman–Monteith and Hargreaves evapotranspiration (ET) methods was also analysed. The new CN methodology, its behaviour and the sensitivity of the depletion coefficient (model parameter) were tested in four United States Geological Survey defined eight‐digit watersheds in different water resources regions of the USA using the SWAT model. In addition to easy parameterization for calibration, the one‐parameter model developed performed adequately in predicting runoff. When tested for shallow soils, the parameter is found to be very sensitive to surface runoff and subsurface flow and less sensitive to ET. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of seasonal crop water consumption in a vineyard using Bowen ratio‐energy balance method

Information about seasonal crop water consumption is useful to develop the appropriate irrigation scheme. Measurements of energy balance components using the Bowen ratio method were made for a complete growing season at a vineyard in the arid region of northwest China. Vine in the experiment was furrow‐irrigated using a trellis system. The measured evapotranspiration was compared with estimates using the soil water balance method. It is shown that the Bowen ratio method provided accurate estimates of evapotranspiration from the vineyard and this requires that the Bowen ratio system is appropriately installed. The energy balance components showed typical diurnal pattern with peaks that occurred around the midday, except for the ground heat flux which delayed its peak by 2–3 h. The sensible heat flux was greater than the latent heat flux and followed the net radiation closely. The ratio of the latent heat flux to net radiation was low in the early growing season and increased over time. Under the limited irrigation experienced in the vineyard, the latent heat flux was controlled by available soil moisture and the total evapotranspiration in the growing season was 253 mm. The seasonal progression of the crop coefficient is similar to that reported in the literature, with the maximum occurring during the month of September. The crop coefficient can be estimated as a non‐linear function of day of year (DOY) and used to estimate evapotranspiration from vineyards in the region. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temporal trends of hydro‐climatic variables and runoff response to climatic variability and vegetation changes in the Yiluo River basin,China

The Yiluo River is the largest tributary for the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River below Sanmenxia Dam. Changes of the hydrological processes in the Yiluo River basin, influenced by the climatic variability and human activities, can directly affect ecological integrity in the lower reach of the Yellow River. Understanding the impact of the climatic variability and human activities on the hydrological processes in the Yiluo River basin is especially important to maintain the ecosystem integrity and sustain the society development in the lower reach of the Yellow River basin. In this study, the temporal trends of annual precipitation, air temperature, reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) and runoff during 1961–2000 in the Yiluo River basin were explored by the Mann‐Kendall method (M‐K method), Yamamoto method and linear fitted model. The impacts of the climatic variability and vegetation changes on the annual runoff were discussed by the empirical model and simple water balance model and their contribution to change of annual runoff have been estimated. Results indicated that (i) significant upwards trend for air temperature and significant downwards trend both for precipitation and ET₀ were detected by the M‐K method at 95% confidence level. And the consistent trends were obtained by the linear fitted model; (ii) the abrupt change started from 1987 detected by the M‐K method and Yamamoto method, and so the annual runoff during 1961–2000 was divided into two periods: baseline period (1961–1986) and changeable period (1987–2000); and (iii) the vegetation changes were the main cause for change of annual runoff from baseline period to changeable period, and climatic variability contributed a little to the change of annual runoff of the Yiluo River. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimating evapotranspiration from small watersheds using a water and energy balance approach

Meteorological and environmental data measured in semiarid watersheds during the summer monsoon and winter periods were used to study the interrelationships among flux, meteorological and soil water variables, and to evaluate the effects of these variables on the daily estimation of actual evapotranspiration (AET). The relationship between AET and potential evapotranspiration (PET) as a function of soil water content, as suggested by Thornthwaite–Mather and by Morton, was studied to determine its applicability to the study area. Furthermore, multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis was employed to evaluate the order of importance of the meteorological and soil water factors involved. The results of MLR analysis showed that the combined effects of available energy, soil water content and wind speed were responsible for more than 70% of the observed variations in AET during the summer monsoon period. The analyses also indicate that the combined effects of available energy, vapour pressure deficit and wind speed were responsible for more than 70% of the observed variations in AET during the winter period. However, the test results of two different approaches, using the relationships between AET and PET as a function of soil water content, indicated some inadequacy. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of potential evapotranspiration over the Yellow River basin: reference crop evaporation or Shuttleworth–Wallace?

Potential evapotranspiration (PET) is a key input to hydrological models. Its estimation has often been via the Penman–Monteith (P–M) equation, most recently in the form of an estimate of reference evapotranspiration (RET) as recommended by FAO‐56. In this paper the Shuttleworth–Wallace (S–W) model is implemented to estimate PET directly in a form that recognizes vegetation diversity and temporal change without reference to experimental measurements and without calibration. The threshold values of vegetation parameters are drawn from the literature based on the International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme land cover classification. The spatial and temporal variation of the LAI of vegetation is derived from the composite NOAA‐AVHRR normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) using a method based on the SiB2 model, and the Climate Research Unit database is used to provide the required meteorological data. All these data inputs are publicly and globally available. Consequently, the implementation of the S–W model developed in this study is applicable at the global scale, an essential requirement if it is to be applied in data‐poor or ungauged large basins. A comparison is made between the FAO‐56 method and the S–W model when applied to the Yellow River basin for the whole of the last century. The resulting estimates of RET and PET and their association with vegetation types and leaf area index (LAI) are examined over the whole basin both annual and monthly and at six specific points. The effect of NDVI on the PET estimate is further evaluated by replacing the monthly NDVI product with the 10‐day product. Multiple regression relationships between monthly PET, RET, LAI, and climatic variables are explored for categories of vegetation types. The estimated RET is a good climatic index that adequately reflects the temporal change and spatial distribution of climate over the basin, but the PET estimated using the S–W model not only reflects the changes in climate, but also the vegetation distribution and the development of vegetation in response to climate. Although good statistical relationships can be established between PET, RET and/or climatic variables, applying these relationships likely will result in large errors because of the strong non‐linearity and scatter between the PET and the LAI of vegetation. It is concluded that use of the implementation of the S–W model described in this study results in a physically sound estimate of PET that accounts for changing land surface conditions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatiotemporal variations of water use efficiency and its driving factors in Inner Mongolia from 2001 to 2020

Water use efficiency (WUE) is an important variable to explore coupled relationships in carbon and water cycles. In this study, we first compared the spatial variations of annual gross primary productivity (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET) using four GPP and ET products. Second, we selected the products closest to the flux towers data to estimate WUE. Finally, we quantitatively analyzed the impact of climate change and soil water content on WUE. The results showed that: (1) Four GPP and ET products provided good performance, with GOSIF-GPP and FLDAS-ET exhibiting a higher correlation and the smallest errors with the flux tower data. (2) The spatial pattern of WUE is consistent with that of GPP and ET, gradually decreasing from the northeast to the southwest. Higher WUE values appeared in the northeast forest ecosystem, and lower WUE values occurred in the western Gobi Desert, with a value of 0.28 gC m^?2 mm^?1. The GPP and ET products showed an increasing trend, while WUE showed a decreasing trend (55.15%) from 2001 to 2020. (3) The spatial relationship between WUE and driving factors reveal the variations in WUE of Inner Mongolia are mainly affected by soil moisture between 0 and 10 cm (SM0-10cm), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and precipitation, respectively. (4) In arid regions, VPD and precipitation exhibit a major influence on WUE. An increase in VPD and precipitation has a negative and positive effect on WUE, with threshold values of approximately 0.36 kPa and 426 mm, respectively. (5) In humid regions, SM0-10cm, VPD, SM10-40cm, and SM40-100cm exert a significant impact on WUE, especially SM0-10cm, and weakens with increasing soil depths, these differences may be related to physiological structure and living characteristics of vegetation types in different climate regimes. Our results emphasize the importance of VPD and soil moisture in regional variability in WUE.     

黑河实验(HEIFE)──对干旱地区陆面过程的一些新认识

综合介绍“黑河地区地气相互作用野外观测实验研究（ＨＥＩＦＥ）”的概况。系统分析干旱地区陆面过程的一些基本问题，它们是：（１）干旱地区地表面热量平衡的基本特征：干旱地区蒸发量很小，地表热量平衡中以感热为主．潜热可以忽略不计。（２）干旱地区陆面过程参数化问题：干旱地区能量和物质湍流输送的参数化必须考虑层结影响，否则将造成严重误差。（３）干旱地区一种特殊现象──绿洲与沙漠环境的相互作用：绿洲的“冷岛效应”和临近绿洲沙漠或戈壁的“逆湿现象”是这种相互作用的结果。这些研究结果将加深我们对干旱地区陆面过程的认识。     

Sensitivity of Potential Evapotranspiration Estimation to the Thornthwaite and Penman–Monteith Methods in the Study of Global Drylands

Drylands are among those regions most sensitive to climate and environmental changes and human-induced perturbations.The most widely accepted definition of the term dryland is a ratio,called the Surface Wetness Index(SWI),of annual precipitation to potential evapotranspiration(PET)being below 0.65.PET is commonly estimated using the Thornthwaite(PET Th)and Penman–Monteith equations(PET PM).The present study compared spatiotemporal characteristics of global drylands based on the SWI with PET Th and PET PM.Results showed vast differences between PET Th and PET PM;however,the SWI derived from the two kinds of PET showed broadly similar characteristics in the interdecadal variability of global and continental drylands,except in North America,with high correlation coefficients ranging from 0.58 to 0.89.It was found that,during 1901–2014,global hyper-arid and semi-arid regions expanded,arid and dry sub-humid regions contracted,and drylands underwent interdecadal fluctuation.This was because precipitation variations made major contributions,whereas PET changes contributed to a much lesser degree.However,distinct differences in the interdecadal variability of semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions were found.This indicated that the influence of PET changes was comparable to that of precipitation variations in the global dry–wet transition zone.Additionally,the contribution of PET changes to the variations in global and continental drylands gradually enhanced with global warming,and the Thornthwaite method was found to be increasingly less applicable under climate change.     

阿克苏河流域气候变化对潜在蒸散量影响分析

蒸散发是水文过程的关键环节,研究气候因子对潜在蒸散发的影响,有助于深入认识水文过程对气候变化的响应。本文基于阿克苏河流域1960-2007 年逐日气象资料和Penman-Monteith公式,估算并分析参考作物蒸散量(RET) 时空变化特征,并用多元回归方法定量区分气候因子变化对RET 变化的贡献率。研究发现流域RET 空间差异明显,东部平原区平均年RET 为1100mm左右,是西部山区的近2 倍;东南部绿洲区的RET显著减少,而西部变化复杂。RET变化趋势的季节差异也很显著,以夏季变幅最大,是年变化的主要贡献者。高海拔地区相对湿度对RET变化影响最大,其它区域的风速变化对RET变化的贡献率最高。库车和乌恰站的风速变化对RET变化的贡献率大于50%,是RET变化的主导因素。