Dependence of shrub canopy water storage on raindrop size in revegetated desert |
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| Authors: | Xin-ping Wang Hao Zhang Ya-feng Zhang Rui Hu Yan-xia Pan |
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| Institution: | 1. Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Chinaxpwang@lzb.ac.cn;3. Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China |
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| Abstract: | AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate canopy water storage (CWS) of the co-dominant shrubs in the revegetation of sand dunes in northwest China. Our results indicated that CWS differed among the xerophyte taxa studied. The average CWS increased exponentially with decreased raindrop size. The time course of CWS in terms of leaf area indicated that Artemisia ordosica attains its peak value of 0.48 mm within 170 min. The corresponding values for Caragana korshinskii and Hedysarum scoparium were 0.38 mm and 178 min, and 0.32 mm and 161 min, respectively, implying that A. ordosica had a higher CWS than C. korshinskii and H. scoparium. Dry biomass was a desirable predictor for estimation of CWS for C. korshinskii and H. scoparium, and shrub volume for A. ordosica. Our results show that the dependence of CWS on raindrop size varied in accordance with the shrub canopy structure. Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz |
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| Keywords: | canopy water storage raindrop size revegetation xerophytic shrub rainfall simulation |
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