Plant transpiration and groundwater dynamics in water‐limited climates: Impacts of hydraulic redistribution
Abstract
Abstract The role of groundwater in sustaining plant transpiration constitutes an important but not well‐understood aspect of the interactions between groundwater, vegetation, the land surface, and the atmosphere. The effect of the hydraulic redistribution (HR) process by plant roots on the interplay between plant transpiration and groundwater dynamics under water‐limited climates is investigated by using the Variable Infiltration Capacity Plus (VIC+) land surface model. Numerical experiments, with or without explicitly considering HR, are conducted on soil columns over a range of groundwater table depths (GWTDs) under different vegetative land covers, soil types, and precipitation conditions. When HR is not included, this study obtains transpiration–GWTD relationships consistent with those from watershed studies that do not include HR. When HR is included, the transpiration–GWTD relationships are modified. The modification introduced by HR is manifested in the soil moisture of the root zone. The mechanism of HR is explained by detailing the roles of the hydraulically redistributed water, the upward diffusion of soil water, and the daytime root uptake. We have found that HR is particularly important in water‐limited climates under which plants have high transpiration demand. At the beginning stage of a dry period, HR modulates the severe impacts that climate hasmore »
- Authors:
-
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA, Now at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland Washington USA
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA
- Publication Date:
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1402276
- Grant/Contract Number:
- DEFG0208ER64586
- Resource Type:
- Publisher's Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Water Resources Research
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Water Resources Research Journal Volume: 52 Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 0043-1397
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Citation Formats
Luo, Xiangyu, Liang, Xu, and Lin, Jeen‐Shang. Plant transpiration and groundwater dynamics in water‐limited climates: Impacts of hydraulic redistribution. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web. doi:10.1002/2015WR017316.
Luo, Xiangyu, Liang, Xu, & Lin, Jeen‐Shang. Plant transpiration and groundwater dynamics in water‐limited climates: Impacts of hydraulic redistribution. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017316
Luo, Xiangyu, Liang, Xu, and Lin, Jeen‐Shang. Fri .
"Plant transpiration and groundwater dynamics in water‐limited climates: Impacts of hydraulic redistribution". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017316.
@article{osti_1402276,
title = {Plant transpiration and groundwater dynamics in water‐limited climates: Impacts of hydraulic redistribution},
author = {Luo, Xiangyu and Liang, Xu and Lin, Jeen‐Shang},
abstractNote = {Abstract The role of groundwater in sustaining plant transpiration constitutes an important but not well‐understood aspect of the interactions between groundwater, vegetation, the land surface, and the atmosphere. The effect of the hydraulic redistribution (HR) process by plant roots on the interplay between plant transpiration and groundwater dynamics under water‐limited climates is investigated by using the Variable Infiltration Capacity Plus (VIC+) land surface model. Numerical experiments, with or without explicitly considering HR, are conducted on soil columns over a range of groundwater table depths (GWTDs) under different vegetative land covers, soil types, and precipitation conditions. When HR is not included, this study obtains transpiration–GWTD relationships consistent with those from watershed studies that do not include HR. When HR is included, the transpiration–GWTD relationships are modified. The modification introduced by HR is manifested in the soil moisture of the root zone. The mechanism of HR is explained by detailing the roles of the hydraulically redistributed water, the upward diffusion of soil water, and the daytime root uptake. We have found that HR is particularly important in water‐limited climates under which plants have high transpiration demand. At the beginning stage of a dry period, HR modulates the severe impacts that climate has on plant transpiration. Only after a prolonged dry period, impacts of HR are lessened when the groundwater table drops below the depth of water uptake by roots and are diminished when plant transpiration is decoupled from groundwater dynamics.},
doi = {10.1002/2015WR017316},
journal = {Water Resources Research},
number = 6,
volume = 52,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Fri Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}
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