Fine root growth dynamics of four Mojave Desert shrubs as related to soil moisture and microsite
نویسندگان
چکیده
Water is generally considered to be the major limiting factor for perennial shrub growth in the Mojave Desert, USA. However, the responses of active fine roots to soil moisture and microsite differed among Ambrosia dumosa, Ephedra nevadensis, Larrea tridentata, and Lycium pallidum, suggesting differences in root foraging strategies. Ambrosia and Ephedra had a positive linear relationship between active fine root lengths and soil moisture and more roots under the canopy, whereas Larrea had a negative linear relationship and more roots in the interspace. Lycium did not show a significant root/water relationship or significant differences between canopy and interspace microsites. r 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
منابع مشابه
Effects of elevated CO2 on fine root dynamics in a Mojave Desert community: a FACE study
Fine roots ( 1 mm diameter) are critical in plant water and nutrient absorption, and it is important to understand how rising atmospheric CO2 will affect them as part of terrestrial ecosystem responses to global change. This study’s objective was to determine the effects of elevated CO2 on production, mortality, and standing crops of fine root length over 2 years in a free-air CO2 enrichment (F...
متن کاملSoil moisture extraction by evergreen and drought-deciduous shrubs in the Mojave Desert during wet and dry years
Annual and seasonal evapo-transpiration (ET) were compared among Mojave Desert shrubs with different leaf phenologies over a 3-year period during which annual precipitation varied from well below average to more than twice average. During the wet year, soil wetting fronts reached maximum depths of 0)75 m to '1)95 m, depending on soil texture at the study sites. The evergreen shrubs Larrea tride...
متن کاملShrub encroachment alters sensitivity of soil respiration to temperature and moisture
[1] A greater abundance of shrubs in semiarid grasslands affects the spatial patterns of soil temperature, moisture, and litter, resulting in fertile islands with potentially enhanced soil metabolic activity. The goal of this study was to quantify the microsite specificity of soil respiration in a semiarid riparian ecosystem experiencing shrub encroachment. We quantified the response of soil re...
متن کاملInvestigation of Vegetation Dynamics and Range Conditions in Central Desert of Iran (Case Study: Haftooman, Khoor and Biabanak)
Abstract. The purpose of this study was to investigate vegetation dynamics and range conditions considering the climatic conditions and soil properties in Haftooman, Khoor and Biabanak deserts, Iran. For this purpose, after determining vegetation types and the associated species, the type of rangeland utilization, grazing season, the livestock type, the other relevant information, vegetation da...
متن کاملSurface control of desert pavement pedologic process and landscape function, Cima Volcanic field, Mojave Desert, California
Desert pavement is a distinctive feature widespread across arid lands of the world. It plays a dynamic role in geomorphic, hydrologic, and ecologic processes. Where desert pavement predominates, infiltration is limited and rainfall is delivered as runoff to nearby bare ground areas where shrubs cluster. Desert pavement surfaces may appear monotonously flat and barren, but we have found, instead...
متن کامل