Effect of rainfall interannual variability on the biomass and soil water distribution in a semiarid shrub community
LIU JunShan, XU Xia, ZHANG Yong, TIAN YuQiang & GAO Qiong*
State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Resources Science & Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Abstract:
The dynamics of biomass and soil moisture in semiarid land is driven by both the current rainfall and the ecosystem memory. Based on a meta-analysis of existing experiments, an ecosystem model was used to calculate the effect of the rainfall interan-nual variability on the pattern of biomass and soil moisture in a shrub community. It was found that rainfall interannual vari-ability enabled shrubs to be more competitive than grasses, and to maintain the dominant role over a longer time. The rainfall interannual variability resulted in complex soil moisture dynamics. The soil water recharge in wet years alternated with dis-charge in drought years.
Key Words: rainfall, shrub community, Artemisia ordosica, ecosystem model, ecohydrology
Published in Sci China Life Sci, 2010, 53: 729–737, doi: 10.1007/s11427-010-4014-4