NDLI: Spatial and temporal variation of soil moisture in dependence of multiple environmental parameters in semi-arid grasslands

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Schneider, Katrin Leopold, Ulrich Gerschlauer, Friederike Barthold, Frauke Giese, Marcus Steffens, Markus Hoffmann, Carsten Frede, Hans Georg Breuer, Lutz
Copyright Year	2011
Abstract	Grazing of grasslands changes soil physical and chemical properties as well as vegetation characteristics, such as vegetation cover, species composition and biomass production. In consequence, nutrient allocation and water storage in the top soil are affected. Land use and management changes alter these processes. Knowledge on the impacts of grazing management on nutrient and water fluxes is necessary because of the global importance of grasslands for carbon sequestration. Soil water in semi-arid areas is a limiting factor for matter fluxes and the intrinsic interaction between soil, vegetation and atmosphere. It is therefore desirable to understand the effects of grazing management and stocking rate on the spatial and temporal distribution of soil moisture. In the present study, we address the question how spatio-temporal soil moisture distribution on grazed and ungrazed grassland sites is affected by soil and vegetation properties. The study took place in the Xilin river catchment in Inner Mongolia (PR China). It is a semi-arid steppe environment, which is characterized by still moderate grazing compared to other regions in central Inner Mongolia. However, stocking rates have locally increased and resulted in a degradation of soils and vegetation also in the upper Xilin River basin. We used a multivariate geostatistical approach to reveal spatial dependencies between soil moisture distribution and soil or vegetation parameters. Overall, 7 soil and vegetation parameters (bulk density, sand, silt and clay content, mean weight diameter, mean carbon content of the soil, vegetation cover) and 57 soil moisture data sets were recorded on 100 gridded points on four sites subject to different grazing intensities. Increasing stocking rates accelerated the influence of soil and vegetation parameters on soil moisture. However, the correlation was rather weak, except for a site with high stocking rate where higher correlations were found. Low nugget ratios indicate spatial dependency between soil or plant parameters and soil moisture on a long-term ungrazed site. However, the effect was not found for a second ungrazed site that had been excluded from grazing for a shorter period. Furthermore the most important soil and vegetation parameters for predicting soil moisture distribution varied between different grazing intensities. Therefore, predicting soil moisture by using secondary variables requires a careful selection of the soil or vegetation parameters.
Starting Page	73
Ending Page	88
Page Count	16
File Format	PDF
ISSN	0032079X
Journal	Plant and Soil
Volume Number	340
Issue Number	1-2
e-ISSN	15735036
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2011-01-15
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Soil moisture Multivariate geostatistics Spatial dependency Grazing Grassland Plant Physiology Plant Sciences Soil Science & Conservation Ecology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Soil Science Plant Science

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Environmental gradients and community attributes underlying biodiversity patterns of semi-arid Mediterranean grasslands

Grazing effects on seasonal dynamics and interannual variabilities of spectral reflectance in semi-arid grassland in Inner Mongolia

The effect of fire intensity, nutrients, soil microbes, and spatial distance on grassland productivity

Temporal and spatial variation in how vegetation alters the soil moisture response to climate manipulation

Belowground net primary productivity and biomass allocation of a grassland in Inner Mongolia is affected by grazing intensity

Response of soil organic matter pools to elevated CO$_{2}$ and warming in a semi-arid grassland

Variation in small-scale spatial heterogeneity of soil properties and vegetation with different land use in semiarid grassland ecosystem

Effects of grazing on seasonal variation of aboveground biomass quality in calcareous grasslands

Spatial Variations of Soil Respiration in Arid Ecosystems

Spatial and temporal variation of soil moisture in dependence of multiple environmental parameters in semi-arid grasslands

Similar Documents

Environmental gradients and community attributes underlying biodiversity patterns of semi-arid Mediterranean grasslands

Grazing effects on seasonal dynamics and interannual variabilities of spectral reflectance in semi-arid grassland in Inner Mongolia

The effect of fire intensity, nutrients, soil microbes, and spatial distance on grassland productivity

Temporal and spatial variation in how vegetation alters the soil moisture response to climate manipulation

Belowground net primary productivity and biomass allocation of a grassland in Inner Mongolia is affected by grazing intensity

Response of soil organic matter pools to elevated CO$_{2}$ and warming in a semi-arid grassland

Variation in small-scale spatial heterogeneity of soil properties and vegetation with different land use in semiarid grassland ecosystem

Effects of grazing on seasonal variation of aboveground biomass quality in calcareous grasslands

Spatial Variations of Soil Respiration in Arid Ecosystems

Spatial and temporal variation of soil moisture in dependence of multiple environmental parameters in semi-arid grasslands