Controls on root zone storage capacity in boreal regions
| Autor: | Leo-Juhani Meriö, Tanja de Boer-Euser, Hannu Marttila |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Biomass (ecology)
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences 0208 environmental biotechnology 02 engineering and technology Vegetation Land cover Atmospheric sciences Snow 01 natural sciences 020801 environmental engineering Boreal Snowmelt Potential evaporation Environmental science DNS root zone 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
| DOI: | 10.5194/hess-2018-87 |
| Popis: | The root zone storage capacity (Sr) of the vegetation is an important parameter for the hydrological behaviour of a catchment. Often this Sr is derived from soil and vegetation data, but a new method uses climate data to estimate Sr under the assumption that vegetation adapts its root zone capacity to overcome dry periods. This method also enables to account for the temporal variability of Sr in case of changing climate or land cover. This study applies the new method in 64 catchments in Finland to investigate the controls on Sr in boreal regions. The relations were assessed between climate derived Sr-values and detailed vegetation characteristics (leaf cover, tree length, root biomass), climate variables (precipitation-potential evaporation rate, mean annual temperature, max snow water equivalent, snow-off date) and land cover types. The results show that especially the phase difference between snow-off date and onset of potential evaporation has a large influence on the derived Sr; results even indicate that (non-)coincidence of snow melt and potential evaporation can cause a division between catchments with a high and a low Sr-value. From this study, it can be concluded that the climate derived root zone storage capacity leads to plausible results in boreal areas and that besides from climate variables, catchment vegetation characteristics can also be directly linked to the derived Sr-values. As the climate derived Sr enables incorporating climatic and vegetation conditions in a hydrological parameter, it could be beneficial to assess the effects of changing climate and environmental conditions in boreal regions. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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