A multi-scale approach to assess the effect of groundwater extraction on Prosopis tamarugo in the Atacama Desert

Autor: Paul Copini, Ute Sass-Klaassen, Roberto O. Chávez, Mathieu Decuyper
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
0106 biological sciences
Canopy
Dendrochronology
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
NDVI
Bos- en Landschapsecologie
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
Laboratory of Geo-information Science and Remote Sensing
Forest and Landscape Ecology
Bosecologie en Bosbeheer
Laboratorium voor Geo-informatiekunde en Remote Sensing
Ecosystem
Vegetatie
Ecology
Evolution
Behavior and Systematics

0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Earth-Surface Processes
Hydrology
Vegetation
Drought
Ecology
biology
Groundwater depletion
Remote sensing
PE&RC
biology.organism_classification
Multi-scale approach
Arid
Forest Ecology and Forest Management
Prosopis tamarugo
Overexploitation
Environmental science
Vegetatie
Bos- en Landschapsecologie

Vegetation
Forest and Landscape Ecology

Groundwater
Zdroj: Journal of Arid Environments 131 (2016)
Journal of Arid Environments, 131, 25-34
ISSN: 0140-1963
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2016.03.014
Popis: Groundwater-dependent ecosystems occur in arid and semi-arid areas worldwide and are sensitive to changes in groundwater availability. Prosopis tamarugo Phil, endemic to the Atacama Desert, is threatened by groundwater overexploitation due to mining and urban consumption. The effect of groundwater depletion on two representative sites (low -and high-depletion) was studied using a multi-scale approach, combining remote sensing based estimations of canopy growth and water condition, and tree-ring based analysis of stem growth. On the stand level two NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) -derived parameters: NDVI in winter and the difference between NDVI in summer and winter showed significant negative trends in the high-depletion site, indicating drought stress. Radial stem growth of viable P. tamarugo trees was 48% lower in the high-depletion site. At the tree level, the Green Canopy Fraction (GCF) also indicated drought stress since a larger percentage of trees fell within lower GCF classes. Groundwater depletion of 3 m, reaching a groundwater depth of >10 m, increased drought stress, and led to reduced growth in viable trees. Viable trees may be able to adapt to the drop in groundwater levels by increasing root growth, whereas for non-viable trees, the effects might be detrimental. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Databáze: OpenAIRE