How energy and water availability constrain vegetation water-use along the North Australian Tropical Transect

Zhuang, W; Cheng, L; Whitley, R; Shi, H; Beringer, J; Wang, Y; He, L; Cleverly, J; Eamus, D; Yu, Q

How energy and water availability constrain vegetation water-use along the North Australian Tropical Transect

Zhuang, W Cheng, L Whitley, R Shi, H Beringer, J Wang, Y He, L Cleverly, J

Eamus, D

Yu, Q

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: International Journal of Plant Production, 2016, 10 (3), pp. 403 - 424
Issue Date:: 2016-06-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Zhuang, W	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Cheng, L	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Whitley, R	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Shi, H	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Beringer, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Wang, Y	en_US
dc.contributor.author	He, L	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Cleverly, J https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2731-7150	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Eamus, D https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2765-8040	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Yu, Q https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6950-1821	en_US
dc.date.available	2016-04-21	en_US
dc.date.issued	2016-06-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	International Journal of Plant Production, 2016, 10 (3), pp. 403 - 424	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1735-6814	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/43980
dc.description.abstract	© 2016, Gorgan Univ Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. All rights reserved. Energy and water availability were identified as the first order controls of evapotranspiration (ET) in ecohyrodrology. With a ~1,000 km precipitation gradient and distinct wet-dry climate, the North Australian Tropical Transect (NATT) was well suited for evaluating how energy and water availabilities constrain water use by vegetation, but has not been done yet. In this study, we addressed this question using Budyko framework that quantifies the evapotranspiration as a function of energy-limited rate and precipitation. Path analysis was adopted to evaluate the dependencies of water and carbon fluxes on ecohydrological variables. Results showed that the major drivers of water and carbon fluxes varied between wet and dry savannas: down-welling solar radiation was the primary driver of the wet season ET in mesic savanna ecosystems, while soil water availability was the primary driver in inland dryland ecosystems. Vegetation can significantly regulate water and carbon fluxes of savanna ecosystems, as supported by the strong link of LAI with ET and GPP from path analysis. Vegetation structure (i.e. the tree:grass ratio) at each site can regulate the impact of climatic constraint on ET and GPP. Sites with a low tree:grass ratio had ET and GPP that exceeded sites with high a tree:grass ratio when the grassy understory was active. Identifying the relative importance of these climate drivers and vegetation structure on seasonal patterns of water use by these ecosystems will help us decide our priorities when improving the estimates of ET and GPP.	en_US
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP130101566
dc.relation.ispartof	International Journal of Plant Production	en_US
dc.title	How energy and water availability constrain vegetation water-use along the North Australian Tropical Transect	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	10	en_US
utslib.for	0607 Plant Biology	en_US
utslib.for	0703 Crop and Pasture Production	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Students
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	3	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	10	en_US

Abstract:

© 2016, Gorgan Univ Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. All rights reserved. Energy and water availability were identified as the first order controls of evapotranspiration (ET) in ecohyrodrology. With a ~1,000 km precipitation gradient and distinct wet-dry climate, the North Australian Tropical Transect (NATT) was well suited for evaluating how energy and water availabilities constrain water use by vegetation, but has not been done yet. In this study, we addressed this question using Budyko framework that quantifies the evapotranspiration as a function of energy-limited rate and precipitation. Path analysis was adopted to evaluate the dependencies of water and carbon fluxes on ecohydrological variables. Results showed that the major drivers of water and carbon fluxes varied between wet and dry savannas: down-welling solar radiation was the primary driver of the wet season ET in mesic savanna ecosystems, while soil water availability was the primary driver in inland dryland ecosystems. Vegetation can significantly regulate water and carbon fluxes of savanna ecosystems, as supported by the strong link of LAI with ET and GPP from path analysis. Vegetation structure (i.e. the tree:grass ratio) at each site can regulate the impact of climatic constraint on ET and GPP. Sites with a low tree:grass ratio had ET and GPP that exceeded sites with high a tree:grass ratio when the grassy understory was active. Identifying the relative importance of these climate drivers and vegetation structure on seasonal patterns of water use by these ecosystems will help us decide our priorities when improving the estimates of ET and GPP.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/43980