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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1408943
This article is part of the Research Topic Flourishing in Arid Realms: Exploring the Adaptation of Plant Functional Traits to Drought Environments View all 8 articles

Variations in water use strategies of Tamarix ramosissima at coppice dunes along a precipitation gradient in desert regions of northwest China

Provisionally accepted
Zhengwu Dong Zhengwu Dong 1*Yanqin Xu Yanqin Xu 2hui Zhao hui Zhao 2Binqian Zhou Binqian Zhou 2Guangying Li Guangying Li 2Shengyu Li Shengyu Li 3
  • 1 School of Life Sciences, Xinjiang Normal University, Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Special Species Conservation and Regulatory Biology, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, China
  • 2 School of Life Sciences, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumchi, China
  • 3 Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Ürümqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Region, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The precipitation pattern has changed significantly in arid desert areas, yet it is not clear how water use strategies of Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb. on coppice dunes along a natural precipitation gradient are affected. In this study, the hydrogen and oxygen isotope compositions of xylem water, soil water, precipitation, and groundwater were measured by stable isotope techniques in the Huocheng, Mosuowan, and Tazhong. Additionally, the water use strategies of T. ramosissima at coppice dunes along a natural precipitation gradient were investigated in conjunction with the MixSIAR model. The results indicated that the water sources of T. ramosissima exhibited significant variation from semi-arid to hyper-arid areas. In semi-said area, T. ramosissima mainly absorbed shallow, shallow-middle and middle soil water; however, T. ramosissima shifted its primary water sources to middle and deep soil water in arid area. In hyper-arid area, it mainly utilized deep soil water and groundwater. In contrast, the water source contribution rate of T. ramosissima exhibited relative uniformity across each layer in arid area. Notably, in hyper-arid area, the proportion of groundwater by T. ramosissima was significantly high, reaching 60.2%. This is due to the relatively shallow groundwater supplementing the deep soil water content in the area. In conclusion, the proportion of shallow soil water decreased by 14.7% for T. ramosissima from semi-arid to hyper-arid areas, illustrating the occurrence of a gradual shift in potential water sources utilized by T. ramosissima from shallow to deep soil water and groundwater. Therefore, T. ramosissima on coppice dunes shows flexible water use strategies in relation to precipitation and groundwater, reflecting its strong environmental adaptability. The findings hold significant implications for the conservation of water resources and vegetation restoration in arid areas.

    Keywords: Precipitation gradient, Tamarix ramosissima, Water sources, Stable isotopes, Coppice dune

    Received: 29 Mar 2024; Accepted: 10 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dong, Xu, Zhao, Zhou, Li and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhengwu Dong, School of Life Sciences, Xinjiang Normal University, Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Special Species Conservation and Regulatory Biology, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, China

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