• A drought resistance index to select drought resistant plant species based on leaf water potential measurements

    分类: 地球科学 >> 地理学 提交时间: 2019-08-30 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》

    摘要: The water deficit in arid and semi-arid regions is the primary limiting factor for the development of urban greenery and forestation. In addition, planting the species that consume low levels of water is useful in arid and semi-arid regions that have poor water management measures. Leaf water potential (Ψ) is a physiological parameter that can be used to identify drought resistance in various species. Indeed, Ψ is one of the most important properties of a plant that can be measured using a pressure chamber. Drought avoiding or drought resistant species have a lower Ψ than plants that use normal or high levels of water. To determine drought resistance of species that are suitable for afforestation in arid urban regions, we evaluated twenty woody species in the Isfahan City, central Iran. The experimental design was random split-split plots with five replications. The species were planted outdoor in plastic pots and then subjected to treatments that consisted of two soil types and five drip irrigation regimes. To evaluate the resistance of each species to drought, we used the Ψ and the number of survived plants to obtain the drought resistance index (DRI). Then, cluster analysis, dendrogram, and similarity index were used to group the species using DRI. Result indicates that the evaluated species were classified into five groups: (1) high water consuming species (DRI>–60 MPa); (2) above normal water consuming species (–60 MPa≥DRI>–90 MPa); (3) normal water consuming species (–90 MPa≥DRI>–120 MPa); (4) semi-drought resistant species (–120 MPa≥DRI>–150 MPa); and (5) drought resistant species (DRI≤–150 MPa). According to the DRI, Salix babylonica L., Populus alba L., and P. nigra L. are high water consuming species, Platanus orientalis L. and Albizia julibrissin Benth are normal water consuming species, and Quercus infectoria Oliv. and Olea europaea L. can be considered as drought resistant species.

  • Estimation of spatial and temporal changes in net primary production based on Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach (CASA) model in semi-arid rangelands of Semirom County, Iran

    分类: 地球科学 >> 地理学 提交时间: 2019-08-30 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》

    摘要: Net primary production (NPP) is an indicator of rangeland ecosystem function. This research assessed the potential of the Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach (CASA) model for estimating NPP and its spatial and temporal changes in semi-arid rangelands of Semirom County, Iran. Using CASA model, we estimated the NPP values based on monthly climate data and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) obtained from the MODIS sensor. Regression analysis was then applied to compare the estimated production data with observed production data. The spatial and temporal changes in NPP and light utilization efficiency (LUE) were investigated in different rangeland vegetation types. The standardized precipitation index (SPI) was also calculated at different time scales and the correlation of SPI with NPP changes was determined. The results indicated that the estimated NPP values varied from 0.00 to 74.48 g C/(m2•a). The observed and estimated NPP values had different correlations, depending on rangeland conditions and vegetation types. The highest and lowest correlations were respectively observed in Astragalus spp.-Agropyron spp. rangeland (R2=0.75) with good condition and Gundelia spp.-Cousinia spp. rangeland (R2=0.36) with poor and very poor conditions. The maximum and minimum LUE values were found in Astragalus spp.-Agropyron spp. rangeland (0.117 g C/MJ) with good condition and annual grasses-annual forbs rangeland (0.010 g C/MJ), respectively. According to the correlations between SPI and NPP changes, the effects of drought periods on NPP depended on vegetation types and rangeland conditions. Annual plants had the highest drought sensitivity while shrubs exhibited the lowest drought sensitivity. The positive effects of wet periods on NPP were less evident in degraded areas where the destructive effects of drought were more prominent. Therefore, determining vegetation types and rangeland conditions is essential in NPP estimation. The findings of this study confirmed the potential of the CASA for estimating rangeland production. Therefore, the model output maps can be used to evaluate, monitor and optimize rangeland management in semi-arid rangelands of Iran where MODIS NPP products are not available.