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Spatial and temporal variability of plant-available water in calcium carbonate-cemented soils and consequences for arid ecosystem resilience

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Abstract

Increased variability in precipitation, including frequency of drought, is predicted for many arid and semiarid regions globally. The ability of soils to retain water can increase resilience by buffering vegetation communities against precipitation extremes. Little is known, however, about water retention by carbonate-cemented soil horizons, which occur extensively in arid and semiarid ecosystems. It has been speculated that they may significantly modify vertical and temporal distribution of plant-available water (PAW). To investigate this hypothesis, PAW was monitored at three sites in a mixed shrub-grass community in southern New Mexico, USA, across soils with differing degrees of carbonate horizon development: no carbonate horizon, a horizon partially cemented with carbonates (calcic), and a horizon continuously cemented with carbonates (petrocalcic). Results are presented from 3 years that included extremely dry and wet periods. Both carbonate-cemented horizons absorbed and retained significantly greater amounts of PAW for several months following an extremely wet winter and summer compared to the non-carbonate soil. Following a wet summer, continuously cemented horizons retained very high PAW (16–18% volumetric or ~72–80% of soil water holding capacity) through early spring of the following year, more than double the PAW retained by similar depths in the non-carbonate soil. Drying dynamics indicate both carbonate-cemented horizons release stored water into the grass rooting zone during growing seasons following extreme wet events. Water dynamics of these horizons during extreme events provide a mechanism to explain previous observations that perennial grasses exhibit greater resilience to drought when carbonate-cemented horizons occur at shallow depths (<50 cm). Water holding capacity of the entire profile, including horizons cemented with carbonates, should be considered when evaluating the potential resilience of vegetation communities to disturbance, including the increased variability in precipitation expected to occur as a result of global climate change.

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Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Steve Evett for his technical help with the TDR system, the Jornada Experimental Range staff for field help and logistical support, and Marta Remmenga for statistical help. We would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers and Deb Peters for their helpful comments. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation grant to New Mexico State University for the Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research program (08010209 DEB), the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, and T & E. Experiments conducted comply with the current laws of the United States of America.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3JER, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA

    Michael Cohrs Duniway & Jeffrey E. Herrick

  2. Department of Plant and Environmental Science, New Mexico State University, Box 30003, MSC 3Q, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, USA

    H. Curtis Monger

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  1. Michael Cohrs Duniway
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  2. Jeffrey E. Herrick
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  3. H. Curtis Monger
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Correspondence to Michael Cohrs Duniway.

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Communicated by Alan Knapp.

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Duniway, M.C., Herrick, J.E. & Monger, H.C. Spatial and temporal variability of plant-available water in calcium carbonate-cemented soils and consequences for arid ecosystem resilience. Oecologia 163, 215–226 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1530-7

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