Paper Details

PJB-2018-219

Eco-hydrology of the shrublands in the Xishui Experimental Station on the northern slope of the Qilian Mountains, Gansu, China

yun niu
Abstract

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The eco-hydrology of five different shrublands at the in the Qilian Mountains was studied on the basis of ecological functions of the canopy, litter and soil layers. The results showed that: During the entire rainy season, the average canopy interception rate of precipitation is 22.46% for the Berberis dasystachya shrublands, 20.48% for Salix gilasnanica, 16.76% for Caragana jubata, 10.42% for Potentilla fruticosa and 6.96% for Caragana tangutica. The maximum water-holding rate of the litter layer in the studied five shrublands is 1.6 to 4.2 times of their own weight; the maximum water-holding capacity varies from 2.383106 to 13.495106 kg•km-2, and the effective water-holding capacity ranges from 1.725106 to 8.362106 kg•km-2. The maximum water-holding capacity of the studied soils ranges from 235.450106 to 340.900106 kg•km-2, and; the effective water-holding capacity varies from 51.850106 to 101.550106 kg•km-2. The maximum and effective water holding capacities decline with increasing depths due to the facts that total and non-capillary porosity decreases with depths. The steady infiltration rate at the soil surface ranges from 8.88 to 96.01 mm•min-1, with the highest in the Salix gilasnanica stand (96.01 mm•min-1), and then followed by the stands of Caragana jubata, Berberis dasystachya, Berberis dasystachya and Caragana tangutica in a decreasing order. The cumulative infiltration capacity during the initial 30 minutes ranges from 338.25 to 4718.34 mm, with the highest in the Salix gilasnanica stand, and then followed by a decreasing order of Caragana jubata, Berberis dasystachya, Berberis dasystachya and Caragana tangutica. Comprehensively compared all indexes of the five shrubberies, the order of their water conservation capacity is Salix gilasnanica > Berberis dasystachya > Caragana jubata > Potentilla fruticosa > Caragana tangutica.In comparison, the hydrologic function indices of shrublands are generally larger than those of grasslands. In particular, the indices of the Salix gilasnanica and Berberis dasystachya stands are close to or greater than those of the Picea crassifolia forest, indicating an important eco-hydrologic and ecological functionof the shrublands in the Qilian Mountains.

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