Determining Water Use Patterns for the <i>Betula platyphylla</i> in the Southern Greater Khingan Mountains and Its Adaptation to Drought
Due to global climate change, seasonal droughts have intensified and become more frequent in certain semi-arid regions, and plants often adjust their water uptake depths to adapt to shifting environmental conditions. The southern Greater Khingan Mountains have a large natural secondary forest area a...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/16/7/927 |
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| author | Pengwu Zhao Yiheng Wu Huaxia Yao Yuanqiao Li Bingbing Liu Mei Zhou Yang Shu Liwen Zhou Changlin Xiang |
| author_facet | Pengwu Zhao Yiheng Wu Huaxia Yao Yuanqiao Li Bingbing Liu Mei Zhou Yang Shu Liwen Zhou Changlin Xiang |
| author_sort | Pengwu Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Due to global climate change, seasonal droughts have intensified and become more frequent in certain semi-arid regions, and plants often adjust their water uptake depths to adapt to shifting environmental conditions. The southern Greater Khingan Mountains have a large natural secondary forest area and act as an important ecological barrier. This study focused on examining the water use patterns of the primary plant species, <i>Betula platyphylla</i>, within the natural secondary forest of the southern Greater Khingan Mountains. The investigation utilized oxygen stable isotope techniques and covered a timeframe spanning from July 2019 to September 2020. The findings indicate that the adaptable water utilization strategies and rapid response to precipitation could facilitate plants fully utilizing water from all depths, thereby enabling them to better adapt to arid environments. When the rainfall was low (390.4 mm in the growing season of 2019), the developed shallow roots quickly absorbed shallow soil water (0–20 cm, with a utilization ratio of 40.4% for the entire root depth), but when the rainfall increased (501.5 mm in the growing season of 2020), <i>Betula platyphylla</i> gradually transitioned to extracting soil water from deeper soil layers (40–60 cm) and deepened its root system (with a utilization ratio of 39.4%), indicating its adaptability to semi-arid environments. Therefore, the flexible water use strategy of <i>Betula platyphylla</i> in the same habitat may give it a competitive advantage during low rainfall periods. The findings are important for the protection of natural forests and water management in the southern Greater Khingan Mountains. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:34:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bdc571c78def43539c03a6366242b2e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T10:34:54Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-bdc571c78def43539c03a6366242b2e92024-04-12T13:26:58ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412024-03-0116792710.3390/w16070927Determining Water Use Patterns for the <i>Betula platyphylla</i> in the Southern Greater Khingan Mountains and Its Adaptation to DroughtPengwu Zhao0Yiheng Wu1Huaxia Yao2Yuanqiao Li3Bingbing Liu4Mei Zhou5Yang Shu6Liwen Zhou7Changlin Xiang8College of Forestry, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010019, ChinaKey Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, ChinaDepartment of Geography, Nipissing University, North Bay, ON P1B 8L7, CanadaFaculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaKey Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ecology and Nature Conservation Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010019, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010019, ChinaInner Mongolia Saikhan-Uul National Natural Reserve Administration, Daban 025000, ChinaInner Mongolia Saikhan-Uul National Natural Reserve Administration, Daban 025000, ChinaDue to global climate change, seasonal droughts have intensified and become more frequent in certain semi-arid regions, and plants often adjust their water uptake depths to adapt to shifting environmental conditions. The southern Greater Khingan Mountains have a large natural secondary forest area and act as an important ecological barrier. This study focused on examining the water use patterns of the primary plant species, <i>Betula platyphylla</i>, within the natural secondary forest of the southern Greater Khingan Mountains. The investigation utilized oxygen stable isotope techniques and covered a timeframe spanning from July 2019 to September 2020. The findings indicate that the adaptable water utilization strategies and rapid response to precipitation could facilitate plants fully utilizing water from all depths, thereby enabling them to better adapt to arid environments. When the rainfall was low (390.4 mm in the growing season of 2019), the developed shallow roots quickly absorbed shallow soil water (0–20 cm, with a utilization ratio of 40.4% for the entire root depth), but when the rainfall increased (501.5 mm in the growing season of 2020), <i>Betula platyphylla</i> gradually transitioned to extracting soil water from deeper soil layers (40–60 cm) and deepened its root system (with a utilization ratio of 39.4%), indicating its adaptability to semi-arid environments. Therefore, the flexible water use strategy of <i>Betula platyphylla</i> in the same habitat may give it a competitive advantage during low rainfall periods. The findings are important for the protection of natural forests and water management in the southern Greater Khingan Mountains.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/16/7/927<i>Betula platyphylla</i>water use patternstable isotopesMixSIAR modelsouthern Greater Khingan Mountains |
| spellingShingle | Pengwu Zhao Yiheng Wu Huaxia Yao Yuanqiao Li Bingbing Liu Mei Zhou Yang Shu Liwen Zhou Changlin Xiang Determining Water Use Patterns for the <i>Betula platyphylla</i> in the Southern Greater Khingan Mountains and Its Adaptation to Drought Water <i>Betula platyphylla</i> water use pattern stable isotopes MixSIAR model southern Greater Khingan Mountains |
| title | Determining Water Use Patterns for the <i>Betula platyphylla</i> in the Southern Greater Khingan Mountains and Its Adaptation to Drought |
| title_full | Determining Water Use Patterns for the <i>Betula platyphylla</i> in the Southern Greater Khingan Mountains and Its Adaptation to Drought |
| title_fullStr | Determining Water Use Patterns for the <i>Betula platyphylla</i> in the Southern Greater Khingan Mountains and Its Adaptation to Drought |
| title_full_unstemmed | Determining Water Use Patterns for the <i>Betula platyphylla</i> in the Southern Greater Khingan Mountains and Its Adaptation to Drought |
| title_short | Determining Water Use Patterns for the <i>Betula platyphylla</i> in the Southern Greater Khingan Mountains and Its Adaptation to Drought |
| title_sort | determining water use patterns for the i betula platyphylla i in the southern greater khingan mountains and its adaptation to drought |
| topic | <i>Betula platyphylla</i> water use pattern stable isotopes MixSIAR model southern Greater Khingan Mountains |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/16/7/927 |
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