Ecohydrology underground: how root attributes influence water, carbon, and nutrient cycling

JACKSON, R B, MCELRONE, A J, BLEBY, T M, PIÑEIRO, G , E.G JOBBÁGY

Acapulco, México

Congreso; Meeting of the American Geophysical Union-Joint Assembly; 2007

American Geophysical Union

: Through the depth and volume of the soil that they explore, plants strongly influence the cycling of water, carbon, and nutrients. This talk combines data from two experimental systems in North and South America to demonstrate such interactions. One is a gradient of sites in the southwestern U.S. where we are examining the ecohydrology associated with woody plant encroachment, including a unique cave system that allows us to measure water uptake by plants meters, even tens of meters, underground. Another is a network of plantations that provides sites with contrasting water, carbon, and nutrient use that we compare to adjacent native vegetation, particularly grasslands. We combine field results from these systems with remote sensing observations and model simulations to examine similar ecohydrological/nutrient interactions in other regions of the world.