Effects of N and water supply on water use-efficiency of a semiarid grassland in Inner Mongolia

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Holger Brueck
  • Klaus Erdle
  • Yingzhi Gao
  • Marcus Giese
  • Ying Zhao
  • Stephan Peth
  • Shan Lin

External Research Organisations

  • Kiel University
  • University of Hohenheim
  • Technical University of Munich (TUM)
  • Northeast Normal University
  • China Agricultural University
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)495-505
Number of pages11
JournalPlant and soil
Volume328
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2010
Externally publishedYes

Abstract

Productivity of semiarid grasslands is primarily limited by seasonal rainfall amount and becomes increasingly limited by nutrient availability under wet conditions. Interactive effects of water and N availability on grassland productivity and parameters related to water use were studied on a grassland site in Inner Mongolia, China, in a 2-factorial experiment with two levels of water (rainfed: 158 mm; irrigated: 839 (N0) and 972 (N1) mm) and N supply (0 or 180 kg N ha-1). RUE was calculated from ANPP and cumulative water supply. Bare soil evaporation (E) was calculated from climatic data and leaf area dynamics, and percolation (D) and transpiration (T) were estimated with HYDRUS-1D. Water-use efficiency (WUE, ANPP / (T + D)) and transpiration efficiency (TE, ANPP / T) were calculated. Resource availability had pronounced effects on the water-use efficiency of semiarid grassland. RUE, WUE, and TE all decreased under irrigated compared to rainfed conditions and were significantly increased with N fertilizer application at both levels of water supply. While the irrigation effect on parameters of water-use efficiency were accordingly reflected in stable carbon isotope signatures, N supply resulted in significantly less negative δ13C-values under rainfed but not irrigated conditions. It is concluded, that spatial or temporal gradients in resource availability have pronounced effects on the water-use efficiency of semiarid grassland. The decrease of water use-efficiency under high water supply was related to differences in TE and not to a relative increase of unproductive water loss. Carbon isotope discrimination was highly correlated with WUE and TE, but can be a poor predictor of RUE.

Keywords

    Bare soil evaporation, Carbon isotope discrimination, Rain-use efficiency, Transpiration efficiency

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sustainable Development Goals

Cite this

Effects of N and water supply on water use-efficiency of a semiarid grassland in Inner Mongolia. / Brueck, Holger; Erdle, Klaus; Gao, Yingzhi et al.
In: Plant and soil, Vol. 328, No. 1, 02.2010, p. 495-505.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Brueck H, Erdle K, Gao Y, Giese M, Zhao Y, Peth S et al. Effects of N and water supply on water use-efficiency of a semiarid grassland in Inner Mongolia. Plant and soil. 2010 Feb;328(1):495-505. doi: 10.1007/s11104-009-0128-5
Brueck, Holger ; Erdle, Klaus ; Gao, Yingzhi et al. / Effects of N and water supply on water use-efficiency of a semiarid grassland in Inner Mongolia. In: Plant and soil. 2010 ; Vol. 328, No. 1. pp. 495-505.
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abstract = "Productivity of semiarid grasslands is primarily limited by seasonal rainfall amount and becomes increasingly limited by nutrient availability under wet conditions. Interactive effects of water and N availability on grassland productivity and parameters related to water use were studied on a grassland site in Inner Mongolia, China, in a 2-factorial experiment with two levels of water (rainfed: 158 mm; irrigated: 839 (N0) and 972 (N1) mm) and N supply (0 or 180 kg N ha-1). RUE was calculated from ANPP and cumulative water supply. Bare soil evaporation (E) was calculated from climatic data and leaf area dynamics, and percolation (D) and transpiration (T) were estimated with HYDRUS-1D. Water-use efficiency (WUE, ANPP / (T + D)) and transpiration efficiency (TE, ANPP / T) were calculated. Resource availability had pronounced effects on the water-use efficiency of semiarid grassland. RUE, WUE, and TE all decreased under irrigated compared to rainfed conditions and were significantly increased with N fertilizer application at both levels of water supply. While the irrigation effect on parameters of water-use efficiency were accordingly reflected in stable carbon isotope signatures, N supply resulted in significantly less negative δ13C-values under rainfed but not irrigated conditions. It is concluded, that spatial or temporal gradients in resource availability have pronounced effects on the water-use efficiency of semiarid grassland. The decrease of water use-efficiency under high water supply was related to differences in TE and not to a relative increase of unproductive water loss. Carbon isotope discrimination was highly correlated with WUE and TE, but can be a poor predictor of RUE.",
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AU - Brueck, Holger

AU - Erdle, Klaus

AU - Gao, Yingzhi

AU - Giese, Marcus

AU - Zhao, Ying

AU - Peth, Stephan

AU - Lin, Shan

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, SA 359/30-1) and embedded into the joint-research project FG 536, MAGIM. We would like to thank IMGERS meteorological station for providing climatic data.

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N2 - Productivity of semiarid grasslands is primarily limited by seasonal rainfall amount and becomes increasingly limited by nutrient availability under wet conditions. Interactive effects of water and N availability on grassland productivity and parameters related to water use were studied on a grassland site in Inner Mongolia, China, in a 2-factorial experiment with two levels of water (rainfed: 158 mm; irrigated: 839 (N0) and 972 (N1) mm) and N supply (0 or 180 kg N ha-1). RUE was calculated from ANPP and cumulative water supply. Bare soil evaporation (E) was calculated from climatic data and leaf area dynamics, and percolation (D) and transpiration (T) were estimated with HYDRUS-1D. Water-use efficiency (WUE, ANPP / (T + D)) and transpiration efficiency (TE, ANPP / T) were calculated. Resource availability had pronounced effects on the water-use efficiency of semiarid grassland. RUE, WUE, and TE all decreased under irrigated compared to rainfed conditions and were significantly increased with N fertilizer application at both levels of water supply. While the irrigation effect on parameters of water-use efficiency were accordingly reflected in stable carbon isotope signatures, N supply resulted in significantly less negative δ13C-values under rainfed but not irrigated conditions. It is concluded, that spatial or temporal gradients in resource availability have pronounced effects on the water-use efficiency of semiarid grassland. The decrease of water use-efficiency under high water supply was related to differences in TE and not to a relative increase of unproductive water loss. Carbon isotope discrimination was highly correlated with WUE and TE, but can be a poor predictor of RUE.

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