Growth responses of Tamarix austromongolica to extreme drought and flood in the upper Yellow River basin

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2021.0020

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims The riparian forests in the upper reaches of the Yellow River are typically fragile ecologically. However, the frequent extreme hydrological events induced by climate warming may pose increasing threats to ecological stability and security of this fragile ecosystem type. The ecological resilience and adaptation of riparian forests to extreme hydrological events are of key considerations in eco-environmental management of river basins. This paper aims to determine how Tamarix austromongolica, a major tree species in riparian forests of the upper Yellow River basin, responds to extreme drought and flood and explain the resistance and morphology of these riparian plants against environmental stresses.

Methods We selected 47 Tamarix austromongolica trees from three sampling sites along the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Two mutually perpendicular cores were taken from the trunk of the each sampling tree for estimation of the past annual growth, one from the direction facing the slope and the other along the contour of the nearby mountain. We compared the tree-ring growth between cores from the two sides and grouped them according to whether the growth was strongly affected by geohazards. We analyzed the resistance of the two groups to extreme hydrological events during the past 63 years. The statistical growth difference between two sampling directions from each group was performed by using paired test.

Important findings Tamarix austromongolica trees were found to be very resistant to extreme drought events. The diverse sources of water in riparian zones attributed to their stable growth, which helps enhance their tolerance to hydrological drought events. But the trees injured by geohazards appeared to be more severely affected by droughts. The legacy effect in trauma-associated recovery might initiate high sensitivity to interferences. Moreover, T. austromongolica trees are adapted to a wide range of water conditions and their growth did not appear to be substantially affected by flooding. Well-watered condition along with fully hydrated shoots could promote the growth and counteract the potentially negative effects of submergence in T. austromongolica. However, flood induced geohazards, such as mudslides, could have significantly different impacts on growth in different directions, such that the side facing the nearby mountain slope suffered more growth suppression. These processes could lead to modification of morphology. Studying the growth response of T. austromongolica to extreme drought and flood on the upper reaches of the Yellow River will help assess the ecological resilience of ecologically fragile areas and provide a scientific basis for ecological construction and restoration in riparian zones on the Qingzang Plateau.

Key words: ecological resilience, resistance, ecological fragile region, drought, flood, climate change, Tamarix austromongolica

FANG Ou-Ya, ZHANG Yong, ZHANG Qi, JIA Heng-Feng. Growth responses of Tamarix austromongolica to extreme drought and flood in the upper Yellow River basin[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2021, 45(6): 641-649.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2021.0020

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2021/V45/I6/641

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1 Geographic location of the tamarisk (Tamarix austromongolica) research sites (A), explanation on sampling directions (B) and the real scenery of the sampling site at Ranguo village, Tongde County (C). BD, Banduo village; LQ, Shanglujuan village; RG, Ranguo village.

Fig. 2 The measured annual total runoff from 1956 to 2018 and May-to-September runoff from 1956 to 2007 at the Tangnag Hydrological Station. ▲, drought year; ▼, flood year.

Fig. 3 Statistics of the resistance indices for two groups of Tamarix austromongolica in the upper Yellow River basin in different directions to extreme drought (A) and flood (B) events.

Table 1 Tests of differences in the resistance indices of Tamarix austromongolica in A and B directions to drought and flood events

事件 Event	组别 Group	配对t检验 Paired t-test			配对秩和检验 Wilcoxon signed rank test
事件 Event	组别 Group	t	df	p	V	p
干旱 Drought	受伤组 Injured group	0.824	19	0.420	132	0.330
干旱 Drought	对照组 Comparative group	1.526	25	0.139 (双侧) (two-sides) 0.069^* (单侧) (single-side)	238	0.116 (双侧) (two-sides) 0.058^* (单侧) (single-side)
洪涝 Flood	受伤组 Injured group	-2.204	18	0.041^ (双侧) (two-sides) 0.020^ (单侧) (single-side)	48	0.060^(双侧) (two-sides) 0.030^* (单侧) (single-side)
洪涝 Flood	对照组 Comparative group	-	-	-	157	0.895

Fig. 4 Statistics distributions on of resistance differences between A and B directions in two groups of Tamarix austromongolica in extreme flood events.

Table 2 Comparison of the mean resistance indices of Tamarix austromongolica at the RG, BD and LQ sites

采样点 Sampling site	组别(株数) Group (Number of plants)	干旱 Drought		洪涝 Flood
采样点 Sampling site	组别(株数) Group (Number of plants)	A方向 Direction A	B方向 Direction B	A方向 Direction A	B方向 Direction B
RG	受伤组 Injured group (8)	0.99	0.97	0.99	1.08
RG	对照组 Comparative group (9)	1.05	1.03	1.03	1.02
BD	受伤组 Injured group (7)	0.94	0.91	1.04	1.09
BD	对照组 Comparative group (13)	0.96	0.92	1.02	1.02
LQ	受伤组 Injured group (5)	0.87	0.85	1.00	1.15
LQ	对照组 Comparative group (4)	0.89	0.88	1.23	1.48

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