Water limited environment
- Water limited environment
Water limited environments or WLE are arid semi-arid, and subhumid regions (sometimes collectively called dry-lands), and occupy approximately 50% of the global land area[Abrahams, A.D. and A.J. Parsons 1994. Geomorphology of deserts environments in Geomorphology of Deserts Environments edited by A.D Abrahams and A.J. Parsons, p. 1-12. Chapman & Hall, London; New York.] . ]These environments are considered water limited because annual precipitation (P) is typically less than annual potential evapotranspiration (PET), such that the ratio of P to annual PET ranges from about 0.03 to 0.75, and because extreme temporal variability results in extended periods with little to no precipitation
WLE are complex, evolving structures whose characteristics and dynamic properties depend on many interrelated kinks between climate, soil, and vegetation [Rodríguez-Iturbe, I. and A. Porporato 2004. Ecohydrology of Water-Controlled Ecosystems: Soil Moisture and Plant Dynamics. Cambridge University Press.] .
Deep rooted phreatophytic species have a key role in the dynamics of WLE.
Further reading
* Newman, B.D., B.P. Wilcox, S. Archer, D.D. Breshears, C.N. Dahm, C.J. Duffy, N.G. McDowell, F.M. Phillips, B.R. Scanlon and E.R. Vivoni 2006. Ecohydrology of water-limited environments: A scientific vision. Water Resources Research. 42
* Collins, D.B.G. and R.L. Bras 2007. Plant rooting strategies in water-limited ecosystems (DOI 10.1029/2006WR005541). Water Resources Research. 43:6407.
* Guswa, A.J., M.A. Celia and I. Rodriguez-Iturbe 2004. Effect of vertical resolution on predictions of transpiration in water-limited ecosystems. Advances in Water Resources. 27:467-480.
References
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