Dryland

11 important questions on Dryland

What is a dryland?

Aridity Index (P/Epot) is less then 0.65 (<65% of E demand is supplied by P).

Why is it better to use the aridity index then looking at the growing season to determine if it's a dryland?

The aridity index also takes the demand of evaporation into account.

What will increase aridity in drylands in the future?

Warmer air can hold more water which leads to a higher demand of evapotranspiration.
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How are drylands often characterized?

By a strong seasonality in rainfall, consisting of a dry season with virtually no rainfall and a wet season with intermittent storms.

What are three key dryland ecosystem services?

1. Provisioning services: goods produced or provided by the ecosystem.
2. Regulating services: Benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes.
3. Cultural services: Non-material benefits obtained from ecosystems.

The conditions for a wild fire are quite well in drylands, explain why.

Because at the end of the growing season the soil is dry and there is a lot of dead plant material that will act as fuel.

Why is the C4 pathway more suited for dry conditions?

Because they don't have the weakness of the RuBisCO enzyme.

What is hydraulic redistribution?

The passive movement of water via roots from regions of wetter soil to regions of dryer soil. This often means that the water potential in the upper layer lower is than in the root.

What are self-organised patches?

Plants make there own environment to live resulting from a resource concentration mechanism.

What three things do you need to know about self-organised patches?

1. Higher vegetation density means higher water infiltration into the soil and lower soil evaporation.
2. Bare soil around is crusted which leads to more run off.
3. Vegetation persists once present, but bare soil is too hostile for recolonization after the vegetation disappeared.

What are the three faces of dryland vulnerability (ecosystem disruption)?

1. Vegetation decline phase.
2. Soil disruption phase.
3. Systematic breakdown phase.

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