Redistribution process of precipitation in ecological restoration activity of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica in Mu Us Sandy Land, China
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Abstract. Precipitation was the most important water resource in semi-arid regions of China. The redistribution of precipitation among atmospheric water, soil water and groundwater are related to the land surface ecological system sustainability. The study took widely replanted Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica (PSM) in Mu Us Sandy Land (MUSL) as a research object and monitored precipitation, soil moisture, sap flow, and deep soil recharge (DSR) to find out moisture distribution in shallow soil layer. Results showed that the restoration process of PSM in MUSL changed the distribution of precipitation. Precipitation was intercepted in shallow soil, evapotranspiration increased, and DSR significantly decreased, resulting in up to 466.94mm of precipitation returning to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration in 2016. Vegetation increased soil water storage (SWS) capacity, with maximum SWS in PSM plot and bare sandy land (BSL) being 260mm and 197mm per unit horizontal area, respectively in 2016. DSR decreased from 54.03% of precipitation in BSL to 0.2% of precipitation in PSM in 2016. Infiltration was not only intercepted by PSM ecosystem, resulting in a time lag, but was also affected by soil temperature, and the infiltration rate in the BSL plot was 11 times of that in the PSM plot from August to September in an annual base. SWS decreased 16mm and 7.58mm per unit horizontal area over a one-year period (from March to October) in 2017 and 2019, respectively. The PSM annual sap flow was maintained at a relatively constant level of 153.98mm/yr. This study helps understand the role of precipitation-induced groundwater recharge in the process of vegetation restoration in semi-arid regions and explains the possible causes of PSM forest degradation. It is necessary to reduce PSM density to allow adaptation to extreme drought in the future.
