Groundwater level thresholds for maintaining groundwater-dependent ecosystems in northwest China:Current developments and future challenges

Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems(GDEs)in the arid region of northwest China are crucial for maintaining ecological balance and biodiversity.However,the ongoing decline in groundwater levels caused by excessive groundwater exploitation poses a potential threat to GDEs.This paper reviews the current developments and future challenges associated with defining groundwater level thresholds for maintaining GDEs in arid regions.It focuses on methods for identifying and investigating these thresholds,with particular attention to recent advances in northwest China.Additionally,this paper highlights the limitations and future challenges in determining these thresholds,including the complexities of ecological processes,groundwater systems,data availability,and methodological constraints.To address these issues,a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates new technologies,such as multi-source data fusion,machine learning models,and big data and cloud computing,will be essential.By overcoming these challenges and utilizing effective methods,appropriate groundwater level thresholds can be established to ensure the longterm sustainability of GDEs.

Drought adaptability of phreatophytes:insight from vertical root distribution in drylands of China

Aims The vertical distribution of plant roots is a comprehensive result of plant adaptation to the environment.Limited knowledge on fine vertical root distributions and complex interactions between roots and environmental variables hinders our ability to reliably predict climatic impacts on vegetation dynamics.This study attempts to understand the drought adaptability of plants in arid areas from the perspective of the relationship between vertical root distribution and surroundings.Methods By analyzing root profiles compiled from published studies,the root vertical profiles of two typical phreatophytes,Tamarix ramosissima and Populus euphratica,and their relationships with environmental factors were investigated.A conceptual model was adopted to link the parameter distribution frequency with plant drought adaptability.Important Findings The strong hydrotropism(groundwater-dependent)and flexible water-use strategy of T.ramosissima and P.euphratica help both species survive in hyperarid climates.The differences in the developmental environments between T.ramosissima and P.euphratica can be explained well by the different distribution characteristics of root profiles.That is,higher root plasticity helps T.ramosissima develop a more efficient water-use strategy and therefore survive in more diverse climatic and soil conditions than P.euphratica.We conclude that the higher variation in root profile characteristics of phreatophytes can have greater root adaptability to the surroundings and thus wider hydrological niches and stronger ecological resilience.The inadequacy of models in describing root plasticity limits the accuracy of predicting the future response of vegetation to climate change,which calls for developing process-based dynamic root schemes in Earth system models.