Abstract
The emergence of rock outcrops is very common in terrestrial ecosystems. However, few studies have paid attention to their hydrological role in the redistribution of precipitation, especially in karst ecosystems, in which a large proportion of the surface is occupied by carbonate outcrops. We collected and measured water received by outcrops and its subsequent export to the soil in a rock desertification ecosystem, an anthropogenic forest ecosystem, and a secondary forest ecosystem in Shilin, China. The results indicated that outcrops received a large amount of water and delivered nearly half of it to nearby soil patches by means of runoff. No significant difference was found in the ratio of water received to that exported to the soil by outcrops among the three ecosystems annually. When the outcrop area reaches 70 % of the ground surface, the amount of water received by soil patches from rock runoff will equal that received by precipitation, which means that the soil is exposed to twice as much precipitation. This quantity of water can increase water input to nearby soil patches and create water content heterogeneity among areas with differing rock emergence.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aley TJ (1990) The karst environment and rural poverty. Ozarks Watch 4:19–21
Bo L, Yang C, Peng L (2000) Ecology. Higher Education Press, Beijing (In Chinese)
Büdel B (1999) Ecology and diversity of rock-inhabiting cyanobacteria in tropical regions. Eur J Phycol 34:361–370. doi:10.1080/09670269910001736422
Chan Y, Lacap DC, Lau MC, Ha KY, Warren-Rhodes KA, Cockell CS, Cowan DA, McKay CP, Pointing SB (2012) Hypolithic microbial communities: between a rock and a hard place. Environ Microbiol 14:2272–2282
Chapin FS III, Chapin MC, Matson PA, Vitousek P (2011) Principles of terrestrial ecosystem ecology. Springer, New York
Chen J, Shi Z, Li L, Luo X (2009) Effects of soil thickness on spatiotemporal pattern of soil moisture in catchment level. Chin J Appl Ecol 20:1565–1570 (In Chinese)
Chen HS, Zhang W, Wang KL, Fu W (2010) Soil moisture dynamics under different land uses on karst hillslope in northwest Guangxi, China. Environ Earth Sci 61:1105–1111
Clements R, Sodhi NS, Schilthuizen M, Ng PKL (2006) Limestone karsts of Southeast Asia: imperiled arks of biodiversity. Bioscience 56:733–742. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2006)56[733:lkosai]2.0.co;2
Conn JS, Snyder-Conn EK (1981) The relationship of the rock outcrop microhabitat to germination, water relations, and phenology of Erythrina flabelliformis (Fabaceae) in Southern Arizona. Southwest Nat 25(4):243–251
Crockford R, Richardson D (2000) Partitioning of rainfall into throughfall, stemflow and interception: effect of forest type, ground cover and climate. Hydrol Process 14:2903–2920
Custovic H, Misilo M, Markovic M (2014) Water balance of Mediterranean karst soil in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a water conservation and erosion control factor. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 60:100–107
Ford D, Williams PW (2007) Karst hydrogeology and geomorphology. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England
Gersper PL, Holowaychuk N (1971) Some effects of stem flow from forest canopy trees on chemical properties of soils. Ecology 52:691–702
Gong H, Zhang Y, Liu Y, Yang G, Lu Z, Lu H (2008) Interception capability of in an evergreen broad-leaved forest of Ailaoshan, Yunnan Province. J Zhejiang Forestry Coll 25:469–474 (In Chinese)
Goransson H, Edwards PJ, Perreijn K, Smittenberg RH, Venterink HO (2014) Rocks create nitrogen hotspots and N:P heterogeneity by funnelling rain. Biogeochemistry 121:329–338
Hopmans JW (2006) Principles of soil and plant water relations. Vadose Zone J 5:506–506. doi:10.2136/vzj2005.0100br
Jordan CF (1978) Stem flow and nutrient transfer in a tropical rain forest. Oikos 31:257-263
Kidron GJ, Starinsky A (2012) Chemical composition of dew and rain in an extreme desert (Negev): cobbles serve as sink for nutrients. J Hydrol 420:284–291
Kirkham MB (2014) Chapter 10—field capacity, wilting point, available water, and the nonlimiting water range. In: Kirkham MB (ed) Principles of soil and plant water relations (second edition). Academic Press, Boston
Lavelle P (2001) Soil ecology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston
Li C, Xiong K, Wu G (2013) Process of biodiversity research of karst areas in China. Acta Ecol Sin 33:192–200. doi:10.1016/j.chnaes.2013.05.005
Li S, Ren HD, Xue L, Chang J, Yao XH (2014) Influence of bare rocks on surrounding soil moisture in the karst rocky desertification regions under drought conditions. Catena 116:157–162
Liu WY, Liu LH, Zheng Z, Jin GF (1991) Preliminary study on hydrologic effect of evergreen broad-leaved forest and Pinus yunnanensis forest in Central Yunnan. Acta Phytoecologica et Geobotanica Sinica 15:150–167 (In Chinese)
Liu WJ, Li PJ, Duan WP, Liu WY (2014) Dry-season water utilization by trees growing on thin karst soils in a seasonal tropical rainforest of Xishuangbanna, southwest China. Ecohydrology 7:927–935
Osman KT (2013) Soils—principles, properties and management. Springer Netherlands
Sebela S, Slabe T, Liu H, Pruner P (2004) Speleogenesis of selected caves beneath the Lunan Shilin and caves of Fenglin karst in Qiubei, Yunnan. Acta Geol Sin-Engl 78:1289–1298
Shen YX, Liu WY, Li YH, Cui JW (2005) Community ecology study on karst semi-humid evergreen broad-leaved forest at the central part of Yunnan. Guihaia 25:321–326 (In Chinese)
Tian YP, Zhang J, Song LH, Bao HS (2002) A study on aerial cyanophyta (cyanobacteria) on the surface of carbonate rock in Yunnan Stone Forest, Yunnan Province, China. Acta Ecol Sin 22:1793–2020 (In Chinese)
Tian YP, Zhang J, Song LH, Bao HS (2003) A study on aerial algae communities on the surface of carbonate rock of the Yunnan Stone Forest. Carsologica Sinica 22:203–211 (In Chinese)
Wang JW, Zhou Y, Xiao X, Su LJ (2013) Progress of study on karst soil moisture characteristics of southwest China. Soil Water Conservation in China 2:37–41 (In Chinese)
Xu HQ, Liu WY, Shen YX, Liu LH, Li YH (2006) A preliminary study of epiphytes in semi-humid evergreen broad-leaved forest in stone forest karst region, Yunnan Province. Guihaia 26:43–48 (In Chinese)
Zhang FM, Geng H, Li YH, Liang YN, Yang YH, Ren J, Wang FC, Tao HL, Li ZD et al (1997) Study on the Lunan stone forest karst, China. Yunan Science and Technology Press, Kunming (In Chinese)
Zhang Z, Su Z, Wu Q, Li D (2005) Karst drought management. China University of Geosciences Press, Wuhan (In Chinese)
Zhang ZC, Chen X, Shi P, Ma JL (2008) Influences of rock on soil moisture distribution in the karst cluster-peach mountains. Bull Soil Water Conserv 28:42–44 (In Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, Dj., Shen, Yx., Huang, J. et al. Rock outcrops redistribute water to nearby soil patches in karst landscapes. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 8610–8616 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6091-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6091-9