Spatial and seasonal patterns of water use in Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation

Aims: This paper examines the water dynamics of a coastal dune plant community, addressing spatial and seasonal variations. We aimed to detect the patterns of water use by plants at the community level according to their distribution across a coastal dune gradient from beach to inland. Methods: Five...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: Zunzunegui González, María; Esquivias Segura, María de la Paz; Gallego Fernández, Juan Bautista
Format: Article
Status:Published version
Publication date:2022
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repository:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/137735
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/137735
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05443-z
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Coastal dunes
Leaf water potential
Soil water
Stable isotopes
Water deficit
Water sources
Water-uptake strategies
_version_ 1878739439381905408
author Zunzunegui González, María
author2 Esquivias Segura, María de la Paz
Gallego Fernández, Juan Bautista
author2_role author
author
author_browse Esquivias Segura, María de la Paz
Gallego Fernández, Juan Bautista
Zunzunegui González, María
author_facet Zunzunegui González, María
Esquivias Segura, María de la Paz
Gallego Fernández, Juan Bautista
author_role author
collection idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
description Aims: This paper examines the water dynamics of a coastal dune plant community, addressing spatial and seasonal variations. We aimed to detect the patterns of water use by plants at the community level according to their distribution across a coastal dune gradient from beach to inland. Methods: Five sites were established: upper beach, embryo-dune, slack, foredune, and inland. Eight perennial species were collected seasonally to analyse the isotopic composition and water potential. Soil water samples at 3 depths, groundwater, and atmosphere, were obtained to determine plant water sources. Results: The species from Inland and foredune plant communities, Retama, Juniperus, and Helichrysum, showed the most stable isotopic signal throughout the year. On the contrary, the species most abundant on the upper beach, embryo-dune, and slack (Ammophila, Achillea, and Polygonum) showed the highest variability. Water deficit decreased the dependence on shallow and mid-soil layers along the beach-inland gradient. Beach and embryo-dune sites showed less negative leaf water potential values than the other positions in the dune gradient. Conclusions: Three factors mark the proportion of water sources used for vegetation in coastal vegetation: community composition, distance to the sea, and seasonality. Coastal dune vegetation exhibited a species-specific response in water uptake that was modified by its location on the gradient. From upper beach to inland, the plant communities showed a slight progressive increase in the use of water from deeper layers. This pattern was similar and overlapped with the wet to dry seasonal pattern.
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
format article
id ES_c17baa74ddf6f6587df8d131bf00a2f8
institution Universidad de Sevilla (US)
instname_str Universidad de Sevilla (US)
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
oai_identifier_str oai:idus.us.es:11441/137735
publishDate 2022
publishDateSort 2022
publisher Springer Nature
publisherStr Springer Nature
reponame_str idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
spelling Spatial and seasonal patterns of water use in Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation Zunzunegui González, María Esquivias Segura, María de la Paz Gallego Fernández, Juan Bautista Coastal dunes Leaf water potential Soil water Stable isotopes Water deficit Water sources Water-uptake strategies Aims: This paper examines the water dynamics of a coastal dune plant community, addressing spatial and seasonal variations. We aimed to detect the patterns of water use by plants at the community level according to their distribution across a coastal dune gradient from beach to inland. Methods: Five sites were established: upper beach, embryo-dune, slack, foredune, and inland. Eight perennial species were collected seasonally to analyse the isotopic composition and water potential. Soil water samples at 3 depths, groundwater, and atmosphere, were obtained to determine plant water sources. Results: The species from Inland and foredune plant communities, Retama, Juniperus, and Helichrysum, showed the most stable isotopic signal throughout the year. On the contrary, the species most abundant on the upper beach, embryo-dune, and slack (Ammophila, Achillea, and Polygonum) showed the highest variability. Water deficit decreased the dependence on shallow and mid-soil layers along the beach-inland gradient. Beach and embryo-dune sites showed less negative leaf water potential values than the other positions in the dune gradient. Conclusions: Three factors mark the proportion of water sources used for vegetation in coastal vegetation: community composition, distance to the sea, and seasonality. Coastal dune vegetation exhibited a species-specific response in water uptake that was modified by its location on the gradient. From upper beach to inland, the plant communities showed a slight progressive increase in the use of water from deeper layers. This pattern was similar and overlapped with the wet to dry seasonal pattern. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CGL2009‐10577 Springer Nature https://hdl.handle.net/11441/137735 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05443-z
spellingShingle Spatial and seasonal patterns of water use in Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation
Zunzunegui González, María
Coastal dunes
Leaf water potential
Soil water
Stable isotopes
Water deficit
Water sources
Water-uptake strategies
status_str publishedVersion
title Spatial and seasonal patterns of water use in Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation
title_full Spatial and seasonal patterns of water use in Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation
title_fullStr Spatial and seasonal patterns of water use in Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation
title_full_unstemmed Spatial and seasonal patterns of water use in Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation
title_short Spatial and seasonal patterns of water use in Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation
title_sort Spatial and seasonal patterns of water use in Mediterranean coastal dune vegetation
topic Coastal dunes
Leaf water potential
Soil water
Stable isotopes
Water deficit
Water sources
Water-uptake strategies
topic_facet Coastal dunes
Leaf water potential
Soil water
Stable isotopes
Water deficit
Water sources
Water-uptake strategies
url https://hdl.handle.net/11441/137735
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05443-z