Title: Water subsidies from mountains to deserts: their role in sustaining groundwater-fed oases in a sandy landscape
Abstract: Ecological ApplicationsVolume 21, Issue 3 p. 678-694 Article Water subsidies from mountains to deserts: their role in sustaining groundwater-fed oases in a sandy landscape E. G. Jobbágy, E. G. Jobbágy Grupo de Estudios Ambientales—IMASL, CONICET, San Luis, Argentina Departamento de Agronomía—FICES, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, San Luis, Argentina Present address: Grupo de Estudios Ambientales, IMASL—UNSL, Ejército de los Andes 950-5700, San Luis, Argentina. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorM. D. Nosetto, M. D. Nosetto Grupo de Estudios Ambientales—IMASL, CONICET, San Luis, Argentina Departamento de Agronomía—FICES, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, San Luis, Argentina Cátedra de Climatología Agrícola, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos, ArgentinaSearch for more papers by this authorP. E. Villagra, P. E. Villagra Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales, CCT-CONICET, Mendoza, ArgentinaSearch for more papers by this authorR. B. Jackson, R. B. Jackson Department of Biology and Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USASearch for more papers by this author E. G. Jobbágy, E. G. Jobbágy Grupo de Estudios Ambientales—IMASL, CONICET, San Luis, Argentina Departamento de Agronomía—FICES, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, San Luis, Argentina Present address: Grupo de Estudios Ambientales, IMASL—UNSL, Ejército de los Andes 950-5700, San Luis, Argentina. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorM. D. Nosetto, M. D. Nosetto Grupo de Estudios Ambientales—IMASL, CONICET, San Luis, Argentina Departamento de Agronomía—FICES, Universidad Nacional de San Luis, San Luis, Argentina Cátedra de Climatología Agrícola, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos, ArgentinaSearch for more papers by this authorP. E. Villagra, P. E. Villagra Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales, CCT-CONICET, Mendoza, ArgentinaSearch for more papers by this authorR. B. Jackson, R. B. Jackson Department of Biology and Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 April 2011 https://doi.org/10.1890/09-1427.1Citations: 84 Corresponding Editor: D. S. Schimel. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Abstract In arid regions throughout the world, shallow phreatic aquifers feed natural oases of much higher productivity than would be expected solely from local rainfall. In South America, the presence of well-developed Prosopis flexuosa woodlands in the Monte Desert region east of the Andes has puzzled scientists for decades. Today these woodlands provide crucial subsistence to local populations, including descendants of the indigenous Huarpes. We explore the vulnerability and importance of phreatic groundwater for the productivity of the region, comparing the contributions of local rainfall to that of remote mountain recharge that is increasingly being diverted for irrigated agriculture before it reaches the desert. We combined deep soil coring, plant measurements, direct water-table observations, and stable-isotopic analyses (2H and 18O) of meteoric, surface, and ground waters at three study sites across the region, comparing woodland stands, bare dunes, and surrounding shrublands. The isotopic composition of phreatic groundwaters (δ2H: −137‰ ± 5‰) closely matched the signature of water brought to the region by the Mendoza River (−137‰ ± 6‰), suggesting that mountain-river infiltration rather than in situ rainfall deep drainage (−39‰ ± 19‰) was the dominant mechanism of recharge. Similarly, chloride mass balances determined from deep soil profiles (>6 m) suggested very low recharge rates. Vegetation in woodland ecosystems, where significant groundwater discharge losses, likely >100 mm/yr occurred, relied on regionally derived groundwater located from 6.5 to 9.5 m underground. At these locations, daily water-table fluctuations of ∼10 mm, and stable-isotopic measurements of plant water, indicated groundwater uptake rates of 200–300 mm/yr. Regional scaling suggests that groundwater evapotranspiration reaches 18–42 mm/yr across the landscape, accounting for 7–17% of the Mendoza River flow regionally. Our study highlights the reliance of ecosystem productivity in natural oases on Andean snowmelt, which is increasingly being diverted to one of the largest irrigated regions of the continent. Understanding the ecohydrological coupling of mountain and desert ecosystems here and elsewhere should help managers balance production agriculture and conservation of unique woodland ecosystems and the rural communities that rely on them. Literature Cited Abraham, E., H. F. del Valle, F. 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