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Aspect differences in vegetation type drive higher evapotranspiration on a pole-facing slope in a California oak savanna


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Created: Jan 18, 2024 at 3:01 p.m.
Last updated: Jun 05, 2024 at 1:03 p.m. (Metadata update)
Published date: Jun 05, 2024 at 1:03 p.m.
DOI: 10.4211/hs.b10b7c5b64c246308524238586e2fb9b
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Sharing Status: Published
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Abstract

Quantifying the spatiotemporal variability in evapotranspiration is critical to accurately predict vegetation health, groundwater recharge, and streamflow generation. Differences in hillslope aspect, the direction a hillslope faces, result in variable incoming solar radiation and subsequent vegetation water use that influence the timing and magnitude of evapotranspiration. Previous work in forested landscapes has shown that equator-facing slopes have higher evapotranspiration due to more direct solar radiation and higher evaporative demand. However, it remains unclear how differences in plant functional groups (i.e., grasses and trees) influence evapotranspiration and water partitioning between hillslopes with opposing aspects. Here, using field-based measurements of soil water storage and oak tree and grass transpiration, and remotely-sensed evapotranspiration and normalized vegetation difference index, we quantified evapotranspiration and subsurface water storage deficits between a pole-facing and equator-facing hillslopes with contrasting vegetation types within central coastal California. Our results suggest that cooler pole-facing slopes with oak trees have higher evapotranspiration than warmer equator-facing slopes dominated by grasses, which is counter to previous work done in landscapes with singular vegetation types. Our water storage deficit calculations indicate that the pole-facing slope has a higher subsurface storage deficit and a larger seasonal dry down than the equator-facing slope. This aspect difference in subsurface water storage deficits may influence subsequent deep groundwater recharge and streamflow generation. In addition, larger root-zone storage deficits on pole-facing slopes may reduce their ability to serve as hydrologic refugia for oaks during periods of extended drought. This research provides a novel integration of field-based and remotely-sensed estimates of evapotranspiration required to properly quantify hillslope-scale water balances. These findings emphasize the importance of resolving hillslope-scale vegetation structure within Earth system models, especially in landscapes with diverse plant functional groups.

Subject Keywords

Coverage

Spatial

Coordinate System/Geographic Projection:
WGS 84 EPSG:4326
Coordinate Units:
Decimal degrees
Place/Area Name:
Blue Oak Ranch Reserve
Longitude
-121.7207°
Latitude
37.3958°

Temporal

Start Date:
End Date:

Content

readme.txt

This repository includes the datafiles that support the manuscript “Aspect differences in vegetation type drive higher evapotranspiration on a pole-facing slope in a California oak savanna” by Donaldson et al., (in-review).  The datafiles include weekly grass transpiration measurements, sapflow measurements for seven trees, Open ET data from 2017 to 2021, normalized difference vegetation indices from 2017 to 2021, tree survey within Arbor Creek experimental catchment conducted in 2023. The additional metadata information includes more information regarding individual file naming conventions and units.  


Please contact Amanda Donaldson (amdonald@ucsc.edu) if there are any questions or concerns.

Additional Metadata

Name Value
NDVI_S2_2015_2021.csv Normalized Difference Vegetation Index [-] from Sentinel 2 within Arbor Creek Catchment on the north-facing slope and south-facing slope.
ET_grass_north_weeks.csv Average weekly grass evapotranspiration [mmol/m^2/s] on north-facing slope of Arbor Creek Catchment with Blue Oak Ranch Reserve in water year 2021. Values that are zero represent the points in time when the grass were dormant.
ET_grass_south_weeks.csv Average weekly grass evapotranspiration [mmol/m^2/s] on south-facing slope of Arbor Creek Catchment with Blue Oak Ranch Reserve in water year 2021. Values that are zero represent the points in time when the grass were dormant.
Sapflow data naming schemes Example: Tbb_MungedV1_Apr21_Dec25.csv. TreeID, corrected with sapflow properties in implex software, data range. - DMA (dual method approach corrected heat velocity): cm/hr - sapflux density (corrected with sapwood properties): cm^3/cm^2/hr - total sapflow (converted with sapwood area): L/hr
BORR_arbor_tree_survey_2023.csv Tree survey completed within Arbor Creek Catchment on the north-facing slope within 2023.
NSagg_05102550_WY2021_short.csv Soil moisture content [%] on the north-facing slope and south-facing slope from water year 2021. Depths [cm]: 5, 10, 25, 50 short format -- wide with names of each sensor as columns
ArborRelay_HourPrecip_01Oct20_30Sept21 Precipitation [mm/hour] from the relay station in Arbor Creek Catchment from water year 2021.
gee_NorthEnsemble_monthly_2017_2021.csv Google Earth Engine downloaded data. North-facing slope. Monthly data. Open ET Ensemble data [ET, mm], PRISM precipitation [P, mm], water year, cumulative precipitation [sum P, mm], root-zone storage deficit [openD, mm].
gee_SouthEnsemble_monthly_2017_2021.csv Google Earth Engine downloaded data. South-facing slope. Monthly data. Open ET Ensemble data [ET, mm], PRISM precipitation [P, mm], water year, cumulative precipitation [sum P, mm], root-zone storage deficit [openD, mm].

How to Cite

Donaldson, A. M. (2024). Aspect differences in vegetation type drive higher evapotranspiration on a pole-facing slope in a California oak savanna, HydroShare, https://doi.org/10.4211/hs.b10b7c5b64c246308524238586e2fb9b

This resource is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
CC-BY

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