Articles | Volume 26, issue 22
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5773-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5773-2022
Research article
 | 
16 Nov 2022
Research article |  | 16 Nov 2022

The effect of rainfall amount and timing on annual transpiration in a grazed savanna grassland

Matti Räsänen, Mika Aurela, Ville Vakkari, Johan P. Beukes, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Pieter G. Van Zyl, Miroslav Josipovic, Stefan J. Siebert, Tuomas Laurila, Markku Kulmala, Lauri Laakso, Janne Rinne, Ram Oren, and Gabriel Katul

Related authors

Carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from mounds of African fungus-growing termites
Matti Räsänen, Risto Vesala, Petri Rönnholm, Laura Arppe, Petra Manninen, Markus Jylhä, Jouko Rikkinen, Petri Pellikka, and Janne Rinne
Biogeosciences, 20, 4029–4042, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4029-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4029-2023, 2023
Short summary
Seasonal and diurnal variations in biogenic volatile organic compounds in highland and lowland ecosystems in southern Kenya
Yang Liu, Simon Schallhart, Ditte Taipale, Toni Tykkä, Matti Räsänen, Lutz Merbold, Heidi Hellén, and Petri Pellikka
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14761–14787, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14761-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14761-2021, 2021
Short summary
Soil greenhouse gas emissions under different land-use types in savanna ecosystems of Kenya
Sheila Wachiye, Lutz Merbold, Timo Vesala, Janne Rinne, Matti Räsänen, Sonja Leitner, and Petri Pellikka
Biogeosciences, 17, 2149–2167, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2149-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2149-2020, 2020
Short summary
The effect of rainfall amount and timing on annual transpiration in grazed savanna grassland
Matti Räsänen, Mika Aurela, Ville Vakkari, Johan P. Beukes, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Pieter G. Van Zyl, Miroslav Josipovic, Stefan J. Siebert, Tuomas Laurila, Markku Kulmala, Lauri Laakso, Janne Rinne, Ram Oren, and Gabriel Katul
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-651,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-651, 2020
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Carbon balance of a grazed savanna grassland ecosystem in South Africa
Matti Räsänen, Mika Aurela, Ville Vakkari, Johan P. Beukes, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, Pieter G. Van Zyl, Miroslav Josipovic, Andrew D. Venter, Kerneels Jaars, Stefan J. Siebert, Tuomas Laurila, Janne Rinne, and Lauri Laakso
Biogeosciences, 14, 1039–1054, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1039-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1039-2017, 2017
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Ecohydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Instruments and observation techniques
Root water uptake patterns are controlled by tree species interactions and soil water variability
Gökben Demir, Andrew J. Guswa, Janett Filipzik, Johanna Clara Metzger, Christine Römermann, and Anke Hildebrandt
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 1441–1461, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1441-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1441-2024, 2024
Short summary
The seasonal origins and ages of water provisioning streams and trees in a tropical montane cloud forest
Emily I. Burt, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Roxanne M. Cruz-de Hoyos, Adan Julian Ccahuana Quispe, and A. Joshua West
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4173–4186, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4173-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4173-2023, 2023
Short summary
Real-Time Biological Early Warning System based on Freshwater Mussels’ Valvometry Data
Ashkan Pilbala, Nicoletta Riccardi, Nina Benistati, Vanessa Modesto, Donatella Termini, Dario Manca, Augusto Benigni, Cristiano Corradini, Tommaso Lazzarin, Tommaso Moramarco, Luigi Fraccarollo, and Sebastiano Piccolroaz
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2405,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2405, 2023
Short summary
Benefits of a robotic chamber system for determining evapotranspiration in an erosion-affected, heterogeneous cropland
Adrian Dahlmann, Mathias Hoffmann, Gernot Verch, Marten Schmidt, Michael Sommer, Jürgen Augustin, and Maren Dubbert
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3851–3873, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3851-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3851-2023, 2023
Short summary
Quantifying river water contributions to the transpiration of riparian trees along a losing river: lessons from stable isotopes and an iteration method
Yue Li, Ying Ma, Xianfang Song, Qian Zhang, and Lixin Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3405–3425, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3405-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3405-2023, 2023
Short summary

Cited articles

Archibald, S. and Scholes, R. J.: Leaf green-up in a semi-arid African savanna – separating tree and grass responses to environmental cues, J. Veg. Sci., 18, 583–594, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2007.tb02572.x, 2007. 
Aurela, M., Lohila, A., Tuovinen, J.-P., Hatakka, J., Riutta, T., and Laurila, T.: Carbon dioxide exchange on a northern boreal fen, Boreal Environ. Res., 14, 699–710, 2009. 
Barnes, R. D., Fagg, C. W., and Milton, S. J.: Acacia Erioloba: Monograph and Annotated Bibliography, Oxford Forestry Institute, University of Oxford, https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9f260e92-d72d-4fff-988d-5ef95e716f94 (last access: 15 November 2022), 1997. 
Bengtsson, J., Bullock, J. M., Egoh, B., Everson, C., Everson, T., O'Connor, T., O'Farrell, P. J., Smith, H. G., and Lindborg, R.: Grasslands – more important for ecosystem services than you might think, Ecosphere, 10, e02582, https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2582, 2019. 
Download
Short summary
The productivity of semiarid grazed grasslands is linked to the variation in rainfall and transpiration. By combining carbon dioxide and water flux measurements, we show that the annual transpiration is nearly constant during wet years while grasses react quickly to dry spells and drought, which reduce transpiration. The planning of annual grazing strategies could consider the early-season rainfall frequency that was linked to the portion of annual transpiration.