Vegetation as “Reed Diffusers” Accelerate the Hydrological Cycle of Arid Land surface
While arid regions are water scarce, often we find lakes in these regions even though the annual precipitation is very low, and vegetation is scanty. Although ground water supply via shallow aquifer systems is a possible explanation of the origin of these lakes, their continued existence is not dis...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés |
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2024
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173357 |
| _version_ | 1855541380683661312 |
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| author | Govind, Ajit |
| author_browse | Govind, Ajit |
| author_facet | Govind, Ajit |
| author_sort | Govind, Ajit |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | While arid regions are water scarce, often we find lakes in these regions even though the annual precipitation is very low, and vegetation is scanty. Although ground water supply via shallow aquifer systems is a possible explanation of the origin of these lakes, their continued existence is not discussed in detail. I opine that the reason for the existence of these lakes can be attributed to the very nature of surface energy balance characteristics and the partitioning of the net radiation consequent of the presence of water body, bare soil or vegetation. In arid regions, large lakes can still be sustained provided there are no vegetation around it because vegetation acts as a strong catalyst for water transfer between the biosphere and the atmosphere and forms a connecting conduit for mass-energy fluxes analogous to a “reed diffuser”. Latent heat fluxes over vegetated landsurface could be much more than open water bodies having no vegetation nearby. Vegetation accelerates the evapotranspiration process and eventually dry the system at much faster rates than without it. This was explained using the examples of Lake Chad and Aral Sea as examples and showing the satellite retrieved signals of vegetation proliferation. This issue has to be carefully considered while developing agricultural projects in oasis environments. Excessive agriculture or date palm cultivation even with judicious water management could permanently damage oasis ecosystems and we need to find the right balance. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace173357 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1733572025-10-26T13:01:11Z Vegetation as “Reed Diffusers” Accelerate the Hydrological Cycle of Arid Land surface Govind, Ajit water climate resilience While arid regions are water scarce, often we find lakes in these regions even though the annual precipitation is very low, and vegetation is scanty. Although ground water supply via shallow aquifer systems is a possible explanation of the origin of these lakes, their continued existence is not discussed in detail. I opine that the reason for the existence of these lakes can be attributed to the very nature of surface energy balance characteristics and the partitioning of the net radiation consequent of the presence of water body, bare soil or vegetation. In arid regions, large lakes can still be sustained provided there are no vegetation around it because vegetation acts as a strong catalyst for water transfer between the biosphere and the atmosphere and forms a connecting conduit for mass-energy fluxes analogous to a “reed diffuser”. Latent heat fluxes over vegetated landsurface could be much more than open water bodies having no vegetation nearby. Vegetation accelerates the evapotranspiration process and eventually dry the system at much faster rates than without it. This was explained using the examples of Lake Chad and Aral Sea as examples and showing the satellite retrieved signals of vegetation proliferation. This issue has to be carefully considered while developing agricultural projects in oasis environments. Excessive agriculture or date palm cultivation even with judicious water management could permanently damage oasis ecosystems and we need to find the right balance. 2024-12-30 2025-02-22T01:45:21Z 2025-02-22T01:45:21Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173357 en Open Access application/pdf Govind, Ajit. 2024. Vegetation as “Reed Diffusers” Accelerate the Hydrological Cycle of Arid Land surface. Advances in Hydrology & Meteorology. 2:1 https://doi.org/10.33552/ahm.2024.02.000529 |
| spellingShingle | water climate resilience Govind, Ajit Vegetation as “Reed Diffusers” Accelerate the Hydrological Cycle of Arid Land surface |
| title | Vegetation as “Reed Diffusers” Accelerate the Hydrological Cycle of Arid Land surface |
| title_full | Vegetation as “Reed Diffusers” Accelerate the Hydrological Cycle of Arid Land surface |
| title_fullStr | Vegetation as “Reed Diffusers” Accelerate the Hydrological Cycle of Arid Land surface |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vegetation as “Reed Diffusers” Accelerate the Hydrological Cycle of Arid Land surface |
| title_short | Vegetation as “Reed Diffusers” Accelerate the Hydrological Cycle of Arid Land surface |
| title_sort | vegetation as reed diffusers accelerate the hydrological cycle of arid land surface |
| topic | water climate resilience |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173357 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT govindajit vegetationasreeddiffusersacceleratethehydrologicalcycleofaridlandsurface |