Relações solo-planta-atmosfera em caatinga preservada: o caso da bacia experimental de aiuaba

Abstract

The hydrological balance of a basin is (directly or indirectly) influenced by several factors. The root-system is a factor that has influence over infiltration and surface runoff. However, those interactions are complex and notoriously difficult to observe. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of root system dynamics on the soil hydraulic properties and associate them with the leaf area index (LAI). Tracing such a connection will make possible to monitor the spatial-temporal changes in the soil hydraulic properties by means of Spectral Vegetation Indexes (SVIs). This study was developed at the Aiuaba Experimental Basin (BEA), a 12 km2 area of preserved arboreal shrub Caatinga, where there are three soil-vegetation associations (SVA). The study was divided into three stages. First, we assessed the main characteristics of the root system and its effect on the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil, soil density and total porosity for wet and dry seasons during a hydrological year. In the second part of the research, we investigated the Leaf Area Index (LAI) of the Caatinga vegetation and its correlation with environmental variables (precipitation, evapotranspiration, soil moisture) and spectral vegetation indexes for two years (2014-2015). In the third stage, we studied the connection between soil variables and surface variables, with the objective of monitoring changes in hydrological soil parameters (saturated hydraulic conductivity, porosity and root system variables) with the LAI, as well as with the Spectral Vegetation Indexes. The performed research indicated that the specific root length in the Caatinga is reduced in the dry season relatively to the rainy season. The LAI in the preserved arboreal shrub Caatinga had an average value of 3.7 m² m-2; ranging from zero to 4.7 m² m-2; and its temporal decay rate was the same (-0.021 m² m-2 day-1) in the dry season on the two years of the study. The LAI correlated positively with all environmental variables analyzed, particularly with the average soil moisture of the previous 45 days. All SVI showed a strong correlation to LAI, mainly NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). Therefore, the LAI can be monitored by the environmental variables considered in this Thesis; and its spatial variability can be monitored through SVIs. The seasonal dynamics of the plant stem are associated directly to the root system dynamics. Consequently, the LAI can be used to assess the dynamic root status in the Caatinga biome. In the dry season, the soil permeability is higher than in the wet season, which supports the hypothesis that there is macropore formation during the dry season. The macropores contribute to the increase of water availability in the root zone during this period of the year. This observation agrees with the fact – observed in situ – of the vegetation remaining dormant even with soil moisture at the effective root depth being practically equal to residual moisture during half the year