Age Structure and Growth of Degraded Populus euphratica Floodplain Forests in North-west China and Perspectives for Their Recovery

作     者：Janneke Westermann Stefan Zerbe Dieter Eckstein 

作者机构：Technical University of BerlinInstitute of EcologyRothenburgstraβe 12D-12165 BerlinGermany University of GreifswaldInstitute of Botany and Landscape EcologyGrimmer Straβe 88D-17487 GreifswaldGermany University of HamburgDepartment of Wood ScienceDivision of Wood BiologyLeuschnerstraβe 91D-21031 HamburgGermany 

出 版 物：《Journal of Integrative Plant Biology》 (植物学报（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2008年第50卷第5期

页      面：536-546页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 0907[农学-林学] 08[工学] 0829[工学-林业工程] 09[农学] 0901[农学-作物学] 0703[理学-化学] 0902[农学-园艺学] 

主　　题：arid land controlled flooding Euphrates poplar human impact Populus euphratica tree rings. 

摘      要：The Populus euphratica floodplain forests along the lower reaches of the Tarim River in continental-arid Xinjiang （northwest China） have been declining in recent decades as a result of dam constructions and the withdrawal of water from the river. Since 2000, controlled flooding has been carried out to counteract this process of degradation. However, the consequences of a changing water regime for the floodplain ecosystem are not yet sufficiently investigated. In 2004 we sampled a total of 150 P. euphratica trees along two transects at the middle and lower reaches of the Tarim River to compare the age structure and growth of these two tree populations. The anthropogenic drawdown of the groundwater table had no effect on the average growth of the trees at the lower reaches. However, tree growth abruptly increased after controlled flooding, thus showing distinct signs of recovery.