Publication
Title
Hydrological and vegetation analysis of an alluvial floodplain in Belgium
Author
Abstract
In this paper, results from an intensive two-year monitoring campaign of a wetland gradient are presented and analyzed. Two spatially adjacent sites along a wetland gradient are described by means of abiotic variables, groundwater level, and soil temperature and soil moisture at several depths throughout the vertical soil profile. The vegetation of the sites is described on the basis of a species cover inventory, and two different vegetation types are distinguished along the wetland gradient: Arrhenatheretum elatioris at the highest end of the gradient and Caricetum gracilis at the lowest end. Aboveground biomass and leaf area index of both Arrhenatheretum elatioris and Caricetum gracilis were measured on a monthly basis, and their seasonal variation could be related to specific site conditions. Furthermore, evidence was found that vegetation was not passive to the environmental site conditions but actively influenced them. The groundwater at the lower Caricetum gracilis site showed diurnal fluctuations with amplitudes up to 10 cm, which could be attributed to transpiration losses by phreatophytes.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Belgian journal of botany / Royal Botanical Society of Belgium. - Brussels, 1990 - 2009
Publication
Brussels : 2009
ISSN
0778-4031 [print]
1781-8656 [online]
Volume/pages
142 :1 (2009) , p. 19-38
ISI
000270257000002
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 28.11.2009
Last edited 23.08.2022
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