Biomass production, evapotranspiration and water use efficiency of arid rangelands in the Northern Cape, South Africa

Annual above-ground net primary production (ANPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) of rangeland have the potential to provide an objective basis for establishing pricing for ecosystem services. To provide estimates of ANPP, we surveyed the biomass, estimated ET and prepared a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of arid environments 2011-11, Vol.75 (11), p.1223-1227
Main Authors: Palmer, A.R., Yunusa, I.A.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Aridity
Biological and medical sciences
Biomass
biomass production
Drying
Dwarf shrubland
ecosystem services
ET 0
Evapotranspiration
fPAR
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Mathematical models
moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer
MODIS
prediction
prices
primary productivity
Rangelands
Regression
regression analysis
rural areas
Savanna
savannas
shrublands
Succulent
Synecology
Terrestrial ecosystems
Water use
water use efficiency
WUE
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Summary:Annual above-ground net primary production (ANPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) of rangeland have the potential to provide an objective basis for establishing pricing for ecosystem services. To provide estimates of ANPP, we surveyed the biomass, estimated ET and prepared a water use efficiency for dwarf shrublands and arid savanna in the Riemvasmaak Rural Area, Northern Cape, South Africa. The annual production fraction was surveyed in 33 MODIS 1 km 2 pixels and the results regressed against the MODIS f PAR product. This regression model was used to predict the standing green biomass (kg DM ha −1) for 2009 (dry year). Using an approach which combines potential evapotranspiration (ET 0) and the MODIS f PAR product, we estimated actual evapotranspiration (ET a). These two models (greening standing biomass and ET a) were used to calculate the annual WUE for 2009. WUE was 1.6 kg DM mm −1 ha −1 yr −1. This value may be used to provide an estimate of ANPP in the absence of direct measurements of biomass and to provide a comparison of the water use efficiency of this rangeland with other rangeland types.
ISSN:0140-1963
1095-922X
DOI:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.05.009