Prevalence and magnitude of groundwater use by vegetation: a global stable isotope meta-analysis

What is it about?

Groundwater is an important resource in sustaining plant life. The prevalence and magnitude of groundwater use by land plants, however, has not yet been quantified. This paper employs a meta-analysis of published papers in stable isotope hydrology and ecology. Our results demonstrate that while groundwater use by plants is prevalent (~37% globally), its magnitude may not be as significant as is increasingly being argued in the literature.

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Why is it important?

Our finding that most plants have limited groundwater use may have several implications for how models in climate-vegetation feedbacks are conceptualized. Furthermore, our findings may also have implications for the assessment of plant vulnerability to, and growth impairment after, drought stress at plant and ecosystem scales, relevant to ecosystems, humanity and the Earth's climate.