Precipitation event distribution in Central Argentina : spatial and temporal patterns

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dc.contributor.authorMagliano, Patricio N.
dc.contributor.authorFernández, Roberto J.
dc.contributor.authorMercau, Jorge L.
dc.contributor.authorJobbágy, Esteban G.
dc.date.accessioned2015-10-19T13:56:06Z
dc.date.available2015-10-19T13:56:06Z
dc.date.copyright2014
dc.date.issued2015
dc.description.abstractThe annual amount of precipitation inputs received by a site during a full year is considered a dominant spatial and temporal control of primary productivity and other related process in arid to subhumid ecosystems. However, to be effectively used by plants, these inputs have to escape runoff, favoured by large and less frequent precipitation events, and evaporation losses, favoured by small and more frequent events. Thus, available water for plant transpiration is not only influenced by the annual sum of precipitation events but also by their frequency-size distribution. In this paper, we characterize this distribution and its association to total annual precipitation inputs through space (five sites along a tenfold precipitation gradient across 1000 km) and time (1961–2010) in the plains of central Argentina. We decomposed total precipitation into two structural components, which are the frequency and mean size of events, showing that they have similar contributions (log–log slopes≈0·5) explaining precipitation shifts in space. Over time, however, we found a preponderance of mean event size explaining precipitation fluctuations, particularly towards wetter sites (log–log slopes increasing from 0·61 to 0·88). The relative variability of event sizes, independent of their mean size (i.e. inequality), was numerically characterized with Gini coefficients derived from Lorenz curves, which showed highly constant values in space and time. Assuming fixed event-size thresholds for evaporation and runoff, and ignoring other controls beyond precipitation structure, the proportion of water potentially available for plant transpiration grew with total precipitation, raising from 0·45 to 0·71 from the driest to the wettest sites, but displaying stronger responses to total precipitation in time, particularly in drier sites. No long-term trends in any of the precipitation structure variables were detected. Response functions of frequency and mean size of events to annual precipitation together with Lorenz curves appeared to be robust descriptors of precipitation regimes that, not requiring any a priori assumptions, are useful to assess how spatial and temporal shifts in total precipitation may concurrently affect its relative availability for plant transpiration.en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationMagliano, P.N., Fernández, R.J., Mercau, J.L., & Jobbágy, E.G. (2015). Precipitation event distribution in Central Argentina: spatial and temporal patterns. Ecohydrology, 8, 94-104. doi:10.1002/eco.1491en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10625/54826
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherJohn Wiley & Sonsen
dc.subjectHYDROCLIMATOLOGYen
dc.subjectPRECIPITATIONen
dc.subjectEVAPOTRANSPIRATIONen
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL METEOROLOGYen
dc.subjectPERIODICITYen
dc.subjectMATHEMATICAL MODELSen
dc.subjectCLIMATE CHANGEen
dc.subjectWATER RESOURCESen
dc.subjectNO-TILLAGEen
dc.subjectTRANSPIRATIONen
dc.subjectGRASSESen
dc.subjectWATERSHED MANAGEMENTen
dc.titlePrecipitation event distribution in Central Argentina : spatial and temporal patternsen
dc.typeJournal Article (peer-reviewed)en
idrc.copyright.holderJohn Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
idrc.dspace.accessIDRC Onlyen
idrc.noaccessDue to copyright restrictions the full text of this research output is not available in the IDRC Digital Library or by request from the IDRC Library. / Compte tenu des restrictions relatives au droit d'auteur, le texte intégral de cet extrant de recherche n'est pas accessible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI, et il n'est pas possible d'en faire la demande à la Bibliothéque du CRDI.en
idrc.project.componentnumber106601001
idrc.project.number106601
idrc.project.titleFloods, Droughts and Farming on the Plains of Argentina and Paraguay, Pampas and Chaco Regionsen
idrc.recordsserver.bcsnumberIC01-947-24
idrc.rims.adhocgroupIDRC SUPPORTEDen

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