Tian et al. (2026) Quantifying Ecohydrological Responses to Large‐Scale Vegetation Restoration by Incorporating Dynamic Root Processes

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Identification

• Journal: Water Resources Research
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-08-01
• Authors: Lei Tian, Wenjie Wang, Jiguang Liang, Zhanyu Guo, Yanfu Liu, Weibin Zhang, Xiaogang Ma, Yanyan Cheng
• DOI: 10.1029/2025wr043122

Research Groups

• Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling
• University of California, Berkeley (collaborative research)

Short Summary

This study investigates the effects of vegetation restoration on ecohydrological processes in water-limited regions using a dynamic vegetation scheme and a prognostic root module. The results highlight trade-offs between ecological benefits and water availability.

Objective

• Investigate the impact of vegetation restoration on ecohydrological processes, particularly evapotranspiration (ET), gross primary production (GPP), and leaf area index in water-limited regions.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Chinese Loess Plateau, one of the world's largest vegetation restoration hotspots.
• Temporal Scale: Annual time step with a 30-year simulation period.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Noah-MP model with a prognostic dynamic vegetation scheme and a dynamic root module.
• Data sources: Satellite data (e.g., MODIS, Landsat) for land cover classification and climate forcing datasets (e.g., ERA5).

Main Results

• The dynamic root configuration improved simulated ET, GPP, and leaf area index by 43.8%, 51.5%, and 59.5%, respectively.
• Vegetation restoration increased GPP and ET by 40.4% and 3.9%, respectively, with a 41.5% increase in transpiration (T)/ET ratio and 38.2% improvement in water-use efficiency.
• Streamflow declined by 33.9%, primarily due to reductions in baseflow.

Contributions

This study addresses the limitations of existing paired numerical experiments by incorporating dynamic root processes, allowing for a more accurate assessment of vegetation restoration impacts on ecohydrological processes.

Funding

• National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 91837204)
• Chinese Academy of Sciences' Strategic Priority Research Program (Grant No. XDA20060402)

Citation

@article{Tian2026Quantifying,
  author = {Tian, Lei and Wang, Wenjie and Liang, Jiguang and Guo, Zhanyu and Liu, Yanfu and Zhang, Weibin and Ma, Xiaogang and Cheng, Yanyan},
  title = {Quantifying Ecohydrological Responses to Large‐Scale Vegetation Restoration by Incorporating Dynamic Root Processes},
  journal = {Water Resources Research},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2025wr043122},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025wr043122}
}