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Grant support

Comunidad de Madrid, Grant/Award Number: S2018/EMT-4338; Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Grant/ Award Number: PGC2018-09915-B-100, CGL2015-66809-P and PID2019-107382RB-I00

Analysis of institutional authors

Illuminati, ACorresponding AuthorEscudero, AAuthorMatesanz, SAuthor

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September 27, 2022
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Coordination between water uptake depth and the leaf economic spectrum in a Mediterranean shrubland

Publicated to:Journal Of Ecology. 110 (8): 1844-1856 - 2022-08-01 110(8), DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13909

Authors: Illuminati, Angela; Ignacio Querejeta, Jose; Pias, Beatriz; Escudero, Adrian; Matesanz, Silvia

Affiliations

Consejo Super Invest Cient CEBAS CSIC, Ctr Edafol & Biol Aplicada Segura, Dept Conservac Suelos & Aguas, Murcia, Spain - Author
Univ Complutense Madrid, Dept Biodiversidad Ecol & Evoluc, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Rey Juan Carlos, Area Biodiversidad & Conservac, Madrid, Spain - Author

Abstract

Water is the most limiting resource for plant survival and growth in arid environments, but the diversity of water-use strategies among coexisting species in dryland communities is not well understood. There is also growing interest in assessing whether a whole-plant coordination exists between traits related to water-use and the leaf economic spectrum (LES). We used water stable isotopes (delta H-2, delta O-18) to quantify water uptake proportions from different soil depths by 24 species in a Mediterranean shrubland. Leaf traits associated with water-use efficiency, stomatal regulation (delta C-13, delta O-18) and the LES (SLA, N, P, K concentrations) were also measured. We assessed potential trade-offs between the above-mentioned leaf traits, water uptake depth and their relationship with species abundance. We found distinct ecohydrological niche segregation among coexisting species. Bayesian models showed that our shrubland species used a median of 37% of shallow soil water (0-30 cm) and 63% of deep water (30-100 cm). Still, water source proportions varied considerably among species, as shallow soil water-use ranged from a minimum of 6.4% to a maximum of 68%. Interspecific variability in foliar carbon investment (SLA) and nutrient concentrations was remarkably high, indicating diverse nutrient-use strategies along the LES. Leaf delta O-18, delta C-13 and delta N-15 values also differed widely among species, revealing differences in stomatal regulation, water-use efficiency and nitrogen acquisition mechanisms. After accounting for evolutionary history effects, water uptake depth was coordinated with the LES: species using shallower soil water from fertile topsoil layers exhibited a more acquisitive carbon- and nutrient-use strategy, whereas water uptake from deeper but less fertile soil layers was linked to a more conservative nutrient-use strategy. Leaf-level water-use traits significantly influenced species abundance, as water-savers with tight stomatal regulation and high water-use efficiency were dominant. Synthesis. Greater utilisation of water stored in nutrient-rich topsoil layers favoured a more acquisitive nutrient-use strategy, whereas a deeper water uptake pattern appeared to constrain access to nutrients. Our findings thus suggest a largely inescapable trade-off and coordination between soil water uptake depth and carbon- and nutrient-use strategies in low-fertility drylands.

Keywords

CoexistenceDroughtDryland farmingDrylandsEcohydrological niche segregationGlobal patternsLeaf economic spectrumMediterranean shrublandsOxygenPlant-soil (below-ground) interactionsPlantsPlant–soil (below-ground) interactionsPrecipitation pulsesRooting depthShrublandSoil-waterStable isotopeStable isotopesStable-isotopesTraitsWater uptakeWater uptake depthWater useWater-use strategy

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Journal Of Ecology due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position 28/239, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Plant Sciences.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 2.71. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 3.11 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 9.72 (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-12, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 22
  • Scopus: 23

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-12:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 26.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 27 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 25.1.
  • The number of mentions on the social network Facebook: 2 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 18 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 1 (Altmetric).

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Illuminati, Angela) and Last Author (Matesanz García, Silvia).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Illuminati, Angela.