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Ecohydrological Behavior of Semiarid Ecosystems of Chile in Present and Future Climate Scenarios

Ecohydrological Behavior of Semiarid Ecosystems of Chile in Present and Future Climate Scenarios

Javier Lo Parra, Jacinto Garrido Velarde, Jesus Barrena González, Manuel Pulido Fernández
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 15
ISBN13: 9781799873914|ISBN10: 1799873919|ISBN13 Softcover: 9781799873921|EISBN13: 9781799873938
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-7391-4.ch005
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MLA

Parra, Javier Lo, et al. "Ecohydrological Behavior of Semiarid Ecosystems of Chile in Present and Future Climate Scenarios." Management and Conservation of Mediterranean Environments, edited by Rui Alexandre Castanho and José Martín Gallardo, IGI Global, 2021, pp. 60-74. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7391-4.ch005

APA

Parra, J. L., Garrido Velarde, J., González, J. B., & Fernández, M. P. (2021). Ecohydrological Behavior of Semiarid Ecosystems of Chile in Present and Future Climate Scenarios. In R. Castanho & J. Martín Gallardo (Eds.), Management and Conservation of Mediterranean Environments (pp. 60-74). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7391-4.ch005

Chicago

Parra, Javier Lo, et al. "Ecohydrological Behavior of Semiarid Ecosystems of Chile in Present and Future Climate Scenarios." In Management and Conservation of Mediterranean Environments, edited by Rui Alexandre Castanho and José Martín Gallardo, 60-74. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2021. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7391-4.ch005

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Abstract

Semiarid ecosystems of Chile with Mediterranean climate support high demographic rates and maintain important economies associated with the productivity of the natural environment; however, they strongly depend on the water availability and their future is compromised by climate variations. This study tries to define the role of hydrological variables on the growth of herbaceous biomass under the current climate and under future weather variations. For this, the authors used meteorological stations which let them estimate the water balance at plot scale and spectral reflectance sensors which let them follow the dynamics of the NDVI of herbaceous plants. In this context, the NDVI value was about 0.7, which means approximately 3700 kg DM ha1. However, under the worst-case climate change scenarios (RCP 8.5), annual precipitation showed a reduction of up to 31.6% regarding the present period. In this situation, the NDVI could be reduced up to 80% respect to the current situation. Thus, if climate changes to its worst scenario, it could threaten the maintenance and productivity of these ecosystems.

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