Woody plant encroachment modifies carbonate bedrock: field evidence for enhanced weathering and permeability.

ABSTRACT: Little is known about the effects of woody plant encroachment-a recent but pervasive phenomenon-on the hydraulic properties of bedrock substrates. Recent work using stream solute concentrations paired with weathering models suggests that woody plant encroachment accelerates limestone weathering. In this field study, we evaluate this hypothesis by examining bedrock in the Edwards Plateau, an extensive karst landscape in Central Texas. We compared a site that has been heavily encroached by woody plants (mainly Quercus fusiformis and Juniperus ashei), with an adjacent site that has been maintained free of encroachment for the past eight decades. Both sites share the same bedrock, as confirmed by trenching, and originally had very few trees, which enabled us to evaluate how encroachment impact

SUBMITTER: Leite PAM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10507015 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature