The ability of soil to supply plant available water during dry periods is a poorly understood

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the stated research gap and future work and future-work section and abstract of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2016 and 2026, spanning 7 journals. Those papers have been cited 54 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 8 representative gaps

• Impact of changing rainfall patterns on groundwater recharge in semi-arid dune landscapes (2026) · Hydrogeology Journal · doi

  There is a pronounced scarcity of long-term field data quantifying the interaction between rainfall intensity and vegetation cover. Prior work has not adequately addressed the impact of vegetation cover on groundwater recharge.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: there pronounced scarcity long-term field data quantifying interaction
• Spatial Variability of Soil Characterization in Arid Regions Irrigated with Treated Wastewater: Comparative Assessment of Long-Term Impacts on Two Commercial Farms (2026) · Sustainability · doi

  The long-term use of reclaimed water may substantially alter soil physical and chemical properties. There is a need to evaluate the spatial variability of water and soil physicochemical properties in arid regions irrigated with treated wastewater. The effects of irrigation duration on soil properties are not well understood.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: long-term use reclaimed water substantially alter soil physical
• Vegetation Restoration Increases the Drought Risk on the Loess Plateau (2024) · Plants · cited 19× · doi

  This study, using a coupled land-atmosphere model, evaluated how the hydrology of the LP has been impacted by revegetation and by reclamation. The findings show that vegetation restoration stimulates an increase in both P and ET, thereby enhancing the atmospheric water content. However, the increase in P does not suffice to counterbalance the heightened ET, thereby causing a decrease in both runoff and soil water content. The vegetation restoration in the LP comes at the cost of over-consumption of soil water. Compared with revegetation, land reclamation has the effect of decreasing annual P: it reduces ET and surface runoff and increases underground runoff and soil water. Although land reclamation increases the underground water availability for agriculture or other human demands, it may aggravate soil erosion on the LP due to deforestation. Our study provides an important scientific basis for guiding current and future revegetation (reclamation) activities in other semi-arid and arid regions around the world towards sustainable ecosystem development and water resources management. Supplementary Materials: The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https:// www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/plants13192735/s1, Table S1. Main physical parameterizations used in the WRF simulation. Table S2. The information of experimental design of the WRF simulation. Figure S1. The nonlocal effects of vegetation changes in the area surrounding the Loess Plateau on precipitation within the plateau. Figure S2. The process of constructing a land surface forcings dataset for the EXreclamation simulation. Figure S3. Seasonal variations evaluation of the WRF model precipitation simulation. Table S3. The changes in hydrological processes following revegetation and reclamation derived by regional climate modeling with WRF. Author Contributions: H.Z. Investigation, Data curation, Software, Writing—original draft. J.D. Writing—review and editing, Funding acquisition. Y.Y. Software, Writing—review and editing. J.Z. Visualization. J.H. Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing—review and editing. C.Y. Conceptualiza- tion, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Funding acquisition. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Funding: This study is jointly funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42101305), the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (2022QZKK0101), the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB40000000), and China Geological Survey Project (DD20220877). Data Availability Statement: The data used in the present work have been listed in the Data Sources. Acknowledgments: We sincerely appreciate the editors and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Plants 2024, 13, 2735

  generalfuture workevidence 5/5
  Keywords: water reclamation land revegetation soil simulation writing vegetation runoff plateau review editing funding model restoration
• Agroforestry Systems Enhance Soil Moisture Retention and Aquifer Recharge in a Semi-Arid Mexican Valley (2025) · Water · cited 11× · doi

  further studies on the long-term effects of agroforestry systems on soil moisture retention and aquifer recharge, - investigation of the impact of different tree species and vegetation covers on hydrological cycles, - research on the applicability of these findings to other arid and semi-arid environments

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 5/5
  Keywords: further studies long-term effects agroforestry systems soil moisture
• Impacts of Irrigation with Reclaimed Water on Soil and Groundwater: Vegetation- and Season-Dependent Patterns from a Lysimeter Study (2026) · Water, Air, & Soil Pollution · doi

  The paper identifies a gap in understanding the effects of irrigation with reclaimed water on the soil's water and nutrient balance. There is a need to assess the potential impact on drainage water quality for groundwater recharge. The study aims to fill this gap by investigating the impact of vegetation and water type on drainage water quality.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: paper identifies gap understanding effects irrigation reclaimed water
• Asynchronous Responses of Ecosystem Carbon Gain and Groundwater Storage Under Ecological Restoration in the Loess Plateau (2026) · Remote Sensing · doi

  Further research is needed to understand the long-term effects of ecological restoration on groundwater storage and ecosystem water cycling, - Studies should investigate the impacts of ecological restoration on localized or seasonal increases in transpiration, canopy interception, and root water uptake, - Research should focus on the indirect influences of vegetation change on infiltration, groundwater recharge, and subsurface flow

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 4/5
  Keywords: further research needed understand long-term effects ecological restoration
• Quantifying How Terracing Reshapes Soil Water–Canopy Interactions and Stabilizes Transpiration Dynamics in Pinus tabuliformis Forests on the Loess Plateau, China (2026) · Ecohydrology · doi

  ABSTRACT Terracing is widely applied for soil and water conservation in semi‐arid regions; however, its influence on forest ecohydrological processes remains insufficiently quantified, as previous studies have largely emphasized erosion control rather than plant–soil–atmosphere interactions.

  generalabstractevidence 4/5
  Keywords: soil abstract terracing widely applied water conservation semi arid regions influence forest ecohydrological processes remains
• Mapping and understanding dry season soil water drawdown by California montane vegetation (2016) · Ecohydrology · cited 24× · doi

  Abstract The ability of soil to supply plant available water during dry periods is a poorly understood but critically important ecosystem property that affects vegetation health and regional hydrology.

  generalabstractevidence 2/5
  Keywords: abstract ability soil supply plant available water periods poorly understood critically important ecosystem property affects

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