Unrevealing the water-use strategies for typical ecological restoration plants and cash crops in the Eastern Chinese Loess Plateau region

Study region: Four geomorphic types in the eastern Loess Plateau (ECLP). Study focus: quantitatively study the water-use strategies of typical plants (ecological restoration plants, food crops) based on stable isotope technology. New hydrological insights for the region: Significant spatial-temporal heterogeneity appeared in regional soil water content and stable isotopes, with more significant fluctuations in soil water isotope values appearing in the rocky mountain region. Regional tree growth (including natural and plantation forests) was mainly influenced by precipitation (35±14 %) and surface layer (0–40 cm depth) soil water (25±11 %) during April and June, whereas deep soil water gradually became the main water source (> 20 %) in autumn and winter. A. Lavandulifolia mainly uses surface soil water (> 23 %), and the proportion of deep soil water utilization has increased after September. Surface soil water (0–40 cm) was the primary water source for T. aestivum during the overwintering (> 16 %) and reviving periods (> 26 %), and Z. mays utilized the largest proportion of soil water from 0 to 20 cm depth layer during the seeding (> 60 %) and maturation stages (> 35 %). Collectively, the results of this study have important implications for sustainable vegetation protection and the optimal allocation of water resources in the arid region.