Squandering water in drylands: the water-use strategy of the phreatophyte Ziziphus lotus in a groundwater-dependent ecosystem
Premise
Water is the most limiting factor in dryland ecosystems, and plants are adapted to cope with this constraint. Particularly vulnerable are phreatophytic plants from groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) in regions that have to face water regime alterations due to the impacts of climate and land-use changes.