Hydrology and Land Surface Studies

Interdependence of climate, soil, and vegetation as constrained by the Budyko curve

  1. Pierre Gentine1,*,
  2. Paolo D'Odorico2,
  3. Benjamin R. Lintner3,
  4. Gajan Sivandran4,
  5. Guido Salvucci5

Article first published online: 9 OCT 2012

DOI: 10.1029/2012GL053492

Issue

Geophysical Research Letters

Geophysical Research Letters

Volume 39, Issue 19, 16 October 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Gentine, P., P. D'Odorico, B. R. Lintner, G. Sivandran, and G. Salvucci (2012), Interdependence of climate, soil, and vegetation as constrained by the Budyko curve, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L19404, doi:10.1029/2012GL053492.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

  2. 2

    Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

  3. 3

    Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

  4. 4

    Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA

  5. 5

    Department of Earth Sciences and Department of Geography, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

*Corresponding author: P. Gentine, Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, 500 W 120th St., New York, NY 10027, USA. (pg2328@columbia.edu)

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 9 OCT 2012
  2. Article first published online: 9 OCT 2012
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 10 SEP 2012
  4. Manuscript Revised: 6 SEP 2012
  5. Manuscript Received: 8 AUG 2012

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Keywords:

  • Budyko;
  • adaptation;
  • catchment;
  • ecohydrology;
  • evapotranspiration;
  • optimality

[1] The Budyko curve is an empirical relation among evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration and precipitation observed across a variety of landscapes and biomes around the world. Using data from more than three hundred catchments and a simple water balance model, the Budyko curve is inverted to explore the ecohydrological controls of the soil water balance. Comparing the results across catchments reveals that aboveground transpiration efficiency and belowground rooting structure have adapted to the dryness index and the phase lag between peak seasonal radiation and precipitation. The vertical and/or lateral extent of the rooting zone exhibits a maximum in semi-arid catchments or when peak radiation and precipitation are out of phase. This demonstrates plant strategies in Mediterranean climates in order to cope with water stress: the deeper rooting structure buffers the phase difference between precipitation and radiation. Results from this study can be used to constrain land-surface parameterizations in ungauged basins or general circulation models.

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