Root water uptake of typical plants in the Subeinao Lake Basin

The Subeinao Lake Basin, where the ecological environment is fragile and the vegetation depends tightly on groundwater, is located in the arid and semi-arid area. Based on the water content of the vadose zone measured in the plant-covered and clear area, we analyzed the distribution of root water uptake of typical vegetation in space and time. The following conclusions are obtained: (1) roots can ascend groundwater in the area where the depth to groundwater is shallow; (2) water contents in the vadose zone keeps a maximum around 13.4% between 10cm-110cm; The plant roots obtain enough moisture from the vadose zone or groundwater in order to guarantee required moisture during its growing. (3) Compared the water potential in covered and clear area, it can be concluded that the surface total head potential ranks as follows: the covered area>;Salix>;Salix psammophila. In conclusion, the vegetation coverage has effect on not only the total water content of surface, but also influence redistribution of water content in the vadose zone.