Experimental characterization of the impact of temperature and humidity on the breakdown of soil water repellency in sandy soils and composts

Soil water repellency is a common feature of dry soils under permanent vegetation and drought conditions. Soil-water hydrology is markedly affected by soil-water repellency as it hinders infiltration, leading to enhanced surface runoff and soil erosion. Although this phenomenon was primarily ascribed to sandy soils, it has been observed in loam, clay, and peat soils in dry and humid regions. One detrimental effect of soil water repellency on plants is the reduction of soil water availability that stems from the non-uniform water retention and flow in preferential pathways (gravity-induced fingers) with relatively dry soil volume among these paths. It was recently discovered that prolonged irrigation with treated wastewater, a widely used alternative in Israel and other Mediterranean countries due to the limited freshwater, triggers soil water repellency which invariably resulted in preferential flow development in the field. Due to climate change events, the use of treated wastewater for irrigation as a means of freshwater conservation is expected to widen, including in countries that are not considered dry.While a vast amount of research has been devoted to characterizing the preferential flow in water repellent soils, the effect of this flow regime on the spatial distribution of salt and fertilizers in the root zone was barely investigated. Results from a commercial citrus orchard irrigated with treated wastewater that includes the spatial and temporal distribution of preferential flow in the soil profile measured by ERT will be demonstrated. The associated spatial distribution of salinity, nitrate, phosphate, and SAR in the soil profile will be shown as well.&#160; We investigated the efficacy of two nonionic surfactants application to remediate hydrophobic sandy soils both in the laboratory and field. The effect of the surfactant application to the water repellent soils in the orchards on the spatial distribution of soil moisture and the associated agrochemicals will be presented and discussed.

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A novel approach to quantify the impact of soil water repellency on run-off and solute loss

Geoderma ◽

10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.01.008 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 221-222 ◽

pp. 121-130 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Paramsothy Jeyakumar ◽

Karin Müller ◽

Markus Deurer ◽

Carlo van den Dijssel ◽

Karen Mason ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Soil Water Repellency ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Run Off ◽

The Impact

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Effects of a Canary pine forest wildfire (Tenerife, Canary Islands, summer 2007) on selected soil properties and their relationship with short- to medium-term soil water repellency .

Spanish Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.3232/sjss.2013.v3.n1.04 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Alexis Hernández ◽

Natalia Rodríguez ◽

Marcelino del Arco ◽

Carmen Dolores Arbelo ◽

Jesús Notario del Pino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Soil Water ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Sampling Site ◽

Aggregate Stability ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Pine Forest ◽

Soil Water Repellency ◽

Soil Hydrophobicity ◽

The Impact

Forest fires modify the soil environment, often triggering severe soil degradation. In this paper, we studied the impact of a large northern Tenerife Canariy pine forest wildfire on a set of relevant soil properties, focusing on their evolution in time and relationship with soil water repellency. To do this, soils were sampled at four sites (burned and non-burned) and several soil physical and chemical parameters were measured. The results show significant variations for soil pH, electric conductivity (CE1:5), and NH4+-N between burned and non-burned samples, whereas non-significant increases were found in burned soils for oxidizable carbon (Cox), total nitrogen (Ntot) , Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+ and K+, and soil hydrophobicity. The differences caused by the fire were no longer evident one year later. Furthermore, in one sampling site (Vitric Leptosols under low pine forest with a mixed heath/beech tree understory) a wide variation in the content of Cox and Ntot and high water repellency was observed relative to the other sites. These differences can be attributed to the composition of the understory vegetation. Significant correlations between soil hydrophobicity with CE1:5, aggregate stability and the contents of Cox, Ntot, NH4+-N, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+ and K+ were found.

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Effect of sample disturbance on soil water repellency determination in sandy soils

Geoderma ◽

10.1016/j.geoderma.2006.01.007 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 136 (1-2) ◽

pp. 11-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

E.R. Graber ◽

O. Ben-Arie ◽

R. Wallach

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Sandy Soils ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Soil Water Repellency ◽

Sample Disturbance

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The impact of heating on the hydraulic properties of soils sampled under different plant cover

Biologia ◽

10.2478/s11756-009-0099-2 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 64 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Viliam Novák ◽

Ľubomír Lichner ◽

Bin Zhang ◽

Karol Kňava

Keyword(s):

Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Soil Water ◽

Water Retention ◽

Water Drop ◽

Sampling Site ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Soil Water Repellency ◽

The Impact ◽

Penetration Time

AbstractThe impact of heating on the peristence of water repellency, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and water retention characteristics was examined on soils from both forest and meadow sites in southwest Slovakia shortly after a wet spell. The top 5 cm of meadow soils had an initial water drop penetration time WDPT at 20°C of 457 s, whereas WDPT in the pine forest was 315 s for the top 5 cm and 982 s if only the top 1 cm was measured. Heating soils at selected temperatures of 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300°C caused a marked drop in water drop penetration time WDPT from the initial value at 20°C. However, samples collected in different years and following an imposed cycle of wetting and drying showed much different trends, with WDPT sometimes initially increasing with temperature, followed by a drop after 200–300°C. The impact of heating temperature on the saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil was small. It was found for both the drying and wetting branches of soil water retention curves that an increase in soil water repellency resulted in a drop in soil water content at the same matric potential. The persistence of soil water repellency was strongly influenced by both the sampling site and time of sampling, as it was characterized by the results of WDPT tests.

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Molecular Characterization of Burned Organic Matter at Different Soil Depths and Its Relationship with Soil Water Repellency: A Preliminary Result

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11122560 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 2560

Author(s):

Mirian de Deus ◽

Ana Z. Miller ◽

Nicasio T. Jiménez-Morillo

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Water ◽

Molecular Characterization ◽

Organic Compounds ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Soil Water Repellency ◽

Burned Soil ◽

Soil Hydrophobicity

Soil water repellency (hydrophobicity) prevents water from wetting or infiltrating soils, triggering changes in the ecosystems. This physical property is directly correlated to the erodibility grade of a soil. Wildfire events may develop, enhance, or destroy soil hydrophobicity, modifying the erodibility grade of a soil and increasing the loss of its most reactive layer (organic matter). To assess the main organic family of compounds (biomarkers) surrogates to fire-induced water repellency, a study was carried out on a fire-affected soil under eucalyptus canopy at two depths (0–2 and 2–5 cm) from Portugal. The potential soil water repellency was measured using the water drop penetration time (WDPT) test. The molecular characterization of hydrophobic biomarkers was carried out using analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC/MS) in combination with multivariate statistical analysis (PCA, MLR). The upper burned soil layer (0–2 cm) displayed a significant contribution of fresh biomass (lignin and polysaccharides), while the deepest (2–5 cm) one showed more humified organic matter (lipids). The soil hydrophobicity was directly correlated to non-polar organic compounds, such as lipids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and inversely to unspecific aromatic compounds. The combination of mass spectrometry techniques and chemometric analysis allowed obtaining a preliminary forecast model of hydrophobicity degree in fire-affected soil samples under eucalyptus canopy. This analytical approach opens the door to developing more sensitive mathematical models using molecular organic compounds to predict the alteration of hydrophobicity and other soil physical properties induced by fires.

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Characterization of Soil Water Repellency for Agricultural Farms with Different Soil Management Systems

Proceedings of International Forestry and Environment Symposium ◽

10.31357/fesympo.v21i0.3096 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Y.N.S. Wijewardana ◽

H. Kuroki ◽

K. Kawamoto ◽

S. Hiradate ◽

K. Muller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Soil Management ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Management Systems ◽

Soil Water Repellency

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Quantifying the impact of soil water repellency on overland flow generation and erosion: a new approach using rainfall simulation and wetting agent onin situ soil

Hydrological Processes ◽

10.1002/hyp.6744 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 21 (17) ◽

pp. 2337-2345 ◽

Cited By ~ 88

Author(s):

G. Leighton-Boyce ◽

S. H. Doerr ◽

R. A. Shakesby ◽

R. P. D. Walsh

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Overland Flow ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Wetting Agent ◽

Rainfall Simulation ◽

Soil Water Repellency ◽

New Approach ◽

Flow Generation ◽

The Impact

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The impact of soil water repellency on soil hydrological and erosional processes under Eucalyptus and evergreen Quercus forests in the Western Mediterranean

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr04083 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 309 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

C. O. A. Coelho ◽

A. Laouina ◽

K. Regaya ◽

A. J. D. Ferreira ◽

T. M. M. Carvalho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Quercus Suber ◽

Hydrological Processes ◽

Direct Result ◽

Eucalyptus Species ◽

Soil Water Repellency ◽

Erosion Rates ◽

Quercus Species ◽

The Impact

Forest areas of the Mediterranean regions of Portugal, Morocco, and Tunisia are suffering major land use changes, with the replacement of traditional evergreen Quercus species (i.e. Quercus suber and Quercus ilex) by fast-growing Eucalyptus species. Since Eucalyptus species are amongst those with a higher impact on soil water repellency, this study examined the effect of the replacement on soil properties, water repellency, and on soil hydrological processes and erosion rates. Measurements were performed in areas that correspond to the climatic distribution of evergreen Quercus suber: at Mação and Portel in Portugal; Ben Slimane in Morocco; and Cap Bon, Sousse, and Ain Snoussi in Tunisia. Soil superficial characteristics, including vegetation and litter cover, organic matter content, soil compaction and shear strength, and water repellency were measured for evergreen oak and Eucalyptus stands and related to soil erosion rates and soil hydrological processes. The data are based on the spatial distribution of properties assessed through the use of intensive spatial sampling and on rainfall simulations to address soil hydrological and erosional processes. The results show very different wetting patterns for some of the Eucalyptus stands during dry and moist periods, as a result of strong hydrophobic characteristics following dry spells. Nevertheless, the Eucalyptus stands in semi-arid climate show no sign of water repellency, which contradicts the theory that water repellency is purely a result of dry conditions. The experiments show no significant increases on overland flow amounts and erosion rates as direct result of soil water repellence (hydrophobicity) characteristics.

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