Peatland water repellency: Importance of soil water content, moss species, and burn severity

Abstract Soil water content and actual water repellency were assessed for soil profiles at two sites in a bare and grasscovered plot of a sand pasture, to investigate the impact of the grass removal on both properties. The soil of the plots was sampled six times in vertical transects to a depth of 33 cm between 23 May and 7 October 2002. On each sampling date the soil water contents were measured and the persistence of actual water repellency was determined of field-moist samples. Considerably higher soil water contents were found in the bare versus the grass-covered plots. These alterations are caused by differences between evaporation and transpiration rates across the plots. Noteworthy are the often excessive differences in soil water content at depths of 10 to 30 cm between the bare and grass-covered plots. These differences are a consequence of water uptake by the roots in the grass-covered plots. The water storage in the upper 19 cm of the bare soil was at least two times greater than in the grass-covered soil during dry periods. A major part of the soil profile in the grass-covered plots exhibited extreme water repellency to a depth of 19 cm on all sampling dates, while the soil profile of the bare plots was completely wettable on eight of the twelve sampling dates. Significant differences in persistence of actual water repellency were found between the grass-covered and bare plots.

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Relationship between the severity, persistence of soil water repellency and the critical soil water content in water repellent soils

Geoderma ◽

10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.12.025 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 221-222 ◽

pp. 113-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Henry Wai Chau ◽

Asim Biswas ◽

Vladimir Vujanovic ◽

Bing Cheng Si

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Water Repellent ◽

Soil Water Repellency

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Vegetation abundance and diversity in relation to soil nutrients and soil water content in Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102001000207 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 126-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Michelle R. Leishman ◽

Christie Wild

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Soil Nutrients ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Lichen Species ◽

Soil N ◽

Total N ◽

Moss Species ◽

Vestfold Hills

Eighteen paired sites (adjacent to vs away from sea bird nests) and six transects (downslope of nests) across Vestfold Hills were sampled for vegetation, soil nutrients, soil water content and percent rock cover. Three moss and 17 lichen species were recorded, including a new record for the lichen Sarcogyne privigna. Sites adjacent to nesting areas generally had higher soil N and P than sites away from nesting areas; however, larger differences between site locations than within site pairs suggests considerable variation in nutrient input between nesting areas and/or redistribution of nutrients by meltwater around nests. Along transects below nesting sites, average soil total N declined from 0.22% to 0.05% within 2 m from the nest, while average total P declined more gradually from 2343 ppm P to 697 ppm P at 30 m from the nest. Moss and lichen species diversity and mean lichen species abundance were higher in sites adjacent to compared with away from nests. Data from site pairs and transects showed that lichen diversity and abundance increased with increasing soil nutrients, with soil P having a stronger influence than soil N. In contrast, soil nutrients were not significantly associated with moss diversity or abundance. Instead, number of moss species and abundance were positively associated with soil water content.

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Soil Water Repellency and Critical Soil Water Content

Soil Science Step-by-Step Field Analysis ◽

10.2136/2008.soilsciencestepbystep.c8 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 97-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Coen J. Ritsema ◽

Louis W. Dekker ◽

Klaas Oostindie ◽

Demie Moore ◽

Bernd Leinauer

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Soil Water Repellency

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Determination of actual soil water content, matrix potential and water repellency in sandy soil during a dehydration experiment

Acta Hydrologica Slovaca ◽

10.31577/ahs-2019-0020.02.0021 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Peter Šurda ◽

Anežka Čelková ◽

Justína Vitková ◽

Anton Zvala

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Sandy Soil ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Matrix Potential

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Post-fire infiltration modeling – some soil physical considerations

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-13805 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Markus Berli ◽

Rose M. Shillito ◽

Jeremy J. Giovando ◽

Nawa Pradhan ◽

Jang H. (“Jay”) Pak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Soil Structure ◽

Early Stage ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Soil Physics ◽

Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽

Soil Hydraulic Parameters

<p>Wildfires can change watershed hydrologic processes and increase the risks for soil erosion, flooding and debris flow after a fire. While fire-induced changes to the soil have significant effects on infiltration and runoff, the physical mechanisms remain unclear. A growing body of research suggests these mechanisms include soil water repellency (SWR) and the alteration of soil structure. The objective of this study was to relate SWR, soil structure, soil moisture to infiltration using a process-based, soil physics approach to better model infiltration into fire-affected soil, The ultimate goal is to improve the prediction of post-fire runoff with process-based hydrology models. Our research shows the effects of SWR and soil structure on infiltration can be captured by the soil hydraulic parameters of sorptivity and hydraulic conductivity, respectively. SWR reduces sorptivity and controls the early stage of infiltration during a storm. Changes in soil structure affect hydraulic conductivity and later stages of infiltration. Additionally, results show SWR can have an effect on unsaturated hydraulic conductivity but does not significantly affect saturated hydraulic conductivity. The study also highlights the important role soil water content plays for post-fire infiltration since both sorptivity and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity are functions of soil water content.</p>

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Water repellency in a New Zealand development sequence of yellow brown sands

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr9930641 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 31 (5) ◽

pp. 641 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

MG Wallis ◽

DJ Horne ◽

AS Palmer

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Carbon Content ◽

Water Content ◽

Fulvic Acid ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Water Repellency ◽

Organic Carbon Content ◽

Dune Sands ◽

Acid Ratio

A series of sands on the west coast of the lower North Island, New Zealand, were studied to investigate the effects of time, topography and vegetation cover upon the development of soil water repellency. Severe repellency was measured with the molarity of ethanol droplet (MED) index in the Waitarere and Motuiti dune phase sands, of age <130 years and c. 500 years respectively. In each dune phase, the dune sands were more repellent than the lower lying soils of the sand plains. Low or zero MED values were measured in the 1600-6000 year old Foxton dune phase sands and 10 000-25 000 year old Koputaroa dune phase sandy loams under either pasture or native bush. There was no consistent relationship between bush or pasture cover and repellency severity in the Foxton and Koputaroa soils, however, the species composition of the pasture and bush differed. The Waitarere sand was the most repellent soil, despite a low organic carbon content. The carbon content profiles of most of the soils did not appear to be related to the respective MED profiles of repellency severity. The MED values of the surface layer from five dune sands were generally related inversely to the fulvic acid (FA) content and proportionally to the humic acid to fulvic acid ratio (HA/FA), which were measured in a previous study. The pH of the five soils ranged from 5.61 to 6.89, with no apparent relationship between pH and MED. A study of soil water content indicated that repellency reduced rainfall infiltration into the Waitarere and Motuiti sands and the Himatangi sand, found on elevated sand plains. The most severely repellent sands had the greater variability in soil water content after rainfall.

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