Organic phosphorus in soil water under a European beech (Fagus sylvaticaL.) stand in northeastern Bavaria, Germany: seasonal variability and changes with soil depth

European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) trees are becoming vulnerable to drought, with a warming climate. Existing studies disagree on how radial growth varies in European beech in response to droughts. We aimed to find the impact of multiple droughts on beech trees’ annual radial growth at their ecological drought limit created by soil water availability in the forest. Besides, we quantified the influence of competition and canopy openness on the mean basal area growth of beech trees. We carried out this study in five near-natural temperate forests in three localities of Germany and Switzerland. We quantified available soil water storage capacity (AWC) in plots laid in the transition zone from oak to beech dominated forests. The plots were classified as ‘dry’ (AWC < 60 mL) and ‘less-dry’ (AWC > 60 mL). We performed dendroecological analyses starting from 1951 in continuous and discontinuous series to study the influence of climatic drought (i.e., precipitation-potential evapotranspiration) on the radial growth of beech trees in dry and less-dry plots. We used observed values for this analysis and did not use interpolated values from interpolated historical records in this study. We selected six drought events to study the resistance, recovery, and resilience of beech trees to drought at a discontinuous level. The radial growth was significantly higher in less-dry plots than dry plots. The increase in drought had reduced tree growth. Frequent climatic drought events resulted in more significant correlations, hence, increased the dependency of tree growth on AWC. We showed that the recovery and resilience to climatic drought were higher in trees in less-dry plots than dry plots, but it was the opposite for resistance. The resistance, recovery, and resilience of the trees were heterogeneous between the events of drought. Mean growth of beech trees (basal area increment) were negatively impacted by neighborhood competition and positively influenced by canopy openness. We emphasized that beech trees growing on soil with low AWC are at higher risk of growth decline. We concluded that changes in soil water conditions even at the microsite level could influence beech trees’ growth in their drought limit under the changing climate. Along with drought, neighborhood competition and lack of light can also reduce beech trees’ growth. This study will enrich the state of knowledge about the ongoing debate on the vulnerability of beech trees to drought in Europe.

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Water and energy exchange above a mixed European Beech – Norway Spruce forest canopy: a comparison of eddy covariance against soil water depletion measurement

Theoretical and Applied Climatology ◽

10.1007/s00704-004-0086-z ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 81 (1-2) ◽

pp. 87-100 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

H. Schume ◽

H. Hager ◽

G. Jost

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Eddy Covariance ◽

Norway Spruce ◽

Energy Exchange ◽

Forest Canopy ◽

European Beech ◽

Spruce Forest ◽

Soil Water Depletion ◽

Water Depletion ◽

Norway Spruce Forest

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SURFACE RESIDUES: EFFECTS ON SOIL MOISTURE AND TEMPERATURE1

Revista Caatinga ◽

10.1590/1983-21252021v34n416rc ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 34 (4) ◽

pp. 887-894

Author(s):

GUSTAVO HADDAD SOUZA VIEIRA ◽

ARILDO SEBASTIÃO SILVA ◽

ARUN DILIPKUMAR JANI ◽

LUSINERIO PREZOTTI ◽

PAOLA ALFONSA VIEIRA LO MONACO

Keyword(s):

Soil Temperature ◽

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Block Design ◽

Soil Disturbance ◽

Dry Season ◽

Depth Range ◽

Sunn Hemp

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine how crop residue placement and composition would affect soil water content and temperature during the dry season in the central region of Espírito Santo state, Brazil. A 19-week field study was conducted from April to August 2017. A 2 x 4 factorial study with four replications was implemented using a randomized complete block design. Factors were soil management [conventional tillage (CT) and no soil disturbance (ND)] and residue amendment [maize (Zea mays L.), sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.), a maize-sunn hemp mixture, and a no amendment control]. Soil water content and temperature were measured weekly at predetermined soil depth intervals. Soil water content was higher in ND plots amended with surface residues than under all other treatments in the 0 to 0.05 m depth range. All residue amendments in this range were equally effective in conserving soil water. Surface residues reduced soil temperature by up to 8.4 °C relative to the control in ND plots. Incorporating residue amendments by CT cancelled all temperature-moderating benefits provided by surface residues. These results indicate that surface residues from cereals, legumes, or cereal/legume mixtures are equally effective in conserving soil water and moderating soil temperature during the dry season. Additional research is needed to determine how improved soil environmental conditions, generated by surface residues, would affect nutrient acquisition and crop performance.

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Effects of different biomass materials as a salt-isolation layer on water and salt migration in coastal saline soil

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.11766 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. e11766

Author(s):

Mao Yang ◽

Runya Yang ◽

Yanni Li ◽

Yinghua Pan ◽

Junna Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Salt Concentration ◽

Saline Soil ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Thick Layer ◽

Peat Layer ◽

Salt Accumulation

The aim of this study was to find a material suited for the prevention of evaporative water loss and salt accumulation in coastal saline soils. One-dimensional vertical water infiltration and phreatic evaporation experiments were conducted using a silty loam saline soil. A 3-cm-thick layer of corn straw, biochar, and peat was buried at the soil depth of 20 cm, and a 6-cm-thick layer of peat was also buried at the same soil depth for comparison. The presence of the biochar layer increased the upper soil water content, but its ability to inhibit salt accumulation was poor, leading to a high salt concentration in the surface soil. The 3-cm-thick straw and 6-cm-thick peat layers were most effective to inhibit salt accumulation, which reduced the upper soil salt concentration by 96% and 93%, respectively. However, the straw layer strongly inhibited phreatic evaporation and resulted in low water content in the upper soil layer. Compared with the straw layer, the peat layer increased the upper soil water content. Thus, burying a 6-cm-thick peat layer in the coastal saline soil is the optimal strategy to retain water in the upper soil layer and intercept salt in the deeper soil layer.

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A regionally explicit, global SWI calibration based on ISMN observations

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-496 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Manolis G. Grillakis

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Soil Water ◽

Large Scale ◽

Root Zone ◽

Soil Depth ◽

European Space Agency ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Added Value ◽

Water Index ◽

Soil Moisture Data

Remote sensing has proven to be an irreplaceable tool for monitoring soil moisture. The European Space Agency (ESA), through the Climate Change Initiative (CCI), has provided one of the most substantial contributions in the soil water monitoring, with almost 4 decades of global satellite derived and homogenized soil moisture data for the uppermost soil layer. Yet, due to the inherent limitations of many of the remote sensors, only a limited soil depth can be monitored. To enable the assessment of the deeper soil layer moisture from surface remotely sensed products, the Soil Water Index (SWI) has been established as a convolutive transformation of the surface soil moisture estimation, under the assumption of uniform hydraulic conductivity and the absence of transpiration. The SWI uses a single calibration parameter, the T-value, to modify its response over time.Here the Soil Water Index (SWI) is calibrated using ESA CCI soil moisture against in situ observations from the International Soil Moisture Network and then use Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to find the best physical soil, climate, and vegetation descriptors at a global scale to regionalize the calibration of the T-value. The calibration is then used to assess a root zone related soil moisture for the period 2001 &#8211; 2018.The results are compared against the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, ERA5 Land reanalysis soil moisture dataset, showing a good agreement, mainly over mid-latitudes. The results indicate that there is added value to the results of the machine learning calibration, comparing to the uniform T-value. This work contributes to the exploitation of ESA CCI soil moisture data, while the produced data can support large scale soil moisture related studies.

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Comparison of three models fitting the soil water retention curves in a degraded alpine meadow region

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-54449-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tao Pan ◽

Shuai Hou ◽

Yujie Liu ◽

Qinghua Tan

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Water Retention ◽

Alpine Meadow ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Water Holding Capacity ◽

Curve Shape ◽

Soil Water Retention ◽

Soil Water Holding Capacity ◽

Water Holding ◽

Gardner Model

AbstractSoil water retention curve (SWRC) plays an important role in simulating soil water movement and assessing soil water holding capacity and availability. Comparison of fitness between different models to determine the best SWRC model of specific regions is required. In this study, three popular models, van Genuchten, Brooks Corey and Gardner model, were selected for comparing in a degraded alpine meadow region on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Fitness, error distribution along with key parameters were compared. For each soil horizon, the soil moisture content at all soil water potentials decreased consistently with degradation, thereby integrally moving the SWRCs of all soil depths downward with degradation. The differences in SWRCs across various degradation degrees diminished along with soil depth and soil water potential. The Adj.r2 values of van Genuchten, Brooks Corey and Gardner models ranged in 0.971–0.995, 0.958–0.997, and 0.688–0.909, respectively. The van Genuchten and Brooks Corey models significantly (p < 0.05) outperformed the Gardner model, and have no significant differences in fitness. The fitness of all three models showed no significant changes with degradation. Regardless of degradation degree and soil depth, the fitting error of van Genuchten and Brooks Corey models was mainly distributed in the higher (from –100 hPa to –500 hPa) and lower (below –10000 hPa) potential sections. With regard to the parameters of van Genuchten and Brooks Corey models, the field capacity (θs), and permanent wilting moisture were highly coherent with Adj.r2 values of higher than 0.98, while the curve shape parameter (θr), and air entry pressure of the Brooks Corey model were much lower than those of the van Genuchten model with Adj.r2 values of lower than 0.91. The SWRCs with varying degrees of degradation are best fitted by both van Genuchten and Brooks Corey models but cannot be fitted by Gardner model. Soil water holding capacity decreased with degradation especially in the top soil (0 cm to 30 cm), but the curve shape of all SWRCs did not change significantly with degradation.

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Relationship between Very Fine Root Distribution and Soil Water Content in Pre- and Post-Harvest Areas of Two Coniferous Tree Species

Forests ◽

10.3390/f11111227 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 1227

Author(s):

Moein Farahnak ◽

Keiji Mitsuyasu ◽

Takuo Hishi ◽

Ayumi Katayama ◽

Masaaki Chiwa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Root System ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Content ◽

Tree Species ◽

Fine Roots ◽

Fine Root ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Tree Cutting ◽

Coniferous Tree Species

Tree root system development alters forest soil properties, and differences in root diameter frequency and root length per soil volume reflect differences in root system function. In this study, the relationship between vertical distribution of very fine root and soil water content was investigated in intact tree and cut tree areas. The vertical distribution of root density with different diameter classes (very fine <0.5 mm and fine 0.5–2.0 mm) and soil water content were examined along a slope with two coniferous tree species, Cryptomeria japonica (L.f.) D. Don and Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold et Zucc.) Endl. The root biomass and length density of very fine roots at soil depth of 0–5 cm were higher in the Ch. obtusa intact tree plot than in the Cr. japonica intact plot. Tree cutting caused a reduction in the biomass and length of very fine roots at 0–5 cm soil depth, and an increment in soil water content at 5–30 cm soil depth of the Ch. obtusa cut tree plot one year after cutting. However, very fine root density of the Cr. japonica intact tree plot was quite low and the soil water content in post-harvest areas did not change. The increase in soil water content at 5–30 cm soil depth of the Ch. obtusa cut tree plot could be caused by the decrease in very fine roots at 0–5 cm soil depth. These results suggest that the distribution of soil water content was changed after tree cutting of Ch. obtusa by the channels generated by the decay of very fine roots. It was also shown that differences in root system characteristics among different tree species affect soil water properties after cutting.

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Water balance changes in a crop sequence with lucerne

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar00089 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 52 (2) ◽

pp. 247 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

F. X. Dunin ◽

C. J. Smith ◽

S. J. Zegelin ◽

R. Leuning

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Water Uptake ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Water Storage ◽

Growing Season ◽

Soil Water Storage ◽

Annual Rainfall ◽

Root Extension ◽

Annual Crops ◽

Lower Productivity

In a detailed study of soil water storage and transport in a sequence of 1 year wheat and 4 years of lucerne, we evaluated drainage under the crop and lucerne as well as additional soil water uptake achieved by the subsequent lucerne phase. The study was performed at Wagga Wagga on a gradational clay soil between 1993 and 1998, during which there was both drought and high amounts of drainage (>10% of annual rainfall) from the rotation. Lucerne removed an additional 125 mm from soil water storage compared with wheat (root-zone of ~1 m), leading to an estimated reduction in drainage to 30–50% of that of rotations comprising solely annual crops and/or pasture. This additional soil water uptake by lucerne was achieved through apparent root extension of 2–2.5 m beyond that of annual crops. It was effective in generating a sink for soil water retention that was about double that of annual crops in this soil. Successful establishment of lucerne at 30 plants/m2 in the first growing season of the pasture phase was a requirement for this root extension. Seasonal water use by lucerne tended to be similar to that of crops in the growing season between May and September, because plant water uptake was confined to the top 1 m of soil. Uptake of water from the subsoil was intermittent over a 2-year period following its successful winter establishment. In each of 2 annual periods, uptake below 1 m soil depth began late in the growing season and terminated in the following autumn. Above-ground dry matter production of lucerne was lower than that by crops grown in the region despite an off-season growth component that was absent under fallow conditions following cropping. This apparent lower productivity of lucerne could be traced in part to greater allocation of assimilate to roots and also to late peak growth rates at high temperatures, which incurred a penalty in terms of lower transpiration efficiency. The shortfall in herbage production by lucerne was offset with the provision of timely, high quality fodder during summer and autumn. Lucerne conferred indirect benefits through nitrogen supply and weed control. Benefits and penalties to the agronomy and hydrology of phase farming systems with lucerne are discussed.

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Assessing the sustainability of wheat-based cropping systems using APSIM: model parameterisation and evaluation

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar06186 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 75 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Carina Moeller ◽

Mustafa Pala ◽

Ahmad M. Manschadi ◽

Holger Meinke ◽

Joachim Sauerborn

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Soil Water ◽

Management Practices ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Water Dynamics ◽

Soil Water Dynamics ◽

Mineral N ◽

N Use

Assessing the sustainability of crop and soil management practices in wheat-based rotations requires a well-tested model with the demonstrated ability to sensibly predict crop productivity and changes in the soil resource. The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) suite of models was parameterised and subsequently used to predict biomass production, yield, crop water and nitrogen (N) use, as well as long-term soil water and organic matter dynamics in wheat/chickpea systems at Tel Hadya, north-western Syria. The model satisfactorily simulated the productivity and water and N use of wheat and chickpea crops grown under different N and/or water supply levels in the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 experimental seasons. Analysis of soil-water dynamics showed that the 2-stage soil evaporation model in APSIM’s cascading water-balance module did not sufficiently explain the actual soil drying following crop harvest under conditions where unused water remained in the soil profile. This might have been related to evaporation from soil cracks in the montmorillonitic clay soil, a process not explicitly simulated by APSIM. Soil-water dynamics in wheat–fallow and wheat–chickpea rotations (1987–98) were nevertheless well simulated when the soil water content in 0–0.45 m soil depth was set to ‘air dry’ at the end of the growing season each year. The model satisfactorily simulated the amounts of NO3-N in the soil, whereas it underestimated the amounts of NH4-N. Ammonium fixation might be part of the soil mineral-N dynamics at the study site because montmorillonite is the major clay mineral. This process is not simulated by APSIM’s nitrogen module. APSIM was capable of predicting long-term trends (1985–98) in soil organic matter in wheat–fallow and wheat–chickpea rotations at Tel Hadya as reported in literature. Overall, results showed that the model is generic and mature enough to be extended to this set of environmental conditions and can therefore be applied to assess the sustainability of wheat–chickpea rotations at Tel Hadya.

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Sulphate contamination, pH and conductivity of forest soils in two neighbouring mountains with different pollution in Slovakia from 1989 to 2013

Soil and Water Research ◽

10.17221/218/2015-swr ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (No. 3) ◽

pp. 129-139

Author(s):

Janík Rastislav ◽

Bublinec Eduard ◽

Kubov Martin ◽

Kukla Ján ◽

Schieber Branislav

Keyword(s):

Regression Analysis ◽

Soil Water ◽

Significant Influence ◽

Soil Depth ◽

Precipitation Amount ◽

Atmospheric Precipitation ◽

Sulphur Content ◽

Sulphate Sulphur ◽

Contamination Of Soils ◽

Aluminium Plant

The Štiavnické vrchy Mts. were strongly affected by pollution mostly from an aluminium plant in 1953–1989. This paper compares contamination of soils between Štiavnické vrchy Mts. and the neighbouring little polluted Kremnické vrchy Mts. from results of a 25-year study. After a decrease of emissions in Slovakia at the beginning of the 1990s the sulphate sulphur content, acidity and conductivity of soil water have decreased only on the surface and at a depth of 0.10 m at the study site in the Štiavnické vrchy Mts. At the depth 0.25 m the increase of sulphurization (23.68 kg/ha S-SO42– per year) and acidity (pH 4.92) was observed. During the research, the total sulphate sulphur influx to this soil depth was 568.3 kg/ha. The average sulphur input in the study areas of the Kremnické vrchy Mts. decreased with depth: from 18.48 kg/ha/year in the surface humus to 6.85 kg/ha/year at a depth of 0.25 m. The maximum sulphur influx at the open plot was 24.06 kg/ha/year and in total 553.34 kg S-SO42–. A small increase of acidity at soil depths of 0.25 m at some sites was observed also in the Kremnické vrchy Mts. Regression analysis revealed a statistically significant influence of sulphate sulphur content in the atmospheric precipitation on the sulphur amount in the soil water. A significant correlation was also observed between the precipitation amount and the sulphur content in soil water. Data from monitoring revealed significant differences between the sulphur amounts at depths of 0.10 m and 0.25 m in these study areas.

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