scholarly journals Topographic controls on snow distribution, soil moisture, and species diversity of herbaceous alpine vegetation, Niwot Ridge, Colorado

2008 ◽  
Vol 113 (G2) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
M. I. Litaor ◽  
M. Williams ◽  
T. R. Seastedt
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Alpine Vegetation ◽  
Niwot Ridge ◽  
Topographic Controls ◽  
Snow Distribution

Topographic controls of soil moisture distributions

1985 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. P. BURT ◽  
D. P. BUTCHER
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Topographic Controls

The relationship between soil water storage capacity and plant species diversity in high alpine vegetation

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 457-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Kammer ◽  
Christian Schöb ◽  
Gabriel Eberhard ◽  
Renzo Gallina ◽  
Remo Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Alpine Vegetation ◽  
Water Storage Capacity ◽  
Soil Water Storage Capacity ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Topographic controls on soil moisture scaling properties in polygonal ground using idealized high-resolution surface–subsurface simulations

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 12833-12882
Author(s):  
G. Bisht ◽  
W. J. Riley
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Landscape Heterogeneity ◽  
Scaling Properties ◽  
Coarse Resolution ◽  
Downscaling Method ◽  
Scaling Relationship ◽  
Topographic Controls ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Fine Resolution ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract. Microtopographic features, such as polygonal ground, are characteristic sources of landscape heterogeneity in the Alaskan Arctic coastal plain. Here, we analyze the hypothesis that microtopography is a dominant controller of soil moisture in polygonal landscapes. We perform multi-year surface–subsurface isothermal flow simulations using the PFLOTRAN model for summer months at six spatial resolutions (0.25–8 m, in increments of a factor of 2). Simulations are performed for four study sites near Barrow, Alaska that are part of the NGEE-Arctic project. Results indicate a non-linear scaling relationship for statistical moments of soil moisture. Mean soil moisture for all study sites is accurately captured in coarser resolution simulations, but soil moisture variance is significantly under-estimated in coarser resolution simulations. The decrease in soil moisture variance in coarser resolution simulations is greater than the decrease in soil moisture variance obtained by coarsening out the fine resolution simulations. We also develop relationships to estimate the fine-resolution soil moisture probability distribution function (PDF) using coarse resolution simulations and topography. Although the estimated soil moisture PDF is underestimated during very wet conditions, the moments computed from the inferred soil moisture PDF had good agreement with the full model solutions (bias < ± 4 % and correlation > 0.99) for all four sites. Lastly, we develop two spatially-explicit methods to downscale coarse-resolution simulations of soil moisture. The first downscaling method requires simulation of soil moisture at fine and coarse resolution, while the second downscaling approach uses only topographical information at the two resolutions. Both downscaling approaches are able to accurately estimate fine-resolution soil moisture spatial patterns when compared to fine-resolution simulations (mean error for all study sites are < ± 1 %), but the first downscaling method more accurately estimates soil moisture variance.

An Alpine Vegetation Map of Niwot Ridge, Colorado

1978 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Komarkova ◽  
P. J. Webber
Keyword(s):  
Alpine Vegetation ◽  
Vegetation Map ◽  
Niwot Ridge

scholarly journals Now you see it, now you don't: a case study of ephemeral snowpacks and soil moisture response in the Great Basin, USA

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4891-4906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose Petersky ◽  
Adrian Harpold
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Blowing Snow ◽  
Deep Soil ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Snow Distribution ◽  
Snow Cover Duration ◽  
Strong Control

Abstract. Ephemeral snowpacks, or those that persist for < 60 continuous days, are challenging to observe and model because snow accumulation and ablation occur during the same season. This has left ephemeral snow understudied, despite its widespread extent. Using 328 site years from the Great Basin, we show that ephemeral snowmelt causes a 70-days-earlier soil moisture response than seasonal snowmelt. In addition, deep soil moisture response was more variable in areas with seasonal snowmelt. To understand Great Basin snow distribution, we used MODIS and Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) data to map snow extent. Estimates of maximum continuous snow cover duration from SNODAS consistently overestimated MODIS observations by >25 days in the lowest (<1500 m) and highest (>2500 m) elevations. During this time period snowpack was highly variable. The maximum seasonal snow cover during water years 2005–2014 was 64 % in 2010 and at a minimum of 24 % in 2014. We found that elevation had a strong control on snow ephemerality, and nearly all snowpacks over 2500 m were seasonal except those on south-facing slopes. Additionally, we used SNODAS-derived estimates of solid and liquid precipitation, melt, sublimation, and blowing snow sublimation to define snow ephemerality mechanisms. In warm years, the Great Basin shifts to ephemerally dominant as the rain–snow transition increases in elevation. Given that snow ephemerality is expected to increase as a consequence of climate change, physics-based modeling is needed that can account for the complex energetics of shallow snowpacks in complex terrain. These modeling efforts will need to be supported by field observations of mass and energy and linked to finer remote sensing snow products in order to track ephemeral snow dynamics.

scholarly journals Influence of soil moisture regime on the species diversity and biomass of the herb layer of pine forests in the Ural Mountains

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Natalya Sergeevna Ivanova ◽  
Ekaterina Sergeevna Zolotova ◽  
Guoqing Li
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Moisture Regime ◽  
Herb Layer ◽  
Ural Mountains ◽  
Soil Moisture Regime
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