Dark Island heath (Ninety-mile Plain, South Australia). V. The water relationships in heath vegetation and pastures on the Makin sand

1957 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL Specht

Heath vegetation shows a major flush of growth during the mediterraneantype summer season, a time when calculations of the soil moisture storage by the techniques of Thornthwaite (1948) or Prescott, Collins, and Shirpurkar (1952) indicate that severe drought conditions should oocur. Monthly observations on the moisture status of the Makin sand under heath vegetation and, for comparison, under various pastures are therefore recorded. The problems of obtaining an accurate water balance-sheet for such a heterogeneous vegetation as the heath are discussed. Difficulties in the use of the various techniques for measuring soil moisture in sand, which has a low pF of 1.85 at field capacity, are enumerated. The following relationships were found between the evapotranspiration index (Itr = Etr / Ew0.75) and the available water (W). These data were calculated for 6 ft of sand. (i) Heath vegetation (10–14 years old) log (2.4–Itr) = 0.420–0.0383 W (ii) Heath vegetation (burnt) log (2.4–Itr) = 0.461–0.0380 W (iii) Oenothera odorata Jacq. pasture log (2.4–Itr) = 0.395–0.0269 W (iv) Medicago sativa L. pasture log (2.4–Itr) = 0.390–0.0270 W (v) Ehrharta calycina Sm. pasture log (2.4–Itr) = 0.400–0.0339 W From these equations the mean monthly quantities of rainfall which may be stored in 6 ft of sand under the various treatments described were calculated. Drought conditions are shown to occur in December and January, but are relieved in the later months of summer. Even if the stored moisture below 8 ft is considered, the soil moisture status would be expected to be just sufficient to maintain the vegetation in a "dormant" state, and yet the major growth of the heath vegetation occurs at this time. The calculated mean annual values of Itr range from 0.53 to 0.60 for these perennial communities. Close approximations to the actual soil moisture status can be obtained by substituting these values for K in Prescott's formula for potential evaporation, i.e. Etr = K x Ew0.75. Supplementary data on transpiration, growth, and the root systems of the pastures are also included.

1985 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
GJ Cock

The soil moisture characteristics of undisturbed samples of Mallee soils, taken from typical profiles of the Riverland district neat Berri in South Australia, were determined. Samples were grouped according to texture and bulk density and, for each group, the moisture storage between matric potentials was derived. Over the usual range of soil moisture tensions (-0 to 40kPa) these showed only small variation between soil groups since, while moisture storage at field capacity and at wilting point does vary with texture; 50 to 60 mm/m is available between field capacity (-7 kPa) and the re-irrigation point (-30 to 40kPa) in all soils.


1987 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. P. MAULÉ ◽  
D. S. CHANASYK

Two simple techniques for separating soil moisture loss into drainage and evapotranspiration for cropped conditions were compared. The study was conducted during May through September 1983 at Ellerslie, Alberta. One technique, the field capacity method, utilized soil tension at − 4 kPa to demarcate the cessation of drainage; the other technique, the gradient method, utilized changes in soil moisture status relative to fallow conditions, to mark the onset of moisture extraction by roots. Both methods estimated similar amounts of drainage and evapotranspiration for the barley plots. Application and thus proper evaluation of these two methods were limited as more than 83% of the total drainage occurred during a 3-wk period in which only the Penman method for estimating evapotranspiration could be used. Key words: Water balance, drainage, evapotranspiration, field capacity method, gradient method


2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
PE Hornsby ◽  
EY Corlett

Responses to severe drought by two sympatric macropodids, the yellow-footed rock-wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus) and the euro (Macropus robustus erubescens) were examined at a site in the North Flinders Ranges of South Australia. The results indicate that the two species respond differentially to drought conditions. It was observed that small fluctuations occurred in the P. xanthopus population. In contrast, M. r. erubescens evidenced significant mortality, especially among larger animals.


1967 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. R. Stern

In a series of five irrigated cotton sowings (T2, T7, T9, T11, T14) evapotranspiration (Et) was determined for the period between October 1961 and October 1962 by observing frequently the changes in soil moisture storage, calculating through drainage, and solving for evapotranspiration in the water balance equation. Thus a water balance was obtained for each sowing extending over the entire crop.The average evapotranspiration in wet season sowings was of the order of 6·5 mm day−1 and in dry season sowings of the order of 4·5 mm day−1. The highest evapotranspiration values ranged between 10 and 12 mm day−1 in T2, T7 and T9 and between 7 and 9·5 mm day−1 in T11 and T14.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolu Ling ◽  
Ying Huang ◽  
Weidong Guo ◽  
Yixin Wang ◽  
Chaorong Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract. Soil moisture (SM) plays a critical role in the water and energy cycles of the earth system; consequently, a long-term SM product with high quality is urgently needed. In this study, five SM products, including one microwave remote sensing product [European Space Agency's Climate Change Initiative (ESA CCI)] and four reanalysis datasets [European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis-Interim (ERAI), National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), the Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5 (ERA5)], are systematically evaluated using in situ measurements during 1981–2013 in four climate regions at different timescales over mainland China. The results show that ESA CCI is closest to the observations in terms of both the spatial distributions and magnitude of the monthly SM. All reanalysis products tend to overestimate soil moisture in all regions but have higher correlations than the remote sensing product except in Northwest China. The largest inconsistency is found in southern Northeast China, with a relative RMSE value larger than 0.1. However, none of the products can well reproduce the trends of interannual anomalies. The largest relative bias of 44.6 % is found for the ERAI SM product under severe drought conditions, and the lowest relative biases of 4.7 % and 9.5 % are found for the ESA CCI SM product under severe drought conditions and the NCEP SM product under normal conditions, respectively. As decomposing mean square errors in all the products suggests that the bias terms are the dominant contribution, the ESA CCI SM product is a good option for long-term hydrometeorological applications in mainland China. ERA5 is also a promising product, which is attributed to the incorporation of more observations. This long-term intercomparison study provides clues for SM product enhancement and further hydrological applications.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
YENDI FRIADI

ABSTRAK Leachate dapat didefinisikan sebagai cairan yang menginfiltrasi melalui tumpukan sampah dan telah mengekstraksi material terlarut maupun tersuspensi. Sistem instalasi pengolahan leachate bergantung pada debit dan karaktersitik leachate itu sendiri. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah memperkirakan debit leachate yang dihasilkan oleh TPA Entikong sebagai acuan dasar perancangan/desain instalasi pengolahan leachate, merencanakan sistem instalasi pengolahan  leachate di TPA Entikong Kabupaten Sanggau serta mengetahui anggaran biaya yang diperlukan dalam perancangan IPL berdasarkan sistem pengolahan yang digunakan.Tahapan untuk mengolah dan menghitung data meliputi perhitungan debit leachate dan mendesain/merancang IPL. Debit leachate dihitung dari rata-rata hujan maksimum bulanan, dari data beberapa tahun atau dengan menggunakan metode neraca air yaitu metode pendekatan Thornhtwaite. Faktor-faktor yang berpengaruh terhadap kuantitas leachate dalam metode neraca air ini adalah presipitasi, evapotransipitasi, surface run-off dan soil moisture storage. Proses desain IPL terdiri dari penentuan letak IPL, penentuan jenis pengolahan, penentuan sistem pengolahan yang ada di Indonesia, pemilihan desain IPL, melakukan perhitungan hidroulik terhadap desain sistem IPL terpilih, menentukan layout bangunan IPL, membuat gambar rancangan, perhitungan anggaran biaya serta membuat spesifikasi teknis pembuatan IPL.Berdasarkan hasil perhitungan menggunakan metode Thornthwaite didapat perkolasi tertinggi sebesar 185,43 mm dan diketahui luas area timbunan sampah TPA Entikong sebesar 1,06 Ha maka diperoleh nilai debit leachate sebesar 65,52 m3/hari. Kandungan organik (BOD) yang terdapat dalam leachate mempunyai nilai BOD sebesar 10.000 mg/L, sehingga metode pengolahan biologi sangat tepat digunakan untuk mengolah leachate di TPA Entikong. Sistem pengolahan yang digunakan adalah pengolahan secara biologi. Unit-unit pengolahan leachate TPA Entikong yang direncanakan adalah bak ekualisasi,  kolam anaerobik, kolam fakultatif, kolam maturasi dan constructed wetland. Besarnya total biaya yang dibutuhkan adalah Rp. 1.375.000.000,00 Kata-kata kunci : BOD, Leachate, Thornthwaite


Weed Science ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 534-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Dortenzio ◽  
R. F. Norris

Loss in activity of foliar-applied methyl ester of diclofop {2-[4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenoxy] propanoic acid} occurred under low soil moisture conditions. A loss in control of yellow foxtail [Setaria lutescens(Weigel) Hubb.], wild oats (Avena fatuaL.), little-seed canarygrass (Phalaris minorRetz.), and barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli(L.) Beauv.], was observed under greenhouse and growth chamber conditions. When soil was maintained at 2 to 3% above wilting point as compared to near field capacity, herbicide activity was decreased by 15 to 50%. High soil moisture (at or above 67% of field capacity) for at least 2 to 4 days following treatment was needed to achieve maximum effectiveness of the herbicide. Daily furrow irrigations for a period of 10 days following treatment of barnyardgrass in the field resulted in highest activity as compared to that under single irrigation regimes within the 10-day period. The effect of low soil moisture was minimized by increased rates of herbicide application. Hoe-29152 {methyl-2-[4-(4-trifluoromethylphenoxy)phenoxy] propanoate} showed similar losses in activity associated with low soil moisture. No consistent changes in uptake or translocation of14C-labeled diclofop could be detected in association with altered soil moisture status.


1982 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 373 ◽  
Author(s):  
GJE Hill

A 2-y study was made of seasonal movement patterns of the eastern grey kangaroo, Macropus giganteus Shaw, in the Warwick district of south-eastern, and the Bollon district of south-western, Queensland. Faecal pellet counts were used to obtain indices of kangaroo usage of cleared country adjacent to cover. Kangaroos were sensitive to changes in forage status, particularly pasture phenology. As quality and quantity of forage reserves declined, animals made progressively greater use of cleared areas. This resulted in marked seasonal changes in distribution patterns. Of the variables quantified (rainfall, soil moisture storage and pasture growth), rainfall provided the best correlations with kangaroo usage of cleared country, explaining 55% (P = 0.002) of the variation in distribution at Warwick and 91% (P = 0.001) of that at Bollon.


2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph G. Alfieri ◽  
Peter D. Blanken ◽  
David N. Yates ◽  
Konrad Steffen

Abstract Nearly one-half of the earth’s terrestrial surface is susceptible to drought, which can have significant social, economic, and environmental impacts. Therefore, it is important to develop better descriptions and models of the processes linking the land surface and atmosphere during drought. Using data collected during the International H2O Project, the study presented here investigates the effects of variations in the environmental factors driving the latent heat flux (λE) during drought conditions at a rangeland site located in the panhandle of Oklahoma. Specifically, this study focuses on the relationships of λE with vapor pressure deficit, wind speed, net radiation, soil moisture content, and greenness fraction. While each of these environmental factors has an influence, soil moisture content is the key control on λE. The role of soil moisture in regulating λE is explained in terms of the surface resistance to water vapor transfer. The results show that λE transitioned between being water or energy limited during the course of the drought. The implications of this on the ability to understand and model drought conditions and transitions into or out of droughts are discussed.


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