Microenvironment of Lake Huron sand dunes

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 241-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Baldwin ◽  
M. A. Maun

Measurements were obtained of relative abundance of vegetation, edaphic properties, and microclimate characteristics of some initial stages of the Lake Huron sand-dune sequence at Pinery Provincial Park, Ont. Of the five dune habitats sampled, the oldest (transition zone) was distinguishable from the rest on the basis of greater diversity and abundance of vegetation, higher organic matter content, higher moisture-retaining capacity, enhanced concentrations of available K+ and Mg2+, depleted levels of Ca2+ in the surface soil, reduced air turbulence, and slightly higher air temperatures. The midsummer microclimate of the open dune habitat was characterized by extremely high day temperatures at the soil surface (5 cm) with large diurnal temperature fluctuations. Soil moisture content was generally low in the surface layers of the soil, but at depths greater than 10 cm, it was always plentiful (> 2.5% of soil by weight). Canonical variates analysis showed that the transition zone habitat (800 years old) was separated from younger ones (first dune ridge, slack, high beach) on the first canonical variate (V1), which accounted for about 50% of the total dispersion in the data. The discrimination of the transition zone microclimate on V1 was best characterized by difference in soil moisture content at shallow depths (5 and 10 cm) and wind velocity at 50 and 150 cm above the soil surface.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-74
Author(s):  
Ali Moursy ◽  
◽  
Abdelgalil A ◽  
Ibrahim M.S ◽  
Abdelhady A.A ◽  
...  

Egyptian Government focuses on development projects especially in new lands such as Sohag-Red Sea road to improve tourism and agricultural activities. This study aims to assess the actual and potential land productivity. Seventeen soil profiles were chosen depending on the six mapping units of the study area. Soil profiles were drilled and soil samples were collected from each horizon. Nine land characteristics were measured/estimated viz. soil moisture content (H), drainage (D), depth (P), texture (T), soluble salts content (S), average nutrient content (N), organic matter content (O), cationic exchange capacity (A) and reserves weatherable minerals (M). Soil samples were analyzed for their mentioned parameters using the standard methods of soil analysis. Accordingly, land productivity (PI) and potentiality (P⸌I) indices were calculated for all studied soil profiles. The results revealed that actual land productivity of the studied area is extremely poor and can be enhanced 17 times by improving soil moisture content, texture, and organic matter content as the most important controlling-factors. Actual and potential land productivity maps were generated using Arc GIS 10.1 software. These results may help decision-makers for new lands reclamation planning and better agricultural production.


1994 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
JC Valette ◽  
V Gomendy ◽  
J Marechal ◽  
C Houssard ◽  
D Gillon

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of duff thickness and moisture content, and of soil moisture content on the transfer of heat in the soil. The experimental design used intact soil blocks with their duff layer, subjected to controlled fires of variable very low intensities of up to 100 kW m-1. The fuel on the surface was composed of needles and twigs of Pinus pinaster. The maximum temperatures measured within the fuel were of the order of 650 degrees C and were independent of the fireline intensities. For fires with fireline intensity of the order of 30 kW m-1, the presence of the duff layer reduced from 330 degrees C the temperature rise at the soil surface. Duff thickness played only a secondary role, but increasing moisture content reinforced its insulating effect, so that the temperature rise was 2.5 times less at 1 cm depth in the duff when the moisture content exceeded 70% dry weight, than when the moisture content was less than 30%. For more intense fires (> 50 kW m-1) that produced longer-lasting surface heating, duff thickness and moisture content played an important role in significantly reducing the temperature rise at the soil surface (range 140 degrees C to 28 degrees C). Because of low soil thermal conductivity, temperature attenuation with increasing depth was noticed. In the case of low intensity fires (< 30 kW m-1) in the absence of a duff layer, the maximum temperatures were reduced from 350 degrees C at the surface to 7 degrees C at 3.5 cm. The temperature rise in the soil decreased with depth according to a negative exponential relation. The rate constant of this relation was greater when the initial surface temperature and the soil moisture content were higher. For the soil studied, and under the moisture conditions encountered (between 7 and 19% of dry weight), the rate constant could be predicted with acceptable precision (r2 = 0.67), if the surface soil temperature rise and the soil moisture content were known. In these experimental fires, which were carried out when the air temperature did not exceed 20 degrees C, lethal temperatures (> 60 degrees C) were measured in the upper few centimetres of the duff layer in very low-intensity fires, and in the upper few centimetres of the soil (where nutrients are most concentrated and biological activity most intense) in the slightly more intense fires. The fire intensities were always very moderate, and of the order of magnitude df those encountered in the prescribed burns conducted on fuel-breaks of the french Mediterranean area. Their impact on the surface of the forest soil, in terms of lethal temperatures transmitted to the horizon rich in organic matter, are not negligible. In contrast, below 3 to 5 cm depth, prescribed burns, conducted under the conditions of the experiments, would not lead to significant change to nutrients or microfaunal or microfloral activity; in particular, root tips would not be subjected to heat stress sufficient to kill them.


2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 552-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie L. Conklin ◽  
Rodney G. Lym

Aminocyclopyrachlor will control a variety of invasive weeds but may injure sensitive plant species if seeded into treated soil too soon after application. Aminocyclopyrachlor 50% dissipation time (DT50) ranged from 3 to > 112 d in four soils from the Northern Great Plains. The DT50was dependent on several factors including soil type, moisture content, and temperature. Across four different soil textures, aminocyclopyrachlor dissipation generally increased as soil moisture content increased, but moisture had less of an impact in sandy soils. Aminocyclopyrachlor dissipation also increased as temperature increased in the four soils. The most rapid dissipation occurred in soils with higher clay content, which also had the highest organic matter content of the soils evaluated, and an average DT50of less than 20 d. Seeding sensitive pasture, range, or crop species after aminocyclopyrachlor applications should be done with caution since the herbicide has potential for long persistence in the soil.


2004 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 46-50
Author(s):  
Kukuh Murtilaksono ◽  
Enny Dwi Wahyuni

This research was conducted to study relationship between soil moisture content and soil physical characteristics that affected the moisture.The soil samples were collected from 22 scattered sites of West Java and Central Java. Analysis of soil physical properties (texture, bulk density, particle density, total porosity and soil moisture retention) and soil chemical property (organic matter) was conducted at the laboratory of Department of Soil Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Bogor Agricultural University. Analysis of simple linier regression was applied to know the correlation between soil moisture content and other basic soil physical properties.Availability of soil moisture (pF 4.20 – pF 2.54) significantly correlated with organic matter, total porosity, and micro pores. The higher organic matter content as well as total porosity and micro pores the higher available soil moisture. Soil moisture of field capacity significantly correlated with clay content, sand content, micro and macro pores. The higher clay content and micro pores the higher soil moisture of field capacity. In the contrary, the higher macro pores and sand content the lower the field capacity. Soil moisture of wilting point significantly correlated with clay content and macro pores. The higher clay content the higher the wilting point, while the higher macro pores the lower soil moisture of wilting point. Keywords : Available soil water, field capacity, organic matter, soil pores, wilting point


2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 1979-1986 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. L. Kaleita ◽  
L. F. Tian ◽  
M. C. Hirschi

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Śpitalniak ◽  
Krzysztof Lejcuś ◽  
Jolanta Dąbrowska ◽  
Daniel Garlikowski ◽  
Adam Bogacz

Climate change induces droughts that are becoming more intensive and more frequent than ever before. Most of the available forecast tools predict a further significant increase in the risk of drought, which indicates the need to prepare solutions to mitigate its effects. Growing water scarcity is now one of the world’s leading challenges. In agriculture and environmental engineering, in order to increase soil water retention, soil additives are used. In this study, the influence of a newly developed water absorbing geocomposite (WAG) on soil water retention and soil matric potential was analyzed. WAG is a special element made from geotextile which is wrapped around a synthetic skeleton with a superabsorbent polymer placed inside. To describe WAG’s influence on soil water retention and soil matric potential, coarse sand, loamy sand, and sandy loam soils were used. WAG in the form of a mat was used in the study as a treatment. Three kinds of samples were prepared for every soil type. Control samples and samples with WAG treatment placed at depths of 10 cm and 20 cm were examined in a test container of 105 × 70 × 50 cm dimensions. The samples had been watered and drained, and afterwards, the soil surface was heated by lamps of 1100 W total power constantly for 72 h. Soil matric potential was measured by Irrometer field tensiometers at three depths. Soil moisture content was recorded at six depths: of 5, 9, 15, 19, 25, and 30 cm under the top of the soil surface with time-domain reflectometry (TDR) measurement devices. The values of soil moisture content and soil matric potential were collected in one-minute steps, and analyzed in 24-h-long time steps: 24, 48, and 72 h. The samples with the WAG treatment lost more water than the control samples. Similarly, lower soil matric potential was noted in the samples with the WAG than in the control samples. However, after taking into account the water retained in the WAG, it appeared that the samples with the WAG had more water easily available for plants than the control samples. It was found that the mechanism of a capillary barrier affected higher water loss from soil layers above those where the WAG had been placed. The obtained results of water loss depend on the soil type used in the profile.


1971 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-343
Author(s):  
D. Hopkinson

SUMMARYThe effect of covers of controlled volunteer vegetation, Pueraria phaseoloides, and clean weeding on the soil moisture content and on the succulence of sisal leaves was studied. The surface soil tended to dry out further when exposed by clean weeding, but moisture in the profile as a whole was not much depleted. The plant covers dried soils to at least 300 cm. in dry periods. Although sisal leaves had a slightly higher dry matter content in dry weather there was no evidence of competition for water between the plant covers and the sisal.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 8238
Author(s):  
Jibing Xiong ◽  
Runhua Yu ◽  
Ejazul Islam ◽  
Fuhai Zhu ◽  
Jianfeng Zha ◽  
...  

High soil surface temperature and loosened soil are major limiting factors of plant productivity in arid and semi-arid coal mining areas of China. Moreover, the extensive and illegitimate burning of crop residues is causing environmental pollution; whereas, these residues could be converted to biochar to benefit soil quality. In this study, the effect of wheat straw biochar (WSB) at rates of 0% (control, CK), 1% (low, LB), 2% (medium, MB) and 4% (high, HB) on soil temperature at different depths (5, 10, 15, and 20 cm) and moisture levels (10 and 20%) was investigated under high soil surface temperature of 50 °C and air humidity of 40%. Our data suggested that soil bulk density was inversely, and soil moisture was directly corelated with soil thermal parameters. Moreover, the increasing rate of WSB addition linearly decreased the soil thermal properties. The maximum decrease in soil bulk density at both moisture levels (10% and 20%) was measured in HB treatment compared to respective CKs. The highest decrease in soil thermal conductivity (59.8% and 24.7%) was found under HB treatment in comparison to respective controls (CK10% and CK20% moisture). The soil volumetric heat capacity was also strongly corelated with soil moisture content (r = 0.91). The WSB treatments displayed differential responses to soil temperature. Under 10% soil moisture, temperature of LB, MB and HB treatments was higher as compared to CK at 5–20 cm depth, and MB treated soil had the smallest increase in temperature. At the 15-cm depth, the MB treatment decreased the temperature by 0.93 °C as compared to the CK20%. Therefore, the effect of WSB on soil temperature was influenced by soil moisture content, soil depth and WSB application rates. It suggested that MB treatment could be a useful farming practice for mitigating soil temperature fluctuation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-377
Author(s):  
Sylvie Laureen Drahorad ◽  
Vincent J. M. N. L. Felde ◽  
Ruth H. Ellerbrock ◽  
Anja Henss

Abstract Biocrusts are biological communities that occupy the soil surface, accumulate organic matter and mineral particles and hence strongly affect the properties of the soils they cover. Moreover, by affecting water repellency, biocrusts may cause a preferential infiltration of rainwater, with a high impact on the formation of local water pathways, especially for sand dunes. The aim of this study is to shed light on the connections between water repellency and pH, carbonate and organic matter content in two dune ecosystems with different biocrust types. For this, we used contact angle measurements, gas volumetric carbonate determination and organic matter characterization via FT-IR and TOF-SIMS. In both ecosystems, moss-dominated biocrusts showed higher water repellency and higher amounts of organic matter compared to algal or cyanobacterial biocrusts. Surprisingly, the biocrusts of the two dune systems did not show differences in organic matter composition or organic coatings of the mineral grains. Biocrusts on the more acidic dunes showed a significantly higher level of water repellency as compared to higher carbonate containing dunes. We conclude that the driving factor for the increase in water repellency between cyanobacterial and moss-dominated biocrusts within one study site is the content of organic matter. However, when comparing the different study sites, we found that higher amounts of carbonate reduced biocrust water repellency.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1402
Author(s):  
Chen Gao ◽  
Min Xu ◽  
Hanzeyu Xu ◽  
Wei Zhou

Moisture content in tidal flats changes frequently and spatially on account of tidal fluctuations, which greatly influence the reflectance of the tidal flat surface. Precise prediction of the spatial-temporal variation of tidal flats’ moisture content is an important foundation of surface bio-geophysical information research by remote sensing. In this paper, we first measured the multi-angle reflectance of soil samples obtained from tidal flats in the northeastern Dongtai, Jiangsu Province, China, in the laboratory. Then, based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, we retrieved the photometric characteristics of the soil surface by employing the SOILSPECT bidirectional reflectance model. Finally, the soil moisture content was retrieved by introducing the equivalent water thickness of the soil. The results showed that: (i) A significant correlation existed between the retrieved equivalent water thickness and the measured soil moisture content. The SOILSPECT model is capable of estimating soil moisture with high precision by using multi-angle reflectance. (ii) Retrieved values of single scattering albedo (ω) were consistent with the variation of soil moisture content. The roughness parameter (h) and the asymmetry factor (Θ) were consistent with the structure and particle composition of the soil surface in dry soil samples. (iii) When the soil samples were soaked with water, the roughness parameter (h) and the type of scattering on the soil surface both showed irregular changes. These results support the importance of using the measured soil particle size as one of the parameters for the retrieval of soil moisture content, which is a method that should be used cautiously, especially in tidal flats.


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