scholarly journals The Influence of Moss Colonization and Biochar Application on Evaporation Losses and Surface Crack in Shallow Carbonate–Derived Laterite During Dry–Wet Cycles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lulu Che ◽  
Dongdong Liu ◽  
Dongli She
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Evaporation ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Surface Cracks ◽  
Evaporation Model ◽  
Soil Desiccation ◽  
Evaporation Losses ◽  
Soil Moisture Conservation ◽  
Surface Temperature Field

Abstract AimsSoil water deficit in karst mountain lands is becoming an issue of concern owing to porous, fissured, and soluble nature of underlying karst bedrock. It is important to identify feasible methods to facilitate soil water preservation in karst mountainous lands. This study aims to seek the possibility of combined utilization of moss colonization and biochar application to reduce evaporation losses in carbonate-derived laterite.MethodsThe treatments of the experiments at micro-lysimeter included four moss spore amounts (0, 30, 60, and 90 g·m−2) and four biochar application levels (0, 100, 400, and 700 g·m−3). The dynamics of moss coverage, characteristics of soil surface cracks and surface temperature field were identified. An empirical evaporation model considering the interactive effects of moss colonization and biochar application was proposed and assessed.ResultsMoss colonization reduced significantly the ratio of soil desiccation cracks. Relative cumulative evaporation decreased linearly with increasing moss coverage under four biochar application levels. Biochar application reduced critical moss coverage associated with inhibition of evaporation by 33.26%-44.34%. The empirical evaporation model enabled the calculation of soil evaporation losses under moss colonization and biochar application, with the R2 values ranging from 0.94 to 0.99.Conclusions Our result showed that the artificially cultivated moss, which was induced by moss spores and biochar, decreased soil evaporation by reducing soil surface cracks, increasing soil moisture and soil surface temperature.Moss colonization and biochar application has the potential to facilitate soil moisture conservation in karst mountain lands.

scholarly journals Stem–root flow effect on soil–atmosphere interactions and uncertainty assessments

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1509-1522
Author(s):  
Tzu-Hsien Kuo ◽  
Jen-Ping Chen ◽  
Yongkang Xue
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Diffusion Processes ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Evaporation ◽  
Soil Layers ◽  
Flow Effect ◽  
Top Soil

Abstract. Rainfall that reaches the soil surface can rapidly move into deeper layers in the form of bulk flow through the stem–root flow mechanism. This study developed the stem–root flow parameterization scheme and coupled this scheme with the Simplified Simple Biosphere model (SSiB) to analyze its effects on land–atmospheric interactions. The SSiB model was tested in a single-column mode using the Lien Hua Chih (LHC) measurements conducted in Taiwan and HAPEX–Mobilhy (HAPEX) measurements in France. The results show that stem–root flow generally caused a decrease in soil moisture in the top soil layer and moistened the deeper soil layers. Such soil moisture redistribution results in substantial changes in heat flux exchange between land and atmosphere. In the humid environment at LHC, the stem–root flow effect on transpiration was minimal, and the main influence on energy flux was through reduced soil evaporation that led to higher soil temperature and greater sensible heat flux. In the Mediterranean environment of HAPEX, the stem–root flow substantially affected plant transpiration and soil evaporation, as well as associated changes in canopy and soil temperatures. However, the effect on transpiration could be either positive or negative depending on the relative changes in the soil moisture of the top soil vs. deeper soil layers due to stem–root flow and soil moisture diffusion processes.

scholarly journals Delineating soil moisture dynamics as affected by tillage in wheat, Rice and establishment methods of rice during intervening period

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 364-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajan Bhatt ◽  
S. S. Kukal
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Residual Effect ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Moisture Dynamics ◽  
Evaporation Losses ◽  
Direct Seeded ◽  
Moisture Dynamics ◽  
Water Depths

Intervening cropping period perhaps the most ignored period, which could be exploited for cultivating the intervening crops which further add to the soil, crop and water productivity and finally livelihood of the farmers of the region. The present investigation was carried out after rice- 2014, to monitor the residual effect of different tillage (wheat), establishment methods and tillage (rice) on the fluctuating behaviour of the soil moisture during intervening period. Our findings suggested that CTW-DSRZT (conventionally tilled wheat and zero till direct seeded rice) plots conserved more moisture than ZTW-DSRZT (zero till wheat and zero till direct seeded rice) plots an exception of CTWDSRCT plots which were almost equally effective in conserving the soil moisture. On an average, soil matric tension (SMT) was reported to be 36% higher in CTWDSRZT than CTWDSRP plots at 10cm soil surface. Further, ZTW-DSRZT plots on an average dried 8% faster than ZTW-DSRP plots. At 20cm, DSRZT plots dried 3% faster than its allied plots while at 30cm depth, in DSRP plots, SMT values increased 12% and 11% higher under CTW block and ZTW blocks, respectively than its allied plots. SMT readings in all the ZTW plots on an average increased at much more faster rates (24%) than CTW plots. The ZT plots had 1.4% higher water depths than the CT plots. Evaporation losses pragmatic to be higher (17.2% and 7.3%) in ZTW-DSRZT plots as compared to the ZTW-DSRCT and CTW-DSRCT plots which might improve declining crops and water productivity in the region.

scholarly journals The effects of shallow saline groundwater on evaporation, soil moisture, and temperature distribution in the presence of straw mulch

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 720-738
Author(s):  
Ashkan Yusefi ◽  
Ahmad Farrokhian Firouzi ◽  
Milad Aminzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Temperature Distribution ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Evaporation ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Saline Groundwater ◽  
Straw Mulch ◽  
Randomized Design ◽  
Evaporative Loss

Abstract Mitigating evaporative water loss from terrestrial surfaces is of central importance to water resources management in arid and semi-arid regions. This study was intended to experimentally address the effect of straw mulch layer on soil evaporation and temperature distribution in the presence of shallow saline groundwater. A factorial-based experiment with a completely randomized design was carried out in mini-lysimeters (MLs) with different concentrations of saline groundwater and soil types, with and without straw mulch. The lysimeters were placed on the soil surface in the field. Water table in MLs was kept at the depth of 60 cm, and evaporation rate, soil moisture content, soil salinity, and temperature were continuously monitored. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated significant differences in the soil evaporation rates due to the effects of soil types (i.e., loam and sand) and straw mulch (p < 0.01). The results showed that soil temperature fluctuations at the 5 cm depth in loamy soil with and without mulch were 11.5 and 17.5 °C, while in sandy soil the fluctuations rates were 15 and 18.5 °C, respectively. The application of a mulch layer was found to significantly reduce the evaporative loss by 27 and 8% in loamy and sandy soils, respectively.

scholarly journals Ecohydrologic controls on vegetation density and evapotranspiration partitioning across the climatic gradients of the central United States

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2121-2139 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Kochendorfer ◽  
J. A. Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Evaporation ◽  
Soil Water Balance ◽  
Vegetation Density ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Central United States

Abstract. The soil-water balance and plant water use are investigated over a domain encompassing the central United States using the Statistical-Dynamical Ecohydrology Model (SDEM). The seasonality in the model and its use of the two-component Shuttleworth-Wallace canopy model allow for application of an ecological optimality hypothesis in which vegetation density, in the form of peak green leaf area index (LAI), is maximized, within upper and lower bounds, such that, in a typical season, soil moisture in the latter half of the growing season just reaches the point at which water stress is experienced. Via a comparison to large-scale estimates of grassland productivity, modeled-determined peak green LAI for these systems is seen to be at least as accurate as the unaltered satellite-based observations on which they are based. A related feature of the SDEM is its partitioning of evapotranspiration into transpiration, evaporation from canopy interception, and evaporation from the soil surface. That partitioning is significant for the soil-water balance because the dynamics of the three processes are very different. Surprising little dependence on climate and vegetation type is found for the percentage of total evapotranspiration that is soil evaporation, with most of the variation across the study region attributable to soil texture and the resultant differences in vegetation density. While empirical evidence suggests that soil evaporation in the forested regions of the most humid part of the study region is somewhat overestimated, model results are in excellent agreement with observations from croplands and grasslands. The implication of model results for water-limited vegetation is that the higher (lower) soil moisture content in wetter (drier) climates is more-or-less completely offset by the greater (lesser) amount of energy available at the soil surface. This contrasts with other modeling studies which show a strong dependence of evapotranspiration partitioning on climate.

Seasonal activity and estivation of lumbricid earthworms in the midlands of Tasmania

Soil Research ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1355 ◽  
Author(s):  
RB Garnsey
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Adult Development ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Lumbricus Rubellus ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Cocoon Production ◽  
Density And Biomass ◽  
Earthworm Activity

Earthworms have the ability to alleviate many soil degradational problems in Australia. An attempt to optimize this resource requires fundamental understanding of earthworm ecology. This study reports the seasonal changes in earthworm populations in the Midlands of Tasmania (<600 mm rainfall p.a.), and examines, for the first time in Australia, the behaviour and survival rates of aestivating earthworms. Earthworms were sampled from 14 permanent pastures in the Midlands from May 1992 to February 1994. Earthworm activity was significantly correlated with soil moisture; maximum earthworm activity in the surface soil was evident during the wetter months of winter and early spring, followed by aestivation in the surface and subsoils during the drier summer months. The two most abundant earthworm species found in the Midlands were Aporrectodea caliginosa (maximum of 174.8 m-2 or 55.06 g m-2) and A. trapezoides (86 m-2 or 52.03 g m-2), with low numbers of Octolasion cyaneum, Lumbricus rubellus and A. rosea. The phenology of A. caliginosa relating to rainfall contrasted with that of A. trapezoides in this study. A caliginosa was particularly dependent upon rainfall in the Midlands: population density, cocoon production and adult development of A. caliginosa were reduced as rainfall reduced from 600 to 425 mm p.a. In contrast, the density and biomass of A. trapezoides were unaffected by rainfall over the same range: cocoon production and adult development continued regardless of rainfall. The depth of earthworm aestivation during the summers of 1992-94 was similar in each year. Most individuals were in aestivation at a depth of 150-200 mm, regardless of species, soil moisture or texture. Smaller aestivating individuals were located nearer the soil surface, as was shown by an increase in mean mass of aestivating individuals with depth. There was a high mortality associated with summer aestivation of up to 60% for juvenile, and 63% for adult earthworms in 1993 in the Midlands. Cocoons did not survive during the summers of 1992 or 1994, but were recovered in 1993, possibly due to the influence of rainfall during late winter and early spring.

Using soil surface temperature to assess soil evaporation in a drip irrigated vineyard

2013 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
pp. 128-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.L. Kerridge ◽  
J.W. Hornbuckle ◽  
E.W. Christen ◽  
R.D. Faulkner
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Evaporation ◽  
Soil Surface Temperature

scholarly journals Potential Applications of GNSS-R Observations over Agricultural Areas: Results from the GLORI Airborne Campaign

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrez Zribi ◽  
Erwan Motte ◽  
Nicolas Baghdadi ◽  
Frédéric Baup ◽  
Sylvia Dayau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Vegetation Height ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Global Navigation Satellite ◽  
Vegetation Characteristic ◽  
Agricultural Areas

The aim of this study is to analyze the sensitivity of airborne Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS-R) on soil surface and vegetation cover characteristics in agricultural areas. Airborne polarimetric GNSS-R data were acquired in the context of the GLORI’2015 campaign over two study sites in Southwest France in June and July of 2015. Ground measurements of soil surface parameters (moisture content) and vegetation characteristics (leaf area index (LAI), and vegetation height) were recorded for different types of crops (corn, sunflower, wheat, soybean, vegetable) simultaneously with the airborne GNSS-R measurements. Three GNSS-R observables (apparent reflectivity, the reflected signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR), and the polarimetric ratio (PR)) were found to be well correlated with soil moisture and a major vegetation characteristic (LAI). A tau-omega model was used to explain the dependence of the GNSS-R reflectivity on both the soil moisture and vegetation parameters.

scholarly journals Soil moisture modifies the response of soil respiration to temperature in a desert shrub ecosystem

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Wang ◽  
T. S. Zha ◽  
X. Jia ◽  
B. Wu ◽  
Y. Q. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Co2 Efflux ◽  
Diel Variation ◽  
Desert Ecosystems ◽  
Volumetric Soil Water Content ◽  
Desert Shrub

Abstract. The current understanding of the responses of soil respiration (Rs) to soil temperature (Ts) and soil moisture is limited for desert ecosystems. Soil CO2 efflux from a desert shrub ecosystem was measured continuously with automated chambers in Ningxia, northwest China, from June to October 2012. The diurnal responses of Rs to Ts were affected by soil moisture. The diel variation in Rs was strongly related to Ts at 10 cm depth under moderate and high volumetric soil water content (VWC), unlike under low VWC. Ts typically lagged Rs by 3–4 h. However, the lag time varied in relation to VWC, showing increased lag times under low VWC. Over the seasonal cycle, daily mean Rs was correlated positively with Ts, if VWC was higher than 0.08 m3 m−3. Under lower VWC, it became decoupled from Ts. The annual temperature sensitivity of Rs (Q10) was 1.5. The short-term sensitivity of Rs to Ts varied significantly over the seasonal cycle, and correlated negatively with Ts and positively with VWC. Our results highlight the biological causes of diel hysteresis between Rs and Ts, and that the response of Rs to soil moisture may result in negative feedback to climate warming in desert ecosystems. Thus, global carbon cycle models should account the interactive effects of Ts and VWC on Rs in desert ecosystems.

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