Effect of stand origin and slope position on infiltration pattern and preferential flow on a Loess hillslope

Author(s):  
Lan Ma ◽  
Xuemei Mei ◽  
Qingke Zhu

<p>Preferential flow is expected to provide an important pathway to replenish soil water at deep soil layers in arid or semiarid areas; however, few studies have addressed this topic, especially in semiarid Loess hillslopes. This study aimed to quantify the effect of stand origin and slope position on the contribution of preferential flow to total infiltration and spatial variations in water flow. A blue dye tracer experiment was conducted to visualize water flow in <em>Robinia pseudoacacia</em> plantation (PL), natural forestland (NF), and natural grassland (NG) at the upslope, midslope, and downslope, and semivariance analysis was used to determine spatial variability at the centimeter scale. The results showed that role of macropore flow was dominant in upslope and midslope, and larger in NF than that in PL and NG, due to presence of abundant root systems in the upper soil of NF. Moreover, contribution of preferential flow at the upper slope in NF was larger than that in PL. At the downslope, the role of rock fragments coverage at the downslope was emphasized, leading lateral flow dominant at the downslope in PL and NG. In addition, contribution of preferential flow and vertical variability of infiltration at the downslope in PL was higher than that in NF. The findings demonstrate that compared with PL, NF has a more positive impact on increasing infiltration and preferential flow that can replenish deep soil water, and reducing surface runoff and soil erosion. The presence of rock fragments coverage can make lateral flow dominant at the downslope on the Loess hillslope, related to water movement along the slope toward streams and catchment outlets.</p>

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiqiang Zhang ◽  
Bingcheng Si ◽  
Huijie Li ◽  
Min Li

Piston and preferential water flow are viewed as the two dominant water transport mechanisms regulating terrestrial water and solute cycles. However, it is difficult to accurately separate the two water flow patterns because preferential flow is not easy to capture directly in field environments. In this study, we take advantage of the afforestation induced desiccated deep soil, and directly quantify piston and preferential water flow using chloride ions (Cl−) and soil water profiles, in four deforested apple orchards on the Loess Plateau. The deforestation time ranged from 3 to 15 years. In each of the four selected orchards, there was a standing orchard that was planted at the same time as the deforested one, and therefore the standing orchard was used to benchmark the initial Cl− and soil water profiles of the deforested orchard. In the deforested orchards, piston flow was detected using the migration of the Cl− front, and preferential flow was measured via soil water increase below the Cl− front. Results showed that in the desiccated zone, Cl− migrated to deeper soil after deforestation, indicating that the desiccated soil layer formed by the water absorption of deep-rooted apple trees did not completely inhibit the movement of water. Moreover, there was an evident increase in soil water below the downward Cl− front, directly demonstrating the existence of preferential flow in deep soil under field conditions. Although pore water velocity was small in the deep loess, preferential water flow still accounted for 34–65% of total infiltrated water. This study presented the mechanisms that regulate movement of soil water following deforestation through field observations and advanced our understanding of the soil hydrologic process in deep soil.


Geofluids ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhu ◽  
Dongjun Fan ◽  
Rong Ma ◽  
Yonggen Zhang ◽  
Yuanyuan Zha

Preferential flow is common in clay or expansive clay soils, involving water bypassing a large portion of the soil matrix. Dye tracer experiment and numerical modeling are used to simulate the surface runoff and subsurface preferential flow patterns influenced by the soil fracture network of a relatively steep hillslope system (slope angle equals to 10 degrees). The result of the experiments indicates that part of the water is infiltrated through cracks, leading to the delay of the initial runoff-yielding time and reduction of the discharge of the surface runoff. The soil water flow is mainly in the matrix when the intensity of precipitation is low. With the increasing of precipitation, soil water movement may become in the form of preferential flow through cracks. In addition, the nonuniformity of soil water infiltration and the depth of the average water infiltration increase as the precipitation intensity increases. To this end, the complete coupling model was established by using the surface-matrix-crack (SMC) model to simulate water flow within discrete fracture as well as to simulate water flow in the soil matrix based on the concept of dual permeability using the traditional Richards’ equation. In this model, the “cubic law” of fluid motion in cracks within smooth parallel plates and the two-dimensional diffusion wave approximation to Saint-Venant equations with momentum term ignored (two-dimensional shallow water equations) were used. The model divides soil water infiltration into two forms and uses the overall method to calculate the exchange of water between the crack networks and matrix regions as well as the exchange water between surface runoff and infiltration water. Results indicate that the SMC model has better performance compared with the traditional equivalent continuum model when those models are used to simulate the surface runoff movement and the soil water movement in the presence of cracks.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (No. 3) ◽  
pp. 85-98
Author(s):  
Dohnal Michal ◽  
Dušek Jaromír ◽  
Vogel Tomáš ◽  
Herza Jiří

This paper focuses on numerical modelling of soil water movement in response to the root water uptake that is driven by transpiration. The flow of water in a lysimeter, installed at a grass covered hillslope site in a small headwater catchment, is analysed by means of numerical simulation. The lysimeter system provides a well defined control volume with boundary fluxes measured and soil water pressure continuously monitored. The evapotranspiration intensity is estimated by the Penman-Monteith method and compared with the measured lysimeter soil water loss and the simulated root water uptake. Variably saturated flow of water in the lysimeter is simulated using one-dimensional dual-permeability model based on the numerical solution of the Richards’ equation. The availability of water for the root water uptake is determined by the evaluation of the plant water stress function, integrated in the soil water flow model. Different lower boundary conditions are tested to compare the soil water dynamics inside and outside the lysimeter. Special attention is paid to the possible influence of the preferential flow effects on the lysimeter soil water balance. The adopted modelling approach provides a useful and flexible framework for numerical analysis of soil water dynamics in response to the plant transpiration.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vedran Krevh ◽  
Jasmina Defterdarović ◽  
Lana Filipović ◽  
Zoran Kovač ◽  
Steffen Beck-Broichsitter ◽  
...  

<p>SUPREHILL is a new (2020) and first Croatian critical zone observatory (CZO), focused on local scale agricultural e.g., vineyard hillslope processes. The experimental setup includes an extensive sensor-based network accompanied by weighing lysimeters and instruments for surface and subsurface hydrology measurement. The field measurements are supported by novel laboratory and numerical quantification methods for the determination of water flow and solute transport. This combined approach will allow the research team to accurately determine soil water balance components (soil water flow, preferential flow/transport pathways, surface runoff, evapotranspiration), the temporal origin of water in hillslope hydrology (isotopes), transport of agrochemicals, and to calibrate and validate numerical modeling procedures for describing and predicting soil water flow and solute transport. First results from sensors indicate increased soil moisture on the hilltop, which is supported by precipitation data from rain gauges and weighing lysimeters. The presence of a compacted soil horizon and compacted inter-row parts (due to trafficking) of the vineyard seems to be highly relevant in regulating water dynamics. Wick lysimeters confirm the sensor soil moisture data, while showing a significant difference in its repetitions which suggests a possibility of a preferential flow imposed by local scale soil heterogeneity. Measured values of surface and subsurface runoff suggest a crucial role of these processes in the hillslope hydrology, while slope and structure dynamics additionally influence soil hydraulic properties. We are confident that the CZO will give us new insights in the landscape heterogeneity and substantially increase our understanding regarding preferential flow and nonlinear solute transport, with results directly applicable in agricultural (sloped agricultural soil management) and environmental (soil and water) systems. Challenges remain in characterizing local scale soil heterogeneity, dynamic properties quantification and scaling issues for which we will rely on combining CZO focused measurements and numerical modeling after substantial data is collected.</p>


2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 8) ◽  
pp. 333-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kodešová ◽  
J. Kozák ◽  
O. Vacek

The transport of chlorotoluron in the soil profile under field conditions was studied. The herbicide Syncuran was applied on a four square meter plot using an application rate of 2.5 kg/ha active ingredient. Soil samples were taken after 119 days to study the residual chlorotoluron distribution in the soil profile. HYDRUS-1D (Šimůnek et al. 1998) was used to simulate water movement and herbicide transport in the soil profile. Soil hydraulic properties and their variability were studied previously by Kutílek et al. (1989). The solute transport parameters, like the adsorption isotherm and the degradation rate, were determined in the laboratory. The Freundlich and Langmuir equations were used to fit the experimental data points of the adsorption isotherm, and the affect of each type of adsorption isotherm equation on the solute transport was studied. The chlorotoluron concentrations in soil water tended to be higher for the simulation performed with the Freundlich isotherm then that of the model using the Langmuir isotherm. In both cases, the solution did not pass a depth of8 cm. The simulated chlorotoluron concentrations in soil samples were higher then the observed concentrations when the chlorotoluron degradation was assumed to be in soil water only. Assumption of the solute degradation in both in the solid and the liquid phase significantly improved the accuracy of the solution. The different characters of the simulated and observed chlorotoluron distributions can probably be attributed to the preferential flow of water and solute in the soil profile and by variability of the transport parameters.


Biologia ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
František Doležal ◽  
David Zumr ◽  
Josef Vacek ◽  
Josef Zavadil ◽  
Adriano Battilani ◽  
...  

AbstractWater movement and uptake by roots in a drip-irrigated potato field was studied by combining field experiments, outputs of numerical simulations and summary results of an EU project (www.fertorganic.org). Detailed measurements of soil suction and weather conditions in the Bohemo-Moravian highland made it possible to derive improved estimates of some parameters for the dual permeability model S1D_DUAL. A reasonably good agreement between the measured and the estimated soil hydraulic properties was obtained. The measured root zone depths were near to those obtained by inverse simulation with S1D _DUAL and to a boundary curve approximation. The measured and S1D _DUAL-simulated soil water pressure heads were comparable with those achieved by simulations with the Daisy model. During dry spells, the measured pressure heads tended to be higher than the simulated ones. In general, the former oscillated between the simulated values for soil matrix and those for the preferential flow (PF) domain. Irrigation facilitated deep seepage after rain events. We conclude that several parallel soil moisture sensors are needed for adequate irrigation control. The sensors cannot detect the time when the irrigation should be stopped.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 648-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinghu Zhang ◽  
Jianzhi Niu ◽  
Mingxiang Zhang ◽  
Zixing Xiao ◽  
Weili Zhu

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hikaru Iida ◽  
Hiroaki Kato ◽  
Tomoki Shinozuka ◽  
Satoru Akaiwa ◽  
Tatsuya Yokoyama ◽  
...  

<p>Stemflow takes important role on the hydrological and chemical cycling in the rhizosphere because it brings intensive rainwater input to forest soil and enhances downward infiltration of rainwater along tree root network to deep soil horizon. However, there are few studies on the effects of stemflow in rainwater infiltration mechanisms by collecting of soil water. In this study, stemflow and soil water near the tree roots (Rd : root downslope) and far from the trunk (Bt : between trees) are collected from a cedar forest in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Samples were collected from June 24 to December 11, 2019 with a total precipitation of 1100 mm during the period. Water volume and dissolved <sup>137</sup>Cs concentration drived from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident were measured. As a result, Rd which is located in neighbor of the trunk showed greater water infiltration flux and high dissolved <sup>137</sup>Cs concentration. The average amount of infiltration water which was normalized for open rainfall depth during the whole sampling period was 1.4 times and 3.0 times larger at 5 cm and 20 cm depth for the Rd than the Bt, the average dissolved <sup>137</sup>Cs concentration was 1.3 times and 1.7 times larger at 5 cm and 20 cm depth, respectively. This suggests that infiltration water flux and dissolved <sup>137</sup>Cs concentration can be increased due to contribution of stemflow input at the base of tree trunk. To determine the role of stemflow on rainwater infiltration flux and the concentration of dissolved elements in the rhzosphere, further analysis is required to clarify detailed infiltration mechanisms by using multiple tracer techniques such as stable isotopic composition of water and by collecting root oriented preferential flow.</p>


Soil Research ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 371 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Kramers ◽  
J. C. van Dam ◽  
C. J. Ritsema ◽  
F. Stagnitti ◽  
K. Oostindie ◽  
...  

A modified version of the popular agrohydrological model SWAP has been used to evaluate modelling of soil water flow and crop growth at field situations in which water repellency causes preferential flow. The parameter sensitivity in such situations has been studied. Three options to model soil water flow within SWAP are described and compared: uniform flow, the classical mobile-immobile concept, and a recent concept accounting for the dynamics of finger development resulting from unstable infiltration. Data collected from a severely water-repellent affected soil located in Australia were used to compare and evaluate the usefulness of the modelling options for the agricultural management of such soils. The study shows that an assumption of uniform flow in a water-repellent soil profile leads to an underestimation of groundwater recharge and an overestimation of plant transpiration and crop production. The new concept of modelling taking finger dynamics into account provides greater flexibility and can more accurately model the observed effects of preferential flow compared with the classical mobile–immobile concept. The parameter analysis indicates that the most important factor defining the presence and extremity of preferential flow is the critical soil water content. Comparison of the modelling results with the Australian field data showed that without the use of a preferential flow module, the effects of the clay amendments to the soil were insufficiently reproduced in the dry matter production results. This means that the physical characteristics of the soil alone are not sufficient to explain the measured increase in production on clay amended soils. However, modelling with the module accounting for finger dynamics indicated that the preferential flow in water repellent soils that had not been treated with clay caused water stress for the crops, which would explain the decrease in production.


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