Soil water flow behavior of abandoned farmland restored with different vegetation communities in the Loess Plateau of China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Wang ◽  
Zhengchao Zhou ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
Zhijing Xue ◽  
Liguo Cao
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Preferential Flow ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Natural Vegetation ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Abandoned Farmland ◽  
Vegetation Communities ◽  
Dye Tracer ◽  
Soil Water Flow ◽  
Natural Vegetation Succession

<p>Natural vegetation succession in abandoned farmlands simulate the changes in near surface soil characcteristics over the Loess Plateau of China, and hence likely induce temporal variation in the distribution and the movement of soil water in soil layers. In order to assess the effect of the natural vegetation succession on soil water flow behavior, four vegetation communities at different stages of sucession (<em>Artemisia scoparia</em>, <em>Artemisia sacrorum</em>,<em> Bothriochloa ischaemum</em>, <em>Periploca sepium Bunge</em>) in Fangta watershed of Yan River were selected and dye tracer experiments were performed. Both the soil physicochemical properties (e.g., soil bulk density, the particle size, water stable aggregate (>0.25 mm) content, and soil organic matter) and the root systems (e.g., root mean diameter, root mass density, root surface area, and root volume density) tended to increase along with vegetation sucessional development. Results of the dye tracer experiment and the image analysis indicated that the preferential flow was the dominant type in the four field sites. Compared to the site in early stage of sucession, the preferential flow proportion (FFP), preferential infiltration volume (PIV), and the contribution of the preferential infiltration to the total infiltration (Con) in the late stage enhanced by 6.65-7.34 times, 2.73-4.08 times, and 2.52-3.75 times, respectively. Correlation analysis suggested that the plant roots and their morphometric features played more important role on the preferential flow in comparison with the soil physicochemical properties. The abundant lateral root and the steeper slope may have caused the presence of lateral flow. Along with increasing degree of preferential flow, the spatial variability of the soil water through the vertical soil profiles increase during the process of restoration and succession of vegetation communities. Our study demonstrated the improvement of the preferential flow in the abandoned farmland during natural vegetation restoration helped soil water storage in the deep soil layer.</p><p> </p>

Agricultural hillslope soil heterogeneity challenges: first experimental results from SUPREHILL critical zone observatory

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vedran Krevh ◽  
Jasmina Defterdarović ◽  
Lana Filipović ◽  
Zoran Kovač ◽  
Steffen Beck-Broichsitter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modeling ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Solute Transport ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Preferential Flow ◽  
Soil Heterogeneity ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Soil Water Flow ◽  
Critical Zone Observatory

<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>

scholarly journals Quantify Piston and Preferential Water Flow in Deep Soil Using Cl− and Soil Water Profiles in Deforested Apple Orchards on the Loess Plateau, China

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiqiang Zhang ◽  
Bingcheng Si ◽  
Huijie Li ◽  
Min Li
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Preferential Flow ◽  
Chloride Ions ◽  
Apple Orchards ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Deep Soil ◽  
Soil Water Profiles ◽  
Preferential Water

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.

Interaction Between Plant Roots and Soil Water Flow in Response to Preferential Flow Paths in Northern China

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 648-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinghu Zhang ◽  
Jianzhi Niu ◽  
Mingxiang Zhang ◽  
Zixing Xiao ◽  
Weili Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Preferential Flow ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Plant Roots ◽  
Flow Paths ◽  
Preferential Flow Paths ◽  
Soil Water Flow

scholarly journals Source apportionment of water use during vegetation succession on the Loess Plateau, China

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Enhao ◽  
Li Peng ◽  
Li Zhanbin ◽  
Xiao Lie ◽  
Xu Guoce ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Bothriochloa Ischaemum ◽  
Vegetation Communities ◽  
Successional Development

Background. The Chinese government implemented the largest environmental recovery plan in the 1990s, the Grain for Green Project, on the Loess Plateau to prevent soil erosion. Extensive areas of cultivated land were abandoned and then gradually restored with communities of native vegetation. Little is known, however, about the successional development of these communities and their strategies of water use. Methods. We collected soil and root samples from four vegetation communities at different stages of succession (Artemisia capillaris, A. sacrorum, Bothriochloa ischaemum and Lespedeza davurica) in the dry and wet seasons of 2015 in the Wangmaogou watershed of the Wuding River. Results. Both the root systems and soil-water contents tended to increase with successional development and fluctuated with changes of the dry and wet seasons. Isotopic analysis indicated that the thawing of winter snow during the dry season in April provided sufficient soil water. The vegetation communities only used the water in the 0-20 cm soil layer during the early successional stage. This range increased to 0-100 cm as the succession developed, with strong seasonal variation; water was accessed from deeper soil during the dry season, and water was accessed from shallower soil during the wet season. Discussion. Antecedent rainfall, soil-water content and root distribution strongly influenced the use of water in all four vegetation communities. In the process of restoration and succession of vegetation communities, the behavior characteristics and water absorption strategies of the root system are the important theoretical basis for optimizing the selection of species and accelerating the speed of ecological restoration in Chinese Loess Plateau.

scholarly journals Temporal changes of an alfalfa succession and related soil physical properties on the Loess Plateau, China

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Li She ◽  
Ming An Shao ◽  
Luis Carlos Timm ◽  
Klaus Reichardt
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Bulk Density ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Soil Bulk Density ◽  
Soil Physical Properties ◽  
Natural Vegetation ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
The Loess Plateau

The objective of this work was to investigate the relationship between changes in the plant community and changes in soil physical properties and water availability, during a succession from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) to natural vegetation on the Loess Plateau, China. Data from a succession sere spanning 32 years were collated, and vegetative indexes were compared to changes related to soil bulk density and soil water storage. The alfalfa yield increased for approximately 7 years, then it declined and the alfalfa was replaced by a natural community dominated by Stipa bungeana that began to thrive about 10 years after alfalfa seeding. Soil bulk density increased over time, but the deterioration of the alfalfa was mainly ascribed to a severe reduction in soil water storage, which was lowest around the time when degradation commenced. The results indicated that water consumption by alfalfa could be reduced by reducing plant density. The analysis of the data also suggested that soil water recharge could be facilitated by rotating the alfalfa with other crops, natural vegetation, or bare soil.

A new modelling approach to simulate preferential flow and transport in water repellent porous media: Parameter sensitivity, and effects on crop growth and solute leaching

Soil Research ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 371 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Kramers ◽  
J. C. van Dam ◽  
C. J. Ritsema ◽  
F. Stagnitti ◽  
K. Oostindie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Preferential Flow ◽  
Crop Growth ◽  
Parameter Sensitivity ◽  
Uniform Flow ◽  
Parameter Analysis ◽  
Water Repellent ◽  
Soil Water Flow

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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