Analysis of soil moisture condition under different land uses in arid region of Horqin Sandy Land, northern China

Abstract. Land use plays an important role in controlling spatial and temporal variations of soil moisture by influencing infiltration rates, runoff, and evapotranspiration, which is substantive meaning to crop growth and vegetation restoration in semiarid environments, such as the Horqin Sandy Land in north China. However, few studies have been conducted comparing differences of dynamics of soil water conditions and the responses of soil water to precipitation infiltration under different land use types in this semiarid region. Five different land use types were selected to analyze soil moisture variations in relation to land use patterns during the growing season of two years. Results showed that soil moisture condition was affected by different land uses in semi-arid sandy land. The order of soil moisture (from high to low) among different land uses was grassland, cropland, poplar land, inter-dunes and shrub land. The temporal variations of soil moisture in different land uses were not always consistent with the rainfall due to the dry sequence. Moreover, soil water in surface, root zone and deep soil layer indicated statistical difference for different land covers. Meanwhile, temporal variations of soil moisture profile changed with precipitation. However, in deep soil layer, there was a clear lag in response to precipitation. In addition, seasonal variations of profile soil moisture were classified into two types: increasing and waving types. And the stable soil water layer was at 80–120 cm. Furthermore, the infiltration depth exhibited a positive correlation with precipitation under all land uses. This study provided an insight into the implications for land and agricultural water management in this area.

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Analysis of soil moisture condition under different land uses in the arid region of Horqin sandy land, northern China

Solid Earth ◽

10.5194/se-6-1157-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 1157-1167 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

C. Y. Niu ◽

A. Musa ◽

Y. Liu

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Moisture ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Temporal Variations ◽

Land Uses ◽

Deep Soil ◽

Moisture Condition ◽

Soil Moisture Condition ◽

Land Use Types

Abstract. Land use plays an important role in controlling spatial and temporal variations of soil moisture by influencing infiltration rates, runoff and evapotranspiration, which is important to crop growth and vegetation restoration in semiarid environments, such as Horqin sandy land in north China. However, few studies have been conducted comparing differences of dynamics of soil water conditions and the responses of soil to infiltration under different land use types in semiarid area. Five different land use types were selected to analyze soil moisture variations in relation to land use patterns during the growing season of 2 years. Results showed that soil moisture condition was affected by different land uses in semi-arid sandy soils. The higher soil moisture content among different land uses was exhibited by the grassland, followed by cropland, poplar land, inter-dunes and shrub land. The temporal variations of soil moisture in different land uses were not always consistent with the rainfall due to the dry sequence. Moreover, soil water at the surface, in the root zone and at the deep soil layer indicated statistical differences for different types of land cover. Meanwhile, temporal variations of soil moisture profile changed with precipitation. However, in the deep soil layer, there was a clear lag in response to precipitation. In addition, seasonal variations of profile soil moisture were classified into two types: increasing and waving types. And the stable soil water layer was at 80–120 cm. Furthermore, the infiltration depth exhibited a positive correlation with precipitation under all land uses. This study provided an insight into the implications for land and agricultural water management in this area.

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New measures of deep soil water recharge during vegetation restoration process in semi-arid regions of northern China

10.5194/hess-2020-200 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yiben Cheng ◽

Hongbin Zhan ◽

Wenbin Yang ◽

Qunou Jiang ◽

Yunqi Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Sandy Soil ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Soil Particle ◽

Sandy Land ◽

Deep Soil ◽

Artemisia Sphaerocephala ◽

The Impact ◽

Semi Arid

Abstract. Desertification in semi-arid regions is currently a global environmental and societal problem. This research attempts to understand whether a 40-year-old rain-feed Artamisia sphaerocephala Krasch sand-fixing land in Three North Shelterbelt Program (3NSP) of China can be developed sustainably or not, using a newly designed lysimeter to monitor the precipitation-induced deep soil recharge (DSR) at 220 cm depth. Evapotranspiration is calculated through a water balance equation when precipitation and soil moisture data are collected. Comparison of soil particle sizes and soil moisture distributions in artificial sand-fixing land and neighboring bare land is made to assess the impact of sand-fixing reforestation. Results show that such a sand-fixing reforestation results in a root system being mainly developed in the horizontal direction and the changed soil particle distribution. Specifically, the sandy soil with 50.53 % medium sand has been transformed into a sandy soil with 68.53 % fine sand. Within the Artamisia sphaerocephala Krasch sand-fixing experimental area, the DSR values in bare sand plot and Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch plot are respectively 283.6 mm and 90.6 mm in wet years, reflecting a difference of more than three times. The deep soil layer moisture in semi-arid sandy land is largely replenished by precipitation-induced infiltration. The DSR values of bare sandy land plot and Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch plot are respectively 51.6 mm and 2 mm in dry years, a difference of more than 25 times. The proportions of DSR reduced by Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch is 68.06 % and 96.12 % in wet and dry years, respectively. This research shows that Artamisia sphaerocephala Krasch in semi-arid region can continue to grow and has the capacity of fixing sand. It consumes a large amount of precipitated water, and reduces the amount of DSR considerably.

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New measures of deep soil water recharge during the vegetation restoration process in semi-arid regions of northern China

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-24-5875-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (12) ◽

pp. 5875-5890

Author(s):

Yiben Cheng ◽

Xinle Li ◽

Yunqi Wang ◽

Hongbin Zhan ◽

Wenbin Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Sandy Soil ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Soil Particle ◽

Sandy Land ◽

Deep Soil ◽

Artemisia Sphaerocephala ◽

The Impact ◽

Semi Arid

Abstract. Desertification in semi-arid regions is currently a global environmental and societal problem. This research attempts to understand whether a 40-year-old rain-fed Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch sand-fixing land as part of the Three North Shelterbelt Program (3NSP) of China can be developed sustainably or not using a newly designed lysimeter to monitor the precipitation-induced deep soil recharge (DSR) at 220 cm of depth. Evapotranspiration is calculated through a water balance equation when precipitation and soil moisture data are collected. A comparison of soil particle sizes and soil moisture distributions in artificial sand-fixing land and neighboring bare land is made to assess the impact of sand-fixing reforestation. Results show that such a sand-fixing reforestation results in a root system being mainly developed in the horizontal direction and a changed soil particle distribution. Specifically, the sandy soil with 50.53 % medium sand has been transformed into a sandy soil with 68.53 % fine sand. Within the Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch sand-fixing experimental area, the DSR values in the bare sand plot and Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch plot are respectively 283.6 and 90.6 mm in wet years, reflecting a difference of more than 3 times. The deep soil layer moisture in semi-arid sandy land is largely replenished by precipitation-induced infiltration. The DSR values of the bare sandy land plot and Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch plot are respectively 51.6 and 2 mm in dry years, a difference of more than 25 times. The proportions of DSR reduced by Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch are 68.06 % and 96.12 % in wet and dry years, respectively. This research shows that Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch in semi-arid regions can continue to grow and has the capacity to fix sand. It consumes a large amount of precipitated water and reduces the amount of DSR considerably.

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A Coupled Model for Simulating Water and Heat Transfer in Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum with Crop Growth

Water ◽

10.3390/w11010047 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 47 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Weicai Yang ◽

Xiaomin Mao ◽

Jian Yang ◽

Mengmeng Ji ◽

Adebayo J. Adeloye

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Soil Moisture ◽

Winter Wheat ◽

Soil Water ◽

Coupled Model ◽

Crop Growth ◽

Soil Water Storage ◽

Area Index ◽

Moisture Condition ◽

Soil Moisture Condition

Crop growth is influenced by the energy partition and water–heat transfer in the soil and canopy, while crop growth affects the land surface energy distribution and soil water-heat dynamics. In order to simulate the above processes and their interactions, a new model, named CropSPAC, was developed considering both the growth of winter wheat and the water–heat transfer in Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum (SPAC). In CropSPAC, the crop module depicts the dynamic changes of leaf area index (LAI), crop height, and the root distribution and outputs them to the SPAC module, while the latter outputs soil moisture conditions for the crop module. CropSPAC was calibrated and validated by field experiment of winter wheat in Yongledian, Beijing, with five levels of irrigation treatments, namely W0 (0 mm), W1 (60 mm), W2 (110 mm), W3 (170 mm), and W4 (230 mm). Results show that CropSPAC could predict the soil water and temperature distribution, and winter wheat growth with acceptable accuracy. For example, for the 0–1 m soil water storage, the R2 for W0, W1, W2, W3, and W4 is 0.90, 0.88, 0.90, 0.91, and 0.79, and the root mean square error (RMSE) is 17.24 mm, 27.65 mm, 20.47 mm, 22.35 mm, and 12.88 mm, respectively. For soil temperature along the soil profile, the R2 ranges between 0.96 and 0.98, and the RMSE between 1.22 °C and 1.94 °C. For LAI, the R2 varied from 0.76 to 0.96, and the RMSE from 0.52 to 0.67. We further compared the simulation results by CropSPAC and its two detached modules, i.e., crop and the SPAC modules. Results demonstrate that the coupled model could better reflect the interactions between crop growth and soil moisture condition, more suitable to be used under deficit irrigation conditions.

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Divergent water sources of three dominant plant species following precipitation events in enclosed and mowing grassland steppes

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.7737 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. e7737

Author(s):

Tiejun Bao ◽

Yunnuan Zheng ◽

Ze Zhang ◽

Heyang Sun ◽

Ran Chao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Soil Water ◽

Plant Species ◽

Water Use ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Deep Soil ◽

Soil Layers ◽

Typical Steppe ◽

Dominant Plant Species ◽

Precipitation Events

Understanding of the dynamic patterns of plant water use in a changing environment is one of foci in plant ecology, and can provide basis for the development of best practice in restoration and protection of ecosystem. We studied the water use sources of three coexisting dominant plant species Leymus chinensis, Stipa grandis and Cleistogenes squarrosa growing in both enclosed and mowing grassland in a typical steppe. The oxygen stable isotope ratios (δ18O) of soil water and stem water of these three species were determined, along with soil moisture, before and after precipitation events. The results showed that (1) mowing had no significant effect on the soil moisture and its δ18O, whereas precipitation significantly changed the soil moisture though no significant effect detected on its δ18O. (2) C. squarrosa took up water majorly from top soil layer due to its shaollow root system; L. chinensis took up relative more water from deep soil layer, and S. grandis took up water from the middle to deep soil layers. (3) L. chinensis and S. grandis in mowing grassland tended to take up more water from the upper soil layers following precipitation events, but showed no sensitive change in water source from soil profile following the precipitation in the enclosed grassland, indicating a more sensitive change of soil water sources for the two species in mowing than enclosed grassland. The differences in root morphology and precipitation distribution may partly explain the differences in their water uptake from different soil layers. Our results have important theoretical values for understanding the water competition among plants in fluctuating environment and under different land use in the typical steppe.

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Multilayer Soil Moisture Mapping at a Regional Scale from Multisource Data via a Machine Learning Method

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs11030284 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 284 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Linglin Zeng ◽

Shun Hu ◽

Daxiang Xiang ◽

Xiang Zhang ◽

Deren Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Soil Moisture ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Remotely Sensed ◽

Temporal Variations ◽

Training Data ◽

Estimation Accuracy ◽

Learning Approaches ◽

Remotely Sensed Data ◽

Deep Soil

Soil moisture mapping at a regional scale is commonplace since these data are required in many applications, such as hydrological and agricultural analyses. The use of remotely sensed data for the estimation of deep soil moisture at a regional scale has received far less emphasis. The objective of this study was to map the 500-m, 8-day average and daily soil moisture at different soil depths in Oklahoma from remotely sensed and ground-measured data using the random forest (RF) method, which is one of the machine-learning approaches. In order to investigate the estimation accuracy of the RF method at both a spatial and a temporal scale, two independent soil moisture estimation experiments were conducted using data from 2010 to 2014: a year-to-year experiment (with a root mean square error (RMSE) ranging from 0.038 to 0.050 m3/m3) and a station-to-station experiment (with an RMSE ranging from 0.044 to 0.057 m3/m3). Then, the data requirements, importance factors, and spatial and temporal variations in estimation accuracy were discussed based on the results using the training data selected by iterated random sampling. The highly accurate estimations of both the surface and the deep soil moisture for the study area reveal the potential of RF methods when mapping soil moisture at a regional scale, especially when considering the high heterogeneity of land-cover types and topography in the study area.

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Changes in soil water holding capacity and water availability following vegetation restoration on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-88914-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yong-wang Zhang ◽

Kai-bo Wang ◽

Jun Wang ◽

Changhai Liu ◽

Zhou-ping Shangguan

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Water ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Soil Physical Properties ◽

Chinese Loess Plateau ◽

Land Use Type ◽

Chinese Loess ◽

Water Holding ◽

The Chinese Loess Plateau

AbstractChanges in land use type can lead to variations in soil water characteristics. The objective of this study was to identify the responses of soil water holding capacity (SWHC) and soil water availability (SWA) to land use type (grassland, shrubland and forestland). The soil water characteristic curve describes the relationship between gravimetric water content and soil suction. We measured the soil water characteristic parameters representing SWHC and SWA, which we derived from soil water characteristic curves, in the 0–50 cm soil layer at sites representing three land use types in the Ziwuling forest region, located in the central part of the Loess Plateau, China. Our results showed that the SWHC was higher at the woodland site than the grassland and shrubland, and there was no significant difference between the latter two sites, the trend of SWA was similar to the SWHC. From grassland to woodland, the soil physical properties in the 0–50 cm soil layer partially improved, BD was significantly higher at the grassland site than at the shrubland and woodland sites, the clay and silt contents decreased significantly from grassland to shrubland to woodland and sand content showed the opposite pattern, the soil porosity was higher in the shrubland and woodland than that in the grassland, the soil physical properties across the 0–50 cm soil layer improved. Soil texture, porosity and bulk density were the key factors affecting SWHC and SWA. The results of this study provide insight into the effects of vegetation restoration on local hydrological resources and can inform soil water management and land use planning on the Chinese Loess Plateau.

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Root Response to Soil Water Status via Interaction of Crop Genotype and Environment

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11040708 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 708

Author(s):

Phanthasin Khanthavong ◽

Shin Yabuta ◽

Hidetoshi Asai ◽

Md. Amzad Hossain ◽

Isao Akagi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Soil Water ◽

Root Distribution ◽

Water Status ◽

Soil Layer ◽

Shoot Biomass ◽

Soil Conditions ◽

Crop Adaptation ◽

Soil Moisture Status ◽

Root Distributions

Flooding and drought are major causes of reductions in crop productivity. Root distribution indicates crop adaptation to water stress. Therefore, we aimed to identify crop roots response based on root distribution under various soil conditions. The root distribution of four crops—maize, millet, sorghum, and rice—was evaluated under continuous soil waterlogging (CSW), moderate soil moisture (MSM), and gradual soil drying (GSD) conditions. Roots extended largely to the shallow soil layer in CSW and grew longer to the deeper soil layer in GSD in maize and sorghum. GSD tended to promote the root and shoot biomass across soil moisture status regardless of the crop species. The change of specific root density in rice and millet was small compared with maize and sorghum between different soil moisture statuses. Crop response in shoot and root biomass to various soil moisture status was highest in maize and lowest in rice among the tested crops as per the regression coefficient. Thus, we describe different root distributions associated with crop plasticity, which signify root spread changes, depending on soil water conditions in different crop genotypes as well as root distributions that vary depending on crop adaptation from anaerobic to aerobic conditions.

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