Seasonal variations in infiltrability of moss‐dominated biocrusts on aeolian sand and loess soil in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Biocrust effects on soil infiltration have attracted increasing attention in dryland ecosystems, but their seasonal variations in infiltrability have not yet been well understood. On the Chinese Loess Plateau, soil infiltrability indicated by saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s) of biocrusts and bare soil, both on aeolian sand and loess soil, was determined by disc infiltrometer in late spring (SPR), midsummer (SUM), and early fall (FAL). Then their correlations with soil biological and physiochemical properties and water repellency index (RI) were analysed. The results showed that the biocrusts significantly decreased K_s both on sand during SPR, SUM, and FAL (by 43%, 66%, and 35%, respectively; P < .05) and on loess (by 42%, 92%, and 10%, respectively; P <.05). As compared with the bare soil, the decreased K_s in the biocrusted surfaces was mostly attributed to the microorganism biomass and also to the increasing content of fine particles and organic matter. Most importantly, both the biocrusts and bare soil exhibited significant (F ≥ 11.89, P ≤ .003) seasonal variations in K_s, but their patterns were quite different. Specifically, the K_s of bare soil gradually decreased from SPR to SUM (32% and 42% for sand and loess, respectively) and FAL (29% and 39%); the K_s of biocrusts also decreased from SPR to SUM (59% and 92%) but then increased in FAL (36% and 588%). Whereas the seasonal variations in K_s of the biocrusts were closely correlated with the seasonal variations in RI, the RI values were not high enough to point at hydrophobicity. Instead of that, the seasonal variations of K_s were principally explained by the changes in the crust biomass and possibly by the microbial exopolysaccharides. We conclude that the biocrusts significantly decreased soil infiltrability and exhibited a different seasonal variation pattern, which should be carefully considered in future analyses of hydropedological processes.     

基于原位双环、试坑浸水试验和数值模拟反演的Q3黄土饱和渗透系数对比研究

为准确获取原状Q3黄土的竖向和水平饱和渗透系数,进行了原位、室内试验测试以及数值模拟反演,并应用大型试坑浸水试验检验了所获饱和渗透系数的可靠性。进行了不同内径尺寸的原位双环入渗试验,获取了竖向饱和渗透系数,并应用室内试验测试了竖向和水平饱和渗透系数以及持水曲线;应用COMSOL软件对双环入渗试验进行数值模拟,检验了所测饱和渗透系数的可靠性,利用正交试验获得了最优的竖向和水平饱和渗透系数取值,并利用反演结果对试坑进行数值模拟,将其水分入渗情况与实测值对比。研究结果表明：在现场进行双环入渗试验时选取较大内径的双环获得的竖向饱和渗透系数更为合理。针对双环入渗试验,数值模拟反演所得最优饱和渗透系数在竖向上接近于原位试验所得竖向饱和渗透系数、水平向上接近室内所测水平向饱和渗透系数,竖向饱和渗透系数比水平向饱和渗透系数更加显著地影响水分入渗过程。通过对大型试坑水分入渗情况的验证,检验了反演所得最优饱和渗透系数的可靠性。     

Variation in soil saturated hydraulic conductivity along the hillslope of collapsing granite gullies

Saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s) affects the soil hydrological process and is influenced by many factors that exhibit strong spatial variations. To accurately measure K_s and its scale, spatial variability and relationship with collapsing gullies, we analysed four double-ring infiltrometer diameters in three soil layers during in situ experiments designed to measure K_s in two typical collapsing gullies (three slope sites) in Tongcheng County of China. The results showed that K_s increased with increasing inner ring diameter, but no significant difference existed between inner diameters of 30 and 40 cm. The K_s in red soil layers was higher than that in sandy soil layers, the transition layers had the lowest values. K_s also varied with slope position, gradually decreasing with distance from the gully head. The suggestion is that the spatial variation in K_s is affected not only by the intrinsic soil properties but also by the interaction with the collapsing gully.     

植被发育斜坡非饱和带土体优先域及其对水分入渗的贡献——以云南省呈贡和昭通玄武岩质斜坡为例

为了全面得到植被发育斜坡非饱和带土体中优先域结构类型,以2个试验区5个玄武岩斜坡为研究对象,采用染色示踪试验揭示优先域的存在形式及其影响因素,并采用双环入渗试验对不同深度非饱和带土体渗透特征进行测定,揭示优先域对水分入渗的贡献。研究表明：植被发育斜坡非饱和带土体中优先域结构类型除了传统的植物根系腐烂后残留的通道、动物通道、土体干缩裂隙以外,还存在有根系-土体以及砾石-土体接触带空隙以及气候冻融交替产生的裂隙,其中植被根系对大孔隙的影响占主导地位;试验区斜坡非饱和带土体的饱和渗透速度随深度增加有降低的趋势,土体饱和渗透速度最大值高达513.6 mm/h（表层）;最小值13.33 mm/h,受广泛分布的优先域影响下形成的斜坡饱和带高渗透盖层对降水入渗的贡献是巨大的。     

A modified multiple tension upward infiltration method to estimate the soil hydraulic properties

Determination of saturated hydraulic conductivity, K_s, and the shape parameters α and n of the water retention curve, θ(h), is of paramount importance to characterize the water flow in the vadose zone. This work presents a modified upward infiltration method to estimate K_s, α and n from numerical inverse analysis of the measured cumulative upward infiltration (CUI) at multiple constant tension lower boundary conditions. Using the HYDRUS‐2D software, a theoretical analysis on a synthetic loam soil under different soil tensions (0, 0–10, 0–50 and 0–100 cm), with and without an overpressure step of 10 cm high from the top boundary condition at the end of the upward infiltration process, was performed to check the uniqueness and the accuracy of the solutions. Using a tension sorptivimeter device, the method was validated in a laboratory experiment on five different soils: a coarse and a fine sand, and a 1‐mm sieved loam, clay loam and silt‐gypseous soils. The estimated α and n parameters were compared to the corresponding values measured with the TDR‐pressure cell method. The theoretical analysis demonstrates that K_s and θ(h) can be simultaneously estimated from measured upward cumulative infiltration when high (>50 cm) soil tensions are initially applied at the lower boundary. Alternatively, satisfactory results can be also obtained when medium tensions (<50 cm) and the K_s calculated from the overpressure step at the end of the experiment are considered. A consistent relationship was found between the α (R² = 0.86, p < 0.02) and n (R² = 0.97, p < 0.001) values measured with the TDR‐pressure cell and the corresponding values estimated with the tension sorptivimeter. The error between the α (in logarithm scale) and n values estimated with the inverse analysis and the corresponding values measured with pressure chamber were 3.1 and 6.1%, respectively. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Macroporosity and infiltration in blanket peat: the implications of tension disc infiltrometer measurements

Little is known about the processes of infiltration and water movement in the upper layers of blanket peat. A tension infiltrometer was used to measure hydraulic conductivity in a blanket peat in the North Pennines, England. Measurements were taken from the surface down to 20 cm in depth for peat under four different vegetation covers. It was found that macropore flow is a significant pathway for water in the upper layers of this soil type. It was also found that peat depth and surface vegetation cover were associated with macroporosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity. The proportion of macropore flow was found to be greater at 5 cm depth than at 0, 10 and 20 cm depth. Peat beneath a Sphagnum cover tends to be more permeable and a greater proportion of macropore flow can occur beneath this vegetation type. Functional macroporosity and matrix flow in the near‐surface layers of bare peat appear to have been affected by weathering processes. Comparision of results with rainfall records demonstrates that infiltration‐excess overland flow is unlikely to be a common runoff‐generating mechanism on blanket peat; rather, a saturation‐excess mechanism combined with percolation‐excess above much less permeable layers dominates the runoff response. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing burn severity and comparing soil water repellency,Hayman Fire,Colorado

An important element of evaluating a large wildfire is to assess its effects on the soil in order to predict the potential watershed response. After the 55 000 ha Hayman Fire on the Colorado Front Range, 24 soil and vegetation variables were measured to determine the key variables that could be used for a rapid field assessment of burn severity. The percentage of exposed mineral soil and litter cover proved to be the best predictors of burn severity in this environment. Two burn severity classifications, one from a statistical classification tree and the other a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) burn severity map, were compared with measured ‘ground truth’ burn severity at 183 plots and were 56% and 69% accurate, respectively. This study also compared water repellency measurements made with the water drop penetration time (WDPT) test and a mini‐disk infiltrometer (MDI) test. At the soil surface, the moderate and highly burned sites had the strongest water repellency, yet were not significantly different from each other. Areas burned at moderate severity had 1·5 times more plots that were strongly water repellent at the surface than the areas burned at high severity. However, the high severity plots most likely had a deeper water repellent layer that was not detected with our surface tests. The WDPT and MDI values had an overall correlation of r = ?0·64(p < 0·0001) and appeared to be compatible methods for assessing soil water repellency in the field. Both tests represent point measurements of a soil characteristic that has large spatial variability; hence, results from both tests reflect that variability, accounting for much of the remaining variance. The MDI is easier to use, takes about 1 min to assess a strongly water repellent soil and provides two indicators of water repellency: the time to start of infiltration and a relative infiltration rate. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes over time in near-saturated hydraulic conductivity of peat soil following reclamation for agriculture

Reclamation of peat bogs for agriculture changes the physical and chemical characteristics of the peat matrix, for example, drainage and tillage accelerate decomposition, altering peat porosity, pore size distribution, and hydraulic properties. This study investigated changes in near-saturated hydraulic conductivity over time after drainage of peat soil for agricultural use by conducting tension infiltrometer measurements in a mire that has been gradually drained and reclaimed for agriculture during the past 80 years (with fields drained 2, 12, 40, and 80 years before the measurements). At pore water pressure closest to saturation (pressure head −1 cm), hydraulic conductivity in the newest field was approximately nine times larger than that in the oldest field, and a decreasing trend with field age was observed. A similar (but weaker) trend was observed with −3 cm pressure head (approximately four times larger in the newest field in comparison to the oldest), but at −6 cm head, there were no significant differences. These results indicate that peat degradation reduces the amount of millimetre-sized pores in particular. They also indicate that changes in peat macroporosity continue for several decades before a new steady state is reached.     

A comparison between the single ring pressure infiltrometer and simplified falling head techniques

Testing the relative performances of the single ring pressure infiltrometer (PI) and simplified falling head (SFH) techniques to determine the field saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, K_fs, at the near point scale may help to better establish the usability of these techniques for interpreting and simulating hydrological processes. A sampling of 10 Sicilian sites showed that the measured K_fs was generally higher with the SFH technique than the PI one, with statistically significant differences by a factor varying from 3 to 192, depending on the site. A short experiment with the SFH technique yielded higher K_fs values because a longer experiment with the PI probably promoted short‐term swelling phenomena reducing macroporosity. Moreover, the PI device likely altered the infiltration surface at the beginning of the run, particularly in the less stable soils, where soil particle arrangement may be expected to vary upon wetting. This interpretation was supported by a soil structure stability index, SSI, and also by the hydraulic conductivity data obtained with the tension infiltrometer, i.e. with a practically negligible disturbance of the sampled soil surface. In particular, a statistically significant, increasing relationship with SSI and an unsaturated conductivity greater than the saturated one were only detected for the K_fs data obtained with the PI. The SFH and PI techniques should be expected to yield more similar results in relatively rigid porous media (low percentages of fine particles and structurally stable soils) than in soils that modify appreciably their particle arrangement upon wetting. The simultaneous use of the two techniques may allow to improve K_fs determination in soils that change their hydrodynamic behaviour during a runoff producing rainfall event. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.