High-frequency monitoring of hydrological and biogeochemical fluxes in forested catchments of southern Chile

The variability of rainfall-dependent streamflow at catchment scale modulates many ecosystem processes in wet temperate forests. Runoff in small mountain catchments is characterized by a quick response to rainfall pulses which affects biogeochemical fluxes to all downstream systems. In wet-temperate climates, water erosion is the most important natural factor driving downstream soil and nutrient losses from upland ecosystems. Most hydrochemical studies have focused on water flux measurements at hourly scales, along with weekly or monthly samples for water chemistry. Here, we assessed how water and element flows from broad-leaved, evergreen forested catchments in southwestern South America, are influenced by different successional stages, quantifying runoff, sediment transport and nutrient fluxes during hourly rainfall events of different intensities. Hydrograph comparisons among different successional stages indicated that forested catchments differed in their responses to high intensity rainfall, with greater runoff in areas covered by secondary forests (SF), compared to old-growth forest cover (OG) and dense scrub vegetation (CH). Further, throughfall water was greatly nutrient enriched for all forest types. Suspended sediment loads varied between successional stages. SF catchments exported 455 kg of sediments per ha, followed by OG with 91 kg/ha and CH with 14 kg/ha, corresponding to 11 rainfall events measured from December 2013 to April 2014. Total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) concentrations in stream water also varied with rainfall intensity. In seven rainfall events sampled during the study period, CH catchments exported less nutrients (46 kg/ha TN and 7 kg/ha TP) than SF catchments (718 kg/ha TN and 107 kg/ha TP), while OG catchments exported intermediate sediment loads (201 kg/ha TN and 23 kg/ha TP). Further, we found significant effects of successional stage attributes (vegetation structure and soil physical properties) and catchment morphometry on runoff and sediment concentrations, and greater nutrients retention in OG and CH catchments. We conclude that in these southern hemisphere, broad-leaved evergreen temperate forests, hydrological processes are driven by multiple interacting phenomena, including climate, vegetation, soils, topography, and disturbance history.     

Exploring the stemflow dynamics and driving factors at both inter- and intra-event scales in a typical subtropical deciduous forest

Numerous efforts have been made to understand stemflow dynamics under different types of vegetation at the inter-event scale, but few studies have explored the stemflow characteristics and corresponding influencing factors at the intra-event scale. An in-depth investigation of the inter- and intra-event dynamics of stemflow is important for understanding the ecohydrological processes in forest ecosystems. In this study, stemflow volume (F_V), stemflow funnelling ratio (F_R), and stemflow ratio (F_%) from Quercus acutissima and Broussonetia papyrifera trees were measured at both inter- and intra-event scales in a subtropical deciduous forest, and the driving factors, including tree species and meteorological factors were further explored. Specifically, the F_V, F_R and F_% of Q. acutissima (52.3 L, 47.2, 9.6%) were lower than those of B. papyrifera (85.1 L, 91.2, 12.4%). The effect of tree species on F_V and F_% was more obvious under low intensity rainfall types. At the inter-event scale, F_V had a strong positive linear correlation with rainfall amount (G_P) and event duration (D_E) for both tree species, whereas F_R and F_% had a positive logarithmic correlation with G_P and D_E only under high-intensity, short-duration rainfall type. F_R and F_% were mainly affected by wind speed and the maximum 30-min rainfall intensity under low-intensity, long-duration rainfall type. At the intra-event scale, for both tree species, the mean lag time between the start of rainfall and stemflow was the shortest under high-intensity, short-duration rainfall type, while the mean duration and amount of stemflow after rain cessation were the greatest under high-amount, long-duration rainfall type. The relationship between stemflow intensity and rainfall intensity at the 5-min interval scale also depended greatly on rainfall type. These findings can help clarify stemflow dynamics and driving factors at both inter- and intra-event scales, and also provide abundant data and parameters for ecohydrological simulations in subtropical forests.     

A two-layer model for studying 2D dissolved pollutant runoff over impermeable surfaces

Dissolved pollutants in stormwater are a main contributor to water pollution in urban environments. However, many existing transport models are semi-empirical and only consider one-dimensional flows, which limit their predictive capacity. Combining the shallow water and the advection–diffusion equations, a two-dimensional physically based model is developed for dissolved pollutant transport by adopting the concept of a ‘control layer’. A series of laboratory experiments has been conducted to validate the proposed model, taking into account the effects of buildings and intermittent rainfalls. The predictions are found to be in good agreement with experimental observations, which supports the assumption that the depth of the control layer is constant. Based on the validated model, a parametric study is conducted, focusing on the characteristics of the pollutant distribution and transport rate over the depth. The hyetograph, including the intensity, duration and intermittency, of rainfall event has a significant influence on the pollutant transport rates. The depth of the control layer, rainfall intensity, surface roughness and area length are dominant factors that affect the dissolved pollutant transport. Finally, several perspectives of the new pollutant transport model are discussed. This study contributes to an in-depth understanding of the dissolved pollutant transport processes on impermeable surfaces and urban stormwater management.     

Exploring the database of a soil environmental survey using a geo-self-organizing map: A pilot study

A model integrating geo-information and self-organizing map (SOM) for exploring the database of soil environmental surveys was established. The dataset of 5 heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Hg, and Pb) was built by the regular grid sampling in Hechi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. Auxiliary datasets were collected throughout the study area to help interpret the potential causes of pollution. The main findings are as follows: (1) Soil samples of 5 elements exhibited strong variation and high skewness. High pollution risk existed in the case study area, especially Hg and Cd. (2) As and Pb had a similar topo-logical distribution pattern, meaning they behaved similarly in the soil environment. Cr had behaviours in soil different from those of the other 4 elements. (3) From the U-matrix of SOM networks, 3 levels of SEQ were identified, and 11 high risk areas of soil heavy metal-contaminated were found throughout the study area, which were basically near rivers, factories, and ore zones. (4) The variations of contamination index (CI) followed the trend of construction land (1.353) > forestland (1.267) > cropland (1.175) > grassland (1.056), which suggest that decision makers should focus more on the problem of soil pollution surrounding industrial and mining enterprises and farmland.

     

Drying increases organic colloidal mobilization in the karst vadose zone: Evidence from a 15-year cave-monitoring study

Understanding the hydrological processes of colloids within the karst vadose zone is vital to the security of karst groundwater and providing appropriate paleohydrological explanations of colloid-facilitated metals in speleothem. This study addresses the mobilization mechanisms driving colloidal organic matter (COM) transport in the karst vadose zone using a 15-year long monthly monitoring dataset from a cave drip point (HS4) in Heshang Cave, Qingjiang Valley, China. Variations in COM concentrations were reported as the fluorescence difference values of raw and filtered (<0.22 μm) samples at an excitation wavelength of 320 nm and emission wavelength of ~400 nm. A fluorescence humification index (HIX) lower than 0.8 and an autochthonous index (BIX) higher than 1.2 indicated that the origin of COM was mainly from the karst vadose zone, rather than the soil zone. The COM concentration varied from 0.001 to 0.038 Raman Unit (RU), with evident seasonal fluctuations. Rising limbs for COM values occurred prior to rising limbs within a dripwater hydrograph; moreover, the COM peak values corresponding to the beginning of the increasing hydrograph generally suggested that the mobilization of COM reflected the movement of the air–water interface (AWI) in the karst vadose zone rather than rainfall intensity or flow velocity. COM peak values were positively correlated with the antecedent drying duration and negatively correlated with HIX values. These phenomena may be explained by the increased amount of organic matter that was aggregated and absorbed on the surface of carbonate in the karst vadose zone during a longer drying duration. Moreover, the longer drying duration was also beneficial to autochthonous biological activity, which subsequently decreased the HIX value of the organic matter in the karst vadose zone. The movement of AWI and the drying duration are both controlled by the outside weather conditions. This study is therefore conducive to evaluating the security of karst groundwater in response to climate change, and challenges prevailing paleoclimate interpretations of colloid-facilitated metal abundance timeseries reported from speleothems.     

X波段高分辨率SAR数据土石坝表面相干性时序变化分析

本文以深圳公明水库6个中小型土石坝为试验区，利用10景1 m分辨率升降轨X波段TerraSAR影像和坝体附近连续气象站的降雨量数据，研究了坝体表面相干性的时序变化与雷达本地入射角及降雨的关系。试验结果表明，混凝土面板和草坡平均相干性均会随本地入射角增加而减小，同时，草坡表面平均相干性在有微小降雨的情况下就会快速下降0.1~0.2，差分干涉图的噪声增大；混凝土面板对微小的降雨敏感度小，但是在暴雨情况下将导致其表面完全失相干。上述结果表明，针对中小土石坝坡体变形监测应当顾及坝体的坡度及入射角选择合适的雷达成像参数，同时应充分利用降雨资料评估干涉图失相干情况，剔除噪声数据。     

Stormflow threshold behaviour in a subtropical mountainous headwater catchment during forest recovery period

Forest ecohydrological feedbacks complicate the threshold behaviour of stormflow response to precipitation or wetting conditions on a long-term scale (e.g. several years). In this study, the threshold behaviours in an evergreen-deciduous mixed forested headwater catchment in southern China were examined during 2009–2015, when damaged vegetation was recovering after the great 2008 Chinese ice and snowstorm. The non-uniqueness of the thresholds and the slow and rapid responses of stormflow at the outlet of the catchment in different hydro-climate datasets with different maximum values of gross precipitation (P) and sums of precipitation and antecedent soil moisture index (P + ASI) were assessed. The thresholds of P and P + ASI required to trigger stormflows (i.e. ‘generation thresholds’) and the transition from slow to rapid responses of stormflow (i.e. ‘rise thresholds’) were compared both seasonally and annually. The results indicated significant differences in the analysed datasets, highlighting the need to compare thresholds with care to avoid misinterpretation. Seasonal variations in threshold behaviours in the catchment suggested that vegetation canopy interception contributed to higher rise thresholds, and wetter conditions resulted in higher runoff sensitivity to precipitation during the growing and rainy seasons. Furthermore, the generation thresholds were higher in the dormant season, possibly due to drier soil moisture conditions in the near-channel areas. During the vegetation recovery period, the annual generation thresholds increased, however the rise thresholds did not exhibit a similar trend. The rapid stormflow response above the threshold decreased, possibly due to transpiration and interception of the recovered vegetation. However, the slow stormflow response to small rainfall events below the thresholds was higher in wetter years but lower in drier years, suggesting that the total water input dominated the stormflow response during small rainfall events. In conclusion, the seasonal and annual variations in threshold behaviours highlight that vegetation recovery and hydro-climatic conditions had a notable impact on the stormflow response.     

Environmental impact of fluidized solidified silt casting on surrounding water bodies

Abstract

With the growing demand for underwater refill engineering, the construction technology of implementing fluidized solidification in underwater pouring has recently received increased attention. However, the environmental impact of underwater casting on surrounding water bodies, especially when the silt is polluted, is still unclear. In this study, a simulated underwater pouring test and a static immersion release test were conducted separately to study the quality of the surrounding water during and after pouring. The results showed that fluidized-solidified silt casting could increase the pH of the surrounding water, even after the pouring had stopped, by approximately 1.0 and the turbidity could reach 200 NTU. No diffusion of Zn and Cu into the surrounding water was observed and while Ni and Cr exhibited slight diffusion, this was at a level well below international water quality standard. During construction, reducing the distance from the seafloor to the bottom of the pouring catheter could reduce the level of pollution. After construction, the use of neutral solidified materials can effectively reduce the pH of the surrounding water and the potential risk of heavy metal dissolution.     

刘家峡水库西南部水域表层沉积物重金属污染评价

为了研究刘家峡水库西南部水域表层沉积物中重金属的污染状况，对采集的55个表层沉积物样品中的6种重金属元素Cr、Cd、Ni、Cu、Zn和Pb的含量进行测试，其平均含量分别为77.03μg/g、0.16μg/g、33.53μg/g、32.09μg/g、291.77μg/g、22.44μg/g。在研究表层沉积物重金属含量空间分布的基础上，运用单因子污染指数法、内梅罗综合污染指数法、地累积指数法、潜在生态风险指数法，综合判断水库的受污染程度并对其潜在生态风险进行评估。6种元素的地累积指数排序依次为：Zn > Cu > Cd > Ni > Pb > Cr；潜在生态风险系数排序依次为：Cd > Cu > Pb > Zn > Ni > Cr；各区域重金属污染程度或潜在生态风险水平依次为黄河主河道 > 大夏河河口 > 黄河横剖面。综合4种方法的评价结果，认为对刘家峡水库西南部表层沉积物重金属污染及潜在生态风险评价贡献率较高的重金属污染因子是Zn、Cu和Cd；综合相关性分析与主成分分析，认为研究区沉积物重金属污染主要来源于两个方面：（1） Zn、Cu主要来源于生活污染或工业污染；（2） Cd主要来源于工农业活动产生的污染。