Estimating groundwater recharge following land-use change using chloride mass balance of soil profiles: a case study at Guyuan and Xifeng in the Loess Plateau of China

Groundwater recharge is affected by land use in (semi)arid areas. A new application of the chloride-mass-balance approach has been developed to estimate the reduction in groundwater recharge following land-use change by comparing chloride concentrations below the root zone and above the base of the chloride accumulation zone, before and after the land-use conversion. Two sites in the Loess Plateau of central China have been selected for study. Results from the Guyuan terrace region show that groundwater recharge beneath natural sparse small-grass was 100?mm/year, but the conversion to winter wheat about 100?years ago has reduced groundwater recharge to 55?mm/year. At the Xifeng Loess Plain the conversion from winter wheat, with groundwater recharge at 33?mm/year, to apple orchard 7?years ago has led to chloride accumulation to 5?m below land surface, suggesting the recharge rate has been reduced. This is in agreement with previous studies in these areas which have shown that the regional afforestation and other land-use conversions have resulted in deep soil desiccation and have caused an upper boundary to form with low matrix potential, thus preventing the soil moisture from actually recharging the aquifer.     

长武黄土塬区土地利用变化对潜水补给的影响

通过长武黄土塬区不同土地利用方式下深剖面土壤水分的长期定位监测以及氢氧稳定同位素示踪技术的使用,分析了该区域土地利用变化对地下潜水补给的影响。结果表明:① 降水补给地下水过程中存在着活塞流和优先流两种机制,由活塞流补给的地下水量,以休闲地居高,低产农田次之,最后是高产农田;② 随着该区域农田生产力大幅提升以及大面积农田转换为果园,地下水活塞流补给量逐年减少,加之地下水开采量增加,导致地下水位逐年下降,年均降幅达0.3 m;③ 同位素证据表明,目前长武塬区地下水补给以优先流形式为主。为了实现黄土塬区潜水资源的有效补给与可持续利用,需要合理调控土地利用结构,保持适度生产力水平。     

洛川不同土地利用方式下土壤微量元素分布研究

以洛川苹果园与农田土壤为研究对象,分析不同土地利用方式下土壤表层和土壤剖面微量元素含量变化特征。结果表明:不同的土地利用方式对土壤微量元素含量变化的影响差异显著。苹果园表层土壤中Mn、Zn、Cu、As四种微量元素的含量均高于农田,微量元素的分异类型在苹果园和农田土壤中体现出明显的差异性;在苹果园与农田土壤剖面中,各微量元素的分布规律因元素种类而异。     

Geometric parameters and REV of a crack network in soil

Cracks are common in natural and engineered soils and provide preferential pathways for water infiltration into the soil. Statistical properties of crack geometries are important inputs for analyzing preferential flows in discrete random crack networks. This paper reports the outcome of a field study conducted on a compacted, cracked soil ground at a steady moisture condition. The objectives of the field study were to investigate the crack patterns and probability distributions of the geometric parameters of cracks and to determine the representative elementary volume (REV) of the crack network. The desiccation cracks at the survey site formed an inter-connected columnar structure. The traces of the cracks on the soil surface formed a primary structure consisting of inter-connected crack polygons and a secondary structure comprising of isolated cracks. The locations and orientations of the desiccation cracks followed a uniform distribution, differing from the distribution of fracture sets often observed in fractured rocks. The lengths and apertures of the cracks followed a lognormal distribution as expected. The REV size for the cracked soil was found to be approximately five times the mean crack length, above which the variation in crack porosity in relation to domain size was negligible.     

土壤添加物对土-水曲线和土体收缩的影响

为探索不同添加物(小麦秸秆、麦壳和植物油渣)对土壤持水性能和土壤收缩特性的影响,定量掺混3种粉末,采用离心机法测定土-水曲线,并对土壤持水能力和土壤收缩特征进行评价。结果发现:各处理土-水曲线形态无差异,van Genuchten模型可用于此条件土-水曲线拟合;3种添加物均可提高土壤容重和土壤含水率并利于保水,且土壤持水能力表现为油渣 >麦秆 >麦壳 >纯土;随着土壤脱水,土体以轴向收缩为主,三直线模型可用于土壤收缩曲线拟合,土体线缩率与吸力和含水率分别满足对数和Logistic函数关系;土体几何收缩量表现为麦壳 <油渣 <麦秆 <纯土,土壤开裂程度表现为油渣 <麦秆 <麦壳 <纯土。     

Variation of albedo to soil moisture for sand dunes and biological soil crusts in arid desert ecosystems

Surface albedo plays a crucial role in the energy balance of soils. The surface albedo and surface soil moisture of bare sand and biological soil crusts (BSCs) were concurrently observed on field plots of shifting sand dune and in revegetated desert ecosystems at Shapotou, northwestern China, to study relationships between surface albedo, solar elevation angle, and surface soil moisture. Results indicated that rainfall exerted a remarkable lowering effect on the variation of surface albedo by increasing surface soil moisture. Surface albedo was an exponential function of solar elevation angle, and the normalized surface albedo (solar elevation angle effect was removed) decreased exponentially with the increase of surface soil moisture. Sand surface had a higher albedo (0.266) than BSCs (0.226) when the surfaces were very dry. However, sand surface albedo became increasingly lower than that of BSCs when the surfaces were in wet conditions and when the soil moisture exceeded a critical value. The changes in soil surface albedo from sand dune to BSCs after revegetation in shallow soil profiles associated with the variation of the surface soil moisture can be seen as an indicator of the degree of sand dune stabilization when compared with the original shifting sand dune soil.     

Managing crop stubble during fallow period for soil water conservation: field experiment and modelling

In the arid and semi-arid environments where the rainfall is limited and variable, fallow period soil moisture conservation using stubble is one of the ways of increasing the soil moisture required for crop sowing and development. However, the effectiveness of moisture conservation using stubble depends on the paddock management, soil water content, and rainfall characteristics. To assess the effect of stubble rate and amount of rainfall on the soil moisture conservation, a two-season field experiment was conducted using four stubble rates (0, 2, 4, 6 t/ha) and two water supply amounts. The soil water dynamics was also analysed using a validated Agricultural Production System Simulator (APSIM). In the relatively wet summer season with a high initial soil water content, the amount of water stored in the 2, 4, and 6 t/ha stubble rate treatment plots was higher than that of the bare plots by 10.4, 15.9, and 17.8 mm, respectively. However, in the summer season with a relatively high amount of in-season water input and low initial soil water content, the soil water storage was increased by 29.4, 35.6, and 43.0 mm, respectively. Comparing the results of the two seasons, the highest increase was observed for the 2 t/ha stubble rate. The amount of conserved soil moisture was found to be the highest when the soil profile water content at the start of the summer-fallow period is low and the amount of rain during the summer season is high. The good agreement between the measured and APSIM-simulated soil water contents (R ² = 0.812), indicates that the model can be used to assess the soil water dynamics under a fallow condition. The APSIM-simulated soil water balance using the weather data of the past 100 years indicated that in a year with low start-of-fallow period soil water content, a 6 t/ha stubble rate can increase the end-of-fallow period soil moisture by up to 60 %.     

小降雨事件对土壤水分及植物水势空间差异性的影响

本文以云南省蒙自市断陷盆地高原面上典型封闭式岩溶洼地小流域为研究对象,研究小降雨事件对土壤水分及植物水势的影响。结果表明:（1）在研究区内小降雨事件一般只能补给10 cm以上的土壤,因此在旱季（强降雨事件发生前）,土壤水分随着深度的增加整体呈变小的趋势;受洼地地形影响,整个土壤剖面（0 ~ 80 cm）的土壤水分存在从坡顶到洼地底部逐渐增加,苹果树叶水势逐渐升高的现象;受地质背景的影响,土石质坡地平均土壤水分比石质坡地土壤水分高2.67%,相对应的土石质坡地苹果树受干旱胁迫的程度要低于石质坡地。（2）通过观测对比发现,8天内12次的小降雨事件可以使0~10 cm土壤水分整体上略有升高,但并未能完全改变0~10 cm土壤水分洼地底部大于两侧坡地,而土石质坡地高于石质坡地的特征。（3）小降雨事件虽然只能补给0~10 cm的土壤水分,但由于坡地地区苹果树根系分布较浅（5~30 cm）,部分浅层分布的苹果树根系已能吸收到水分,另一方面小降雨事件具有降温、增湿,减少太阳辐射的作用,可以减小苹果树蒸腾作用,从而降低苹果树叶水势,因此推测小雨事件可以明显减轻苹果树受干旱胁迫的程度      

喀斯特峡谷区不同经济林地土壤水分变化特征——以贵州花江示范区为例

选择喀斯特高原峡谷关岭—贞丰花江示范区为研究对象,在2018年5-9月采用土壤水分传感器对0~40 cm土层的土壤含水率进行监测,以分析花椒地、金银花地、火龙果地3种不同经济林地土壤储水量的季节变化特征及土壤含水量的剖面变化特征。结果表明:（1）3种经济林地土壤储水量随着降雨的季节变化明显,与降水随时间的变化趋势一致,但在时间上滞后于降水量。在观测期内不同经济林地0~40 cm土层土壤储水量表现为火龙果地（478.97 mm）>金银花地（372.64 mm）>花椒地（322.15 mm）;（2）随着土层的加深,含水率总体呈增加趋势,观测期火龙果地、金银花地、花椒地的土壤含水率分别为35.97%、27.36%、23.55%,整体变异系数分别为9.64%、19.53%、24.27%,火龙果地为弱变异,花椒地和金银花地为中等变异。火龙果地的持水效果最好,金银花地和花椒地次之,因此在贵州省花江喀斯特高原峡谷区的石漠化治理过程中可适量种植火龙果以达到生态恢复效果,并推动当地产业发展。      

Laboratory experiments on desiccation cracking of thin soil layers

This paper presents some experimental results on desiccation cracking tests conducted on thin layers of clay soils. Observation of the evolution of cracking patterns was examined to clarify the transient mechanisms of the crack formation of clay soils. Laboratory experimentation on desiccation cracking was carried out to examine experimentally the quantitative relationships between the characteristics of soil cracks and the prevailing controlling conditions. Five desiccation cracking tests for slurried clay soils were carried out using shrinkage moulds in a humidity chamber, which was capable of controlling relative humidity and temperature. The soil used in the experimental studies was residual basaltic clay and was classified as a highly reactive soil. In order to provide simple conditions for theoretical modelling, the tests were conducted in perspex and metal moulds with rectangular cross-sections. The lengths of the moulds were considerably larger than their widths so that parallel cracking were generated in thin layers. In each cracking test, several rectangular moulds of different thicknesses and widths were used. Some of these tests were used for observation, crack initiation and evolution, and others for moisture content measurement during desiccation. The test results include evolution of the cracking pattern, influences of speed of desiccation and typical crack spacing to depth ratios for soil layers.     

Effects of land use changes on soil erosion in a fast developing area

Land use changes extensively affect soil erosion, which is a great environmental concern. To evaluate the effect of land use change on soil erosion in fast economic developing areas, we studied land use changes of Guangdong, China, from 2002 to 2009 using remote sensing and estimated soil erosion using the Universal Soil Loss Equation. We calculated the areas and percentage of each land use type under different erosion intensity and analyzed soil erosion changes caused by transitions of land use types. In addition, the impact of land use change on soil erosion in different river catchments was studied. Our results show that forest and wasteland land conversions induce substantial soil erosion, while transition from wasteland to forest retards soil loss. This suggests that vegetation cover changes significantly influence soil erosion. Any conversion to wasteland causes soil erosion, whereas expansion of forests and orchards mitigates it. The most significant increase in soil erosion from 2002 to 2009 was found in the Beijiang catchment corresponding to the transition from forest/orchard to built-up and wasteland. Soil erosion in the Xijiang catchment accelerated in this period due to the enormous reduction in orchard land. In Hanjiang catchment, erosion was alleviated and vegetation coverage greatly expanded owing to considerable transitions from wasteland and cropland to orchards. Field investigations validated our estimations and proved the applicability of this method. Measures including protecting vegetation, strict control of mining as well as reasonable urban planning should be taken to prevent successive soil erosion.     

Effects of land use on spatial patterns of soil properties in a rocky mountain area of Northern China

In the rocky mountain area of North China, soil fertility has decreased with severe soil and water losses under various land uses. Land use has been proven to affect soil fertility spatial distribution patterns at larger scales. However, less information is available about these effects in field scale plots. Soil samples were collected at 2-m intervals by grid sampling from an area (18?×?18 m) within three land use types (poplar woodland, rotation cropland with peanut and sweet potato, and peach orchard). Soil properties including soil particle composition, soil organic matter, total nitrogen (TN), nitrate nitrogen (NO₃ ^?-N), total phosphorus (TP), and available phosphorus (AP) were measured for each sample. The spatial variability and spatial pattern of the soil properties were assessed for the three contrasting land use types. NH₄ ⁺-N, NO₃ ^?-N, and AP in the peach orchard and NO₃ ^?-N in the poplar woodland exhibited strong variation (coefficient of variance >100 %). Other properties showed moderate variations. With annual plowing and fertilization, soil properties in the rotation cropland had less variability and greater spatial autocorrelated ranges. The spatial dependences of sand content, TN, NO₃ ^?-N, and SWC in both the peach orchard and the rotation cropland were weaker than those in the poplar woodland, but the spatial dependences of TP and AP in the peach orchard were stronger than those in either the rotation cropland or the poplar woodland. Human activities such as plowing, fertilization, and harvesting had obvious effects on the spatial variability and spatial pattern of soil properties.     

Numerical modelling of a field soil desiccation test using a cohesive fracture model with Voronoi tessellations

Numerical modelling of a field soil desiccation test is performed using a hybrid continuum-discrete element method with a mix-mode cohesive fracture model and Voronoi tessellation grain assemblages. The fracture model considers material strength and contact stiffness degradation in both normal and tangential directions of an interface. It is found that the model can reasonably reproduce the special features of the field soil desiccation, such as curling and sub-horizontal crack. In addition, three significant factors controlling field desiccation cracking, fracture energy, grain heterogeneity and grain size are identified.     

Characteristics of water circulation and balance of typical vegetations at plot scale on the Loess plateau of China

Large-scale artificial afforestation has aggravated the water scarcity and resulted in the severe soil desiccation in the Loess plateau of China. Understanding the water circulation processes and the water balance characteristics of typical vegetations is of great significance to the vegetation restoration in the Loess plateau of China. Based on field observation from May to October in 2004, the soil desiccation under five vegetations was investigated in the Liudaogou watershed on the Loess plateau of China. Moreover, the water circulation and balance of them at plot scale were also studied. The results showed that among these five vegetations, the degree of soil desiccation under alfalfa and caragana was more severe than that under defarming grassland, millet and soybean, and there existed the dried soil layers under caragana and alfalfa. The dynamic of the soil water storage under five vegetations was quite similar and the soil water storage in the five runoff plots followed the order: defarming grass > millet > soybean > caragana > alfalfa. The order of runoff amount in the five plots was soybean > millet > defarming grass > alfalfa > caragana. The water consumption (ET) of five vegetations followed the order: caragana > alfalfa > defarming grass > soybean > millet. The results indicated that the greater the evapotranspiration of one vegetation, the higher the possibility to develop the soil desiccation under it. The findings provided helpful reference for the vegetation restoration and environment improvement programs in the Loess plateau of China.     

节水条件下土壤氮素的环境影响效应研究

土壤无机氮素的损失主要是铵氮的挥发损失和硝氮的反硝化和淋失.土壤水分和氮素含量的增加,都将增加氮肥淋失的潜在威胁,如处置不当,获得高产可能需要以环境的污染为代价.节水条件下土壤无机氮素的损失量有所减少,但是氮素利用效率也同时受到了土壤水分状况的限制.探讨了作物产量、氮素损失和农业生产要素(水分、氮素)实际投入量之间的关系,建立了节水条件下土壤氮素损失和环境评价概念型模型,通过在北京水利科学研究所永乐店灌溉试验站3年的试验资料对模型进行了参数求解及校验.     

Heavy metal distribution in soil and plant in municipal solid waste compost amended plots

A field study was carried out to evaluate long-term heavy metal accumulation in the top 20 cm of a Tunisian clayey loam soil amended for four consecutive years with municipal solid waste compost at three levels (0, 40 and 80 t/ha/y). Heavy metals uptake and translocation within wheat plants grown on these soils were also investigated. Compared to untreated soils, compost-amended soils showed significant increases in the content of all measured metals: cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead and zinc in the last three years, especially for plots amended with municipal solid waste compost at 80 t/ha/y. Wheat plants grown on compost-amended soils showed a general increase in metal uptake and translocation, especially for chromium and nickel. This heavy metal uptake was about three folds greater in plots amended at 80 t/ha/y as compared to plots amended at 40 t/ha/y. At the end of the experimental period, the diluting effect resulting from enhanced growth rates of wheat plants due to successive compost applications resulted in lower concentrations in the plants (grain part) grown on treated plots. On the other hand, chromium and nickel were less mobile in the aerial part of wheat plants and were accumulated essentially in root tissues. Plant/soil transfer coefficients for compost-amended treatments were higher than threshold range reported in the literature, indicating that there was an important load/transfer of metal ions from soils to wheat plants.     

Ecological benefits of Anystis baccarum in an orchard ecosystem and the need for its conservation

Integrated pest management programs are very important in the control of invertebrate pests within apple orchards. Many current integrated pest management strategies concentrate on specialist predatory species. However, generalist beneficial insects, such as several mite species, must also be fully researched for their potential in controlling pests. Previous research has shown that the generalist predatory mite Anystis baccarum (Linnaeus) can offer much potential in controlling invertebrate pests within Northern Irish apple orchards. However, apple growers have been mis-identifying this beneficial species as the economic pest European fruit tree red spider mite, Panonychus ulmi (Koch). As a result, unnecessary pesticide applications have been applied against what has now been confirmed as a beneficial species. To aid apple growers in the identification of A. baccarum, identification cards were produced. Positive uptake of the cards by many apple growers has resulted in correct identification of A. baccarum from P. ulmi, and therefore, a reduction in chemical pesticide applications. The benefits of A. baccarum within orchard ecosystems is discussed.     

Numerical modelling of desiccation cracking of clayey soil using a cohesive fracture method

This paper presents a numerical study on the desiccation cracking process of clayey soil. The initiation and propagation of cracks were investigated using finite element code, including the damage-elastic cohesive fracture law to describe the behaviour of cracks. The coupling between the hydraulic behaviour (moisture transfer in the soil matrix and in the cracks) and the mechanical behaviour (volume change of the soil matrix and development of cracks) were also considered. The results of a laboratory experiment performed on clay soil, taken from a literature review, were used to evaluate the numerical modelling. The results show that the code can reproduce the main trends observed in the experiment (e.g., shrinkage related to drying, crack development). In addition, the numerical simulation enables the identification of other phenomena, such as the evolution of suction and stress related to drying and the development of a single crack. These phenomena are difficult to observe experimentally.     

青藏高原玉树地区巴塘高寒草甸土壤温湿特征分析

在青藏高原腹地青海省玉树藏族自治州玉树县巴塘高寒草甸草场设立野外试验场, 进行土壤温、湿动态监测. 利用温、湿监测数据及同步气象数据资料, 采用对比分析及线性趋势等方法, 分析了巴塘高寒草甸日、年土壤温、湿变化状况. 结果表明: 土壤温度从10:00时左右开始上升, 至17:00-18:00时达到最高值, 然后开始下降, 在第二天9:00时左右到达最低; 土壤湿度在10:00时达到最低值, 在18:00时达到最大值, 随着土壤深度的增加, 土壤湿度逐渐降低. 土壤温、湿度在不同的季节表现出不同的变化趋势, 二个点不同土层表现出相对一致的变化, 随着土壤深度的增加, 土壤温、湿度逐渐降低; 随着与雪栅距离的增加, 土壤温、湿度的变化幅度减弱; 随着土壤深度的增加, 雪栅的影响也逐渐减小. 通过对土壤温、湿不同时期的特征分析, 5月中旬至8月中旬, 土壤湿度与土壤温度呈现相反的变化趋势, 而在其余时期土壤温湿变化趋势一致; 秋季向冬季转换时, 土壤温湿呈显著下降趋势, 而后土壤进入封冻时期; 冬季向春季转换时, 土壤温湿呈显著上升趋势, 土壤进入解冻时期. 冷季时, 25 cm土壤温度高于5 cm; 暖季时, 5 cm土壤温度高于25 cm.     

Evaluation of TRMM rainfall for soil moisture prediction in a subtropical climate

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is a joint space mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall. In this study, the daily rainfall from TRMM has been utilized to simulate the soil moisture content up to 30 cm vertical soil profile of at an interval depth of 15 cm by using the HYDRUS 1D numerical model for the three plots. The simulated soil moisture content using ground-based rainfall and TRMM-derived rainfall measurements indicate an agreeable goodness of fit between the both. The Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency using ground-based and TRMM-derived rainfall was found in the range of 0.90–0.68 and 0.70–0.40, respectively. The input data sensitivity analysis of precipitation combined with different irrigation treatment indicates a high dependency of soil moisture content with rainfall input. The overall analysis reveals that TRMM rainfall is promising for soil moisture prediction in absence of ground-based measurements of soil moisture.