Simulation of energy and water balance in Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer system in the mountain area of Heihe River Basin at Hexi Corridor of northwest China

Under the background of global water cycle, theregional water cycle systems of the arid inland regionsof northwest China are characterized by the fact thatthe area is composed of various relatively independentinland river basins, each of which is a system of inter-related climate, hydrology, water resources, ecologyand environment. An inland river basin consists of amountain area and the plain and basin area in front ofthe mountains. The vertical landscape zonality of aninland river basin can …     

The transport of aggregates associated with soil organic carbon under the rain-induced overland flow on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Organic carbon (OC) is easily enriched in sediment particles of different sizes due to aggregate breakdown and selective transport for sheet erosion. However, the transport of aggregate-associated OC has not been thoroughly investigated. To address this issue, 27 simulated rainfall experiments were conducted in a 1 m × 0.35 m box on slope gradients of 15°, 10°, and 15°and under three rainfall intensities of 45 mm h⁻¹, 90 mm h⁻¹ and 120 mm h⁻¹. The results showed that OC was obviously enriched in sediment particles of different sizes under sheet erosion. The soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations of each aggregate size class in sediments were different from those in the original soil, especially when the rainfall intensity or slope was sufficiently low, such as 45 mm h^–1 or 5°, respectively. Under a slope of 5°, the SOC enrichment ratios (ERocs) of small macroaggregates and microaggregates were high but decreased over time. As rainfall intensity increased, OC became enriched in increasingly fine sediment particles. Under a rainfall intensity of 45 mm h^–1, the ERocs of the different aggregate size classes were always high throughout the entire erosion process. Under a rainfall intensity of > 45 mm h^–1 and slope of > 5°, the ERocs of the different aggregate size classes were close to 1.0, especially those of clay and silt. Therefore, the high ERocs in sediments resulted from the first transport of effective clay. Among total SOC loss, the proportion of OC loss caused by the transport of microaggregates and silt plus clay-sized particles was greater than 50%. We also found that low stream power and low water depth were two requirements for the high ERocs in aggregates. Stream power was closely related to sediment particle distribution. Flow velocity was significantly and positively related to the percentage of OC-enriched macroaggregates in the sediments (P > 0.01). Our study will provide important information for understanding the fate of SOC and building physical-based SOC transport models. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modifying Transition Matrix to Evaluate Soil Quality: A Case Study in Karst Region in the West‐Southern China

The soil aggregate stability is a key property of soil quality and reflects soil quality and anti‐erosion ability. The transition matrix between initial and final aggregates condition was established by modifying Niewczas and Witkowska‐Walczak's method by not considering the artificial weights and each size of aggregates fraction on the basis of three reasonable assumptions, and soil aggregate stability index (ASI) was formed through preserving each size of aggregates probability. This ASI is identical to the result by reference, and the transition matrix can be showed to evaluate the soil aggregates stability. Using the transition matrix was furthermore to analyze anti‐breaking ability of different size aggregate by reference material. We found there were different effects for each size aggregate by four methods, simulation rainfall, one cycle of wetting–drying, ten cycles of wetting–drying, and Yoder wetting–sieving. The Yoder wetting–sieving is a severe method that destructed soil aggregates. The ASI by modifying transition matrix method was used to evaluate the aggregates stability under different land utilization in Karst region in Chongqing, China. The ASI of agricultural utilization was lower than abounded cultivated land, shrub‐grass land, secondary forest land, and primeval forest land. For some selected soil properties, when SOM content was <60 g/kg, ASI increased along with the SOM increase. Once the SOM content was >60 g/kg, the ASI was almost unchanged. The sorption moisture content of air‐drying acutely affected ASI too, and the ASI increased along the sorption moisture increasing. SOM content and sorption markedly affected the preserving probability of larger aggregates such as 10–5, 5–3, 3–2, 2–1, and 1–0.5 mm size class. Although CaCO₃ and clay content did not influence preserving probability of each size class of aggregates fiercely, but the influence on small aggregates was higher than that of larger aggregates. The modified transition matrix method could not only calculate soil aggregates stability index, but also analyze more parameters of aggregate experiment, and bring out the each size aggregates characteristics. Thus, the modified transition matrix method could be a better tool to understand soil quality.     

Effect of land cover and hydro‐meteorological controls on soil water DOC concentrations in a high‐elevation tropical environment

Páramo soils store high amounts of organic carbon. However, the effects of climate change and changes in land cover and use (LC/LU) in this high‐elevation tropical ecosystem may cause a decrease in their carbon storage capacity. Therefore, better understanding of the factors influencing the Páramo soils' carbon storage and export is urgently needed. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated the differences in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content in the soil water of four LC/LU types (tussock grass, natural forest, pine plantations, and pasture) and the factors controlling its variability in the Quinuas Ecohydrological Observatory in south Ecuador. Weekly measurements of soil water DOC concentrations, meteorological variables, soil water content, and temperature from various depths and slope positions were monitored within the soils' organic and mineral horizons between October 2014 and January 2017. These data were used to generate regression trees and random forest statistical models to identify the factors controlling soil water DOC concentrations. From high to low concentrations, natural forest depict the highest DOC concentrations followed by pasture, tussock grass, and pine forest. For all LC/LU types, DOC concentrations increase with decreasing soil moisture. Our results also show that LC/LU is the most important predictor of soil water DOC concentrations, followed by sampling depth and soil moisture. Interestingly, atmospheric variables and antecedent evapotranspiration and precipitation conditions show only little influence on DOC concentrations during the monitoring period. Our findings provide unique information that can help improve the management of soil and water resources in the Páramo and other peat dominated ecosystems elsewhere.     

Isotope-aided modelling of ecohydrologic fluxes and water ages under mixed land use in Central Europe: The 2018 drought and its recovery

Understanding the interactions of vegetation and soil water under varying hydrological conditions is crucial to aid quantitative assessment of land-use sustainability for maintaining water supply for humans and plants. Isolating and estimating the volume and ages of water stored within different compartments of the critical zone, and the associated fluxes of evaporation, transpiration, and groundwater recharge, facilitates quantification of these soil–plant-water interactions and the response of ecohydrological fluxes to wet and dry periods. We used the tracer-aided ecohydrological model EcH₂O-iso to examine the response of water ages of soil water storage, groundwater recharge, evaporation, and root-uptake at a mixed land use site, in northeastern Germany during the drought of 2018 and in the following winter months. The approach applied uses a dynamic vegetation routine which constrains water use by ecological mechanisms. Two sites with regionally typical land-use types were investigated: a forested site with sandy soils and a deep rooting zone and a grassland site, with loamier soils and shallower rooting zone. This results in much younger water ages (<1 year) through the soil profile in the forest compared to the grass, coupled with younger groundwater recharge. The higher water use in the forest resulted in a more pronounced annual cycle of water ages compared to the more consistent water age in the loamier soil of the grasslands. The deeper rooting zone of the forested site also resulted in older root-uptake water usage relative to soil evaporation, while the grassland site root-uptake was similar to that of soil evaporation. Besides more dynamic water ages in the forest, replenishment of younger soil waters to soil storage was within 6 months following the drought (cf. >8 months in the grassland). The temporal evaluation of the responsiveness of soil and vegetation interactions in hydrologic extremes such as 2018 is essential to understand changes in hydrological processes and the resilience of the landscape to the longer and more severe summer droughts predicted under future climate change.     

Dissolved organic matter in surface runoff in the Loess Plateau of China: The role of rainfall events and land-use

Exploring the chemical characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is important for understanding the fate of laterally transported organic matter in watersheds. We hypothesized that differences in water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) in soils of varying land uses and rainfall events may significantly affect the quality and the quantity of stream DOM. To test our hypotheses, characteristics of rainfall-runoff DOM and WEOM of source materials (topsoil from different land uses and gullies, as well as typical vegetation) were investigated at two adjacent catchments in the Loess Plateau of China, using ultraviolet–visible absorbance and excitation emission matrix fluorescence with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). Results indicated that land-use types may significantly affect the chemical composition of soil WEOM, including its aromaticity, molecular weight, and degree of humification. The PARAFAC analysis demonstrated that the soils and stream water were dominated by terrestrial/allochthonous humic-like substances and microbial transformable humic-like fluorophores. Shifts in the fluorescence properties of stream DOM suggested a pronounced change in the relative proportion of allochthonous versus autochthonous material under different rainfall patterns and land uses. For example, high proportions of forestland could provide more allochthonous DOM input. This study highlights the relevance of soils and hydrological dynamics on the composition and fluxes of DOM issuing from watersheds. The composition of DOM in soils was influenced by land-use type. Precipitation patterns influenced the proportion of terrestrial versus microbial origins of DOM in surface runoff. Contributions of allochthonous, terrestrially derived DOM inputs were highest from forested landscapes.     

AGGREGATE STABILITY OF SOILS IN CENTRAL SPAIN AND THE ROLE OF LAND MANAGEMENT

The paper examines the relationships between soil aggregate stability, selected soil properties and land use in central Spain. Aggregate stability indices derived from three procedures were found to be significantly (p > 0.01) correlated with each other as well as with clay content, organic carbon and a range of water-soluble salts. Soils with a higher clay content have a lower aggregate stability. It appears that the presence of expandable clays has a major negative influence, although this impact is strongly modified by recent land-use history and contemporary land-management practices. Agricultural land, abandoned in the 1940s, was subsequently invaded by Cistus matorral or planted with Pinus. The most stable aggregates occur under matorral and may represent a lag of more resistant aggregates surviving past land-use-related erosional processes. Comparisons with aggregates under Pinus however suggest that hydrophobic substances from the Cistus may have increased aggregate stability. Aggregates from areas remaining in cultivation are the least resistant although the stability envelope overlaps with areas under Pinus. These differences may be related to cultivation practices whereby clay-rich subsurface horizons characterized by higher proportions of expandable clays are drawn to the surface, and to enhancement of aggregate stability under forest by fungal hyphae.     

Strategies to improve the explanatory power of a dynamic slope stability model by enhancing land cover parameterisation and model complexity

Despite the importance of land cover on landscape hydrology and slope stability, the representation of land cover dynamics in physically based models and their associated ecohydrological effects on slope stability is rather scarce. In this study, we assess the impact of different levels of complexity in land cover parameterisation on the explanatory power of a dynamic and process-based spatial slope stability model. Firstly, we present available and collected data sets and account for the stepwise parameterisation of the model. Secondly, we present approaches to simulate land cover: 1) a grassland landscape without forest coverage; 2) spatially static forest conditions, in which we assume limited knowledge about forest composition; 3) more detailed information of forested areas based on the computation of leaf area development and the implementation of vegetation-related processes; 4) similar to the third approach but with the additional consideration of the spatial expansion and vertical growth of vegetation. Lastly, the model is calibrated based on meteorological data sets and groundwater measurements. The model results are quantitatively validated for two landslide-triggering events that occurred in Western Austria. Predictive performances are estimated using the Area Under the receiver operating characteristic Curve (AUC). Our findings indicate that the performance of the slope stability model was strongly determined by model complexity and land cover parameterisation. The implementation of leaf area development and land cover dynamics further yield an acceptable predictive performance (AUC ~0.71-0.75) and a better conservativeness of the predicted unstable areas (FoC ~0.71). The consideration of dynamic land cover expansion provided better performances than the solely consideration of leaf area development. The results of this study highlight that an increase of effort in the land cover parameterisation of a dynamic slope stability model can increase the explanatory power of the model. © 2018 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Soil carbon storage following road removal and timber harvesting in redwood forests

Soil carbon storage plays a key role in the global carbon cycle and is important for sustaining forest productivity. Removal of unpaved forest roads has the potential for increasing carbon storage in soils on forested terrain as treated sites revegetate and soil properties improve on the previously compacted road surfaces. We compared soil organic carbon (SOC) content at several depths on treated roads to SOC in adjacent second‐growth forests and old‐growth redwood forests in California, determined whether SOC in the upper 50 cm of soil varies with the type of road treatment, and assessed the relative importance of site‐scale and landscape‐scale variables in predicting SOC accumulation in treated road prisms and second‐growth redwood forests. Soils were sampled at 5, 20, and 50 cm depths on roads treated by two methods (decommissioning and full recontouring), and in adjacent second‐growth and old‐growth forests in north coastal California. Road treatments spanned a period of 32 years, and covered a range of geomorphic and vegetative conditions. SOC decreased with depth at all sites. Treated roads on convex sites exhibited higher SOC than on concave sites, and north aspect sites had higher SOC than south aspect sites. SOC at 5, 20, and 50 cm depths did not differ significantly between decommissioned roads (treated 18–32 years previous) and fully recontoured roads (treated 2–12 years previous). Nevertheless, stepwise multiple regression models project higher SOC developing on fully recontoured roads in the next few decades. The best predictors for SOC on treated roads and in second‐growth forest incorporated aspect, vegetation type, soil depth, lithology, distance from the ocean, years since road treatment (for the road model) and years since harvest (for the forest model). The road model explained 48% of the variation in SOC in the upper 50 cm of mineral soils and the forest model, 54%. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling biome‐scale root reinforcement and slope stability

Rapid changes in the composition of hillslope vegetation due to a combination of changing climate and land use make estimating slope stability a significant challenge. The dynamics of root growth on any individual hillslope result in a wide range of root distributions and strengths that are reflected as up to an order of magnitude variability in root cohesion. Hence the challenge of predicting the magnitude of root reinforcement for hillslopes requires both an understanding of the magnitude and variability of root distributions and material properties (e.g. tensile strength, elasticity). Here I develop a model for estimating the reinforcement provided by plant roots based on the distribution of biomass measured at the biome level and a compilation of root tensile strength measurements measured across a range of vegetation types. The model modifies the Wu/Waldron method of calculating root cohesion to calculate the average lateral root cohesion and its variability with depth using the Monte Carlo method. The model was validated in two ways, the first against the predicted depth‐reinforcement characteristics of Appalachian soils and the second using a global dataset of landslides. Model results suggest that the order of magnitude difference in root cohesions measured on individual hillslopes can be captured by the Monte Carlo approach and provide a simple tool to estimate root reinforcement for data‐poor areas. The model also suggests that future hotspots of slope instability will occur in areas where land use and climate convert forest to grassland, rather than changes between different forest structures or forest and shrubland. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ecohydrological modelling with EcH2O‐iso to quantify forest and grassland effects on water partitioning and flux ages

We used the new process‐based, tracer‐aided ecohydrological model EcH₂O‐iso to assess the effects of vegetation cover on water balance partitioning and associated flux ages under temperate deciduous beech forest (F) and grassland (G) at an intensively monitored site in Northern Germany. Unique, multicriteria calibration, based on measured components of energy balance, hydrological function and biomass accumulation, resulted in good simulations reproducing measured soil surface temperatures, soil water content, transpiration, and biomass production. Model results showed the forest “used” more water than the grassland; of 620 mm average annual precipitation, losses were higher through interception (29% under F, 16% for G) and combined soil evaporation and transpiration (59% F, 47% G). Consequently, groundwater (GW) recharge was enhanced under grassland at 37% (~225 mm) of precipitation compared with 12% (~73 mm) for forest. The model tracked the ages of water in different storage compartments and associated fluxes. In shallow soil horizons, the average ages of soil water fluxes and evaporation were similar in both plots (~1.5 months), though transpiration and GW recharge were older under forest (~6 months compared with ~3 months for transpiration, and ~12 months compared with ~10 months for GW). Flux tracking using measured chloride data as a conservative tracer provided independent support for the modelling results, though highlighted effects of uncertainties in forest partitioning of evaporation and transpiration. By tracking storage—flux—age interactions under different land covers, EcH₂O‐iso could quantify the effects of vegetation on water partitioning and age distributions. Given the likelihood of drier, warmer summers, such models can help assess the implications of land use for water resource availability to inform debates over building landscape resilience to climate change. Better conceptualization of soil water mixing processes and improved calibration data on leaf area index and root distribution appear obvious respective modelling and data needs for improved simulations.     

Response of soil aggregate disintegration to the different content of organic carbon and its fractions during splash erosion

Aggregate disintegration is a critical process in soil splash erosion. However, the effect of soil organic carbon (SOC) and its fractions on soil aggregates disintegration is still not clear. In this study, five soils with similar clay contents and different contents of SOC have been used. The effects of slaking and mechanical striking on splash erosion were distinguished by using deionized water and 95% ethanol as raindrops. The simulated rainfall experiments were carried out in four heights (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 m). The result indicated that the soil aggregate stability increased with the increases of SOC and light fraction organic carbon (LFOC). The relative slaking and the mechanical striking index increased with the decreases of SOC and LFOC. The reduction of macroaggregates in eroded soil gradually decreased with the increase of SOC and LFOC, especially in alcohol test. The amount of macroaggregates (>0.25 mm) in deionized water tests were significantly less than that in alcohol tests under the same rainfall heights. The contribution of slaking to splash erosion increased with the decrease of heavy fractions organic carbon. The contribution of mechanical striking was dominant when the rainfall kinetic energy increased to a range of threshold between 9 J m⁻² mm⁻¹ and 12 m⁻² mm⁻¹. This study could provide the scientific basis for deeply understanding the mechanism of soil aggregates disintegration and splash erosion.     

Infiltration through series of soil aggregates: Neutron radiography and modeling

Soils are often structured as fine-porous aggregates separated by large inter-aggregate pores. Under unsaturated conditions, water is mostly stored in the aggregates and water flow depends on the properties of the aggregates as well as on those of the contacts between aggregates. The goal of this study is to model and evaluate the hydraulic properties of the contacts. We used neutron radiography to monitor the infiltration of water through series of aggregates. The flow process was numerically simulated by considering the hydraulically conducting contact area between aggregates as a variable that depends on the capillary pressure. This contact area was evaluated by matching the observed and simulated water flow across aggregates. We determined the conductivity of the contacts assuming that it scales with the contact area. We also measured the equivalent conductivity of series of aggregates. We found that during drainage the hydraulically conducting contact area drastically decreases and the conductivity of the contacts becomes much smaller than that of the aggregates. We also found that the equivalent conductivity of the aggregate series decreases as the conductivity of the contacts. We concluded that the contacts control the flow: they are highly conductive when wet, but act as bottle-necks under drained conditions. The abrupt transition between these two limiting cases indicates that the contact region is more rapidly drained than the aggregate interior. Our findings might be extended to describe water transfer to an evaporating boundary, infiltration and storage of water in unsaturated aggregated soils.     

Aggregate stability and colluviation in the Luxembourg ardennes; an experimental and micromorphological study

To obtain a better understanding of the colluvial deposits in two catchments in the Luxembourg Ardennes, structural aggregates from forest and farmland soils were subjected to the impact of falling water drops. The changes that the aggregates underwent and the material eroded from them were studied in thin section. Predictably, forest aggregates were more resistant to water-drop impacts than those from farmland. Farmland aggregates tended to slake upon wetting and to break down into many micro-aggregates having a size-frequency distribution similar to that of the micro-aggregates in the undisturbed soil. The forest aggregates were eroded slowly under water-drop impact, losing material from their surfaces or occasionally shearing into several smaller equally resistant aggregates. The size-frequency distributions of the break-down products differed from the micro-aggregates in the untreated aggregates or original forest soil, probably because of bonding by organic material. The differing composition of the aggregates points to the importance of oriented clay and planes for the lack of stability of the farmland aggregates. It can be concluded that agricultural colluvium is probably largely deposited by processes other than splash and that splash is an important process, but not the only one, in the formation of colluvium under forest.     

The variation of soil erodibility with slope position in a cultivated canadian prairie landscape

This study examined the variation in soil erodibility along hillslopes in a Prairie landscape. The soil loss produced by simulated rainfall on undisturbed soils was used as an index of relative soil erodibility. Relative erodibility, and several soil properties, were measured at the summit, shoulder, midslope footslope and toeslope of 11 slope transects in an area of cultivated grassland soils on hummocky glacial till. The variation of erodibility with slope position was statistically significant, and slope position explained about 40 per cent of the variation in the erodibility measurements. Erodibility was 14 per cent higher on the shoulder and midslope, and 21 per cent lower on the toeslope, than on the summit and footslope. Local variation in erodibility along slopes was considered to be an important control on patterns of soil erosion in the landscape. The variation of erodibility along the slopes reflected soil property trends. The greatest erodibility was associated with upper slope positions where soils tended to be shallow, coarse, poorly leached and low in organic matter, while lower erodibility was found at lower slope positions with deep, organic-rich and leached soils. Of the individual soil properties considered, silt and sand content were the most highly correlated with erodibility. The results, together with results from other studies, also suggest that net erosion and erodibility are positively related.     

Modeling aggregate size distribution of eroded sediment resulting from rain-splash and raindrop impacted flow processes

Soil susceptibility to detachment and transport sub-processes of erosion is generally controled by the aggregate breakdown mechanism. Measuring particle size and aggregation to the estimate erodibility potential of soils is important under erosive rainfall conditions. The Aggregate Size Distribution (ASD) is one of the most important determinants of soil structure along with soil organic matter content for describing the efficiency of applied, sustainable management strategies. This study aimed to compare the performances of three different aggregate size distribution models to predict the characteristic aggregate size parameter (median diameter, D50) for eroded sediment from interrill erosion processes of Rain- Splash Transport (RST) and Raindrop Impacted Flow Transport (RIFT). The ASDs of 1143 collected sediment samples from the RST and RIFT processes were measured and modeled by the Log-normal, Fractal, and Weibull approaches. The D50 value, as a characteristic parameter for aggregate size distributions, derived from the cumulative ASD curve was compared for soils from different land use types and different slope and rainfall intensity conditions. The performance of each model was evaluated using the Mean Square Error (MSE) and Coefficient of Determination (R^2). The Weibull approach was the most accurate model showing the best fit with the lowest MSE values (0.0002 ≤MSE≤ 0.0048) and having the greatest R2 values (0.936≤ R^2≤ 0.998) when compared with the Log-normal and Fractal models. Herewith, for semi-arid land use and soil, specific shape and scale parameters for the Weibull distribution, the respective ASDs were successfully re-generated for modeling the eroded sediment of the simulated RST and RIFT interill processes.     

Modelling ecohydrological feedbacks in forest and grassland plots under a prolonged drought anomaly in Central Europe 2018–2020

Recent studies have highlighted the importance of understanding ecohydrological drought feedbacks to secure water resources under a changing climate and increasing anthropogenic impacts. In this study, we monitored and modelled feedbacks in the soil–plant-atmosphere continuum to the European drought summer 2018 and the following 2 years. The physically based, isotope-aided model EcH₂O-iso was applied to generic vegetation plots (forest and grassland) in the lowland, groundwater-dominated research catchment Demnitzer Millcreek (NE Germany; 66 km²). We included, inter alia, soil water isotope data in the model calibration and quantified changing “blue” (groundwater recharge) and “green” (evapotranspiration) water fluxes and ages under each land use as the drought progressed. Novel plant xylem isotope data were excluded from calibration but were compared with simulated root uptake signatures in model validation. Results indicated inter-site differences in the dynamics of soil water storage and fluxes with contrasting water age both during the drought and the subsequent 2 years. Forest vegetation consistently showed a greater moisture stress, more rapid recovery and higher variability in root water uptake depths from a generally younger soil water storage. In contrast, the grassland site, which had more water-retentive soils, showed higher and older soil water storage and groundwater recharge fluxes. The damped storage and flux dynamics under grassland led to a slower return to younger water ages at depth. Such evidence-based and quantitative differences in ecohydrological feedbacks to drought stress in contrasting soil-vegetation units provide important insights into Critical Zone water cycling. This can help inform future progress in the monitoring, modelling and development of climate mitigation strategies in drought-sensitive lowlands.     

Soil organic carbon enrichment of dust emissions: magnitude,mechanisms and its implications for the carbon cycle

Soil erosion is an important component of the global carbon cycle. However, little attention has been given to the role of aeolian processes in influencing soil organic carbon (SOC) flux and the release of greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), to the atmosphere. Understanding the magnitude and mechanisms of SOC enrichment in dust emissions is necessary to evaluate the impact of wind erosion on the carbon cycle. This research examines the SOC content and enrichment of dust emissions measured using Big Spring Number Eight (BSNE) wind‐vane samplers across five land types in the rangelands of western Queensland, Australia. Our results show that sandy soils and finer particulate quartz‐rich soils are more efficient at SOC emission and have larger SOC dust enrichment than clay‐rich aggregated soils. The SOC enrichment ratios of dusts originating from sites with sand‐rich soil ranged from 2·1–41·9, while the mean enrichment ratio for dusts originating from the clay soil was 2·1. We hypothesize that stronger inter‐particle bonds and the low grain density of the aggregated clay soil explain its reduced capacity to release SOC during saltation, relative to the particulate sandy soils. We also show that size‐selective sorting of SOC during transport may lead to further enrichment of SOC dust emissions. Two dust samples from regional transport events were found to contain 15–20% SOC. These preliminary results provide impetus for additional research into dust SOC enrichment processes to elucidate the impact of wind erosion on SOC flux and reduce uncertainty about the role of soil erosion in the global carbon cycle. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of time under rain,sampling technique and transport of samples on size distributions of water-stable aggregates

Two methods for sampling aggregates in the soil surface under simulated rain were compared using two soil types. Results showed that aggregate size distributions obtained by spatula sampling were not significantly different from those obtained using rings buried in the soil surface, provided both were sampled to the same depth. The effect of transporting samples over a distance of 60 km was non-significant when samples were placed in bottles half-filled with rainwater and transported in an upright position. The per cent aggregates > 0.125 mm was found to be the most suitable index of aggregate stability for both soils.     

Field studies on the influence of rainfall intensity,vegetation cover and slope length on soil moisture infiltration on typical watersheds of the Loess Plateau,China

Soil moisture is a key process in the hydrological cycle. During ecological restoration of the Loess Plateau, soil moisture status has undergone important changes, and infiltration of soil moisture during precipitation events is a key link affecting water distribution. Our study aims to quantify the effects of vegetation cover, rainfall intensity and slope length on total infiltration and the spatial variation of water flow. Infiltration data from the upper, middle and lower slopes of a bare slope, a natural grassland and an artificial shrub grassland were obtained using a simulated rainfall experiment. The angle of the study slope was 15° and rainfall intensity was set at 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 mm/hr. The effect these factors have on soil moisture infiltration was quantified using main effect analysis. Our results indicate that the average infiltration depth (ID) of a bare slope, a grassland slope and an artificial shrub grassland slope was 46.7–73.3, 60–80, and 60–93.3 cm, respectively, and average soil moisture storage increment was 3.5–5.7, 5.0–9.4, and 5.7–10.2 mm under different rainfall intensities, respectively. Heavy rainfall intensity and vegetation cover reduced the difference of soil infiltration in the 0–40 cm soil layer, and rainfall intensity increased surface infiltration differences on the bare slope, the grassland slope and the artificial shrub grassland slope. Infiltration was dominated by rainfall intensity, accounting for 63.03–88.92%. As rainfall continued, the contribution of rainfall intensity to infiltration gradually decreased, and the contribution of vegetation cover and slope length to infiltration increased. The interactive contribution was: rainfall intensity * vegetation cover > vegetation cover * slope length > rainfall * slope length. In the grass and shrub grass slopes, lateral flow was found at a depth of 23–37 cm when the slope length was 5–10 m, this being related to the difference in soil infiltration capacity between different soil layers formed by the spatial cross-connection of roots.