Assessing the impact of the hydraulic properties of a crusted soil on overland flow modelling at the field scale

Soil surface crusts are widely reported to favour Hortonian runoff, but are not explicitly represented in most rainfall‐runoff models. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of soil surface crusts on infiltration and runoff modelling at two spatial scales, i.e. the local scale and the plot scale. At the local scale, two separate single ring infiltration experiments are undertaken. The first is performed on the undisturbed soil, whereas the second is done after removal of the soil surface crust. The HYDRUS 2D two‐dimensional vertical infiltration model is then used in an inverse modelling approach, first to estimate the soil hydraulic properties of the crust and the subsoil, and then the effective hydraulic properties of the soil represented as a single uniform layer. The results show that the crust hydraulic conductivity is 10 times lower than that of the subsoil, thus illustrating the limiting role the crust has on infiltration. Moving up to the plot scale, a rainfall‐runoff model coupling the Richards equation to a transfer function is used to simulate Hortonian overland flow hydrographs. The previously calculated hydraulic properties are used, and a comparison is undertaken between a single‐layer and a double‐layer representation of the crusted soil. The results of the rainfall‐runoff model show that the soil hydraulic properties calculated at the local scale give acceptable results when used to model runoff at the plot scale directly, without any numerical calibration. Also, at the plot scale, no clear improvement of the results can be seen when using a double‐layer representation of the soil in comparison with a single homogeneous layer. This is due to the hydrological characteristics of Hortonian runoff, which is triggered by a rainfall intensity exceeding the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil surface. Consequently, the rainfall‐runoff model is more sensitive to rainfall than to the subsoil's hydrodynamic properties. Therefore, the use of a double‐layer soil model to represent runoff on a crusted soil does not seem necessary, as the increase of precision in the soil discretization is not justified by a better performance of the model. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A theory of pressure sensor performance in snow

A theory of pressure sensor response in snow is derived and used to examine the sources of measurement errors in snow water equivalent (SWE) pressure sensors. Measurement errors in SWE are caused by differences in the compressibility of the pressure sensor and the adjacent snow layer, which produces a shear stress along the perimeter of the sensor. When the temperature at the base of the snow cover equals 0 °C, differences in the snowmelt rate between the snow–SWE sensor interface and the adjacent snow–soil interface may also produce a shear stress along the sensor's perimeter. This shear stress perturbs the pressure field over the sensor, producing SWE measurement errors. Snow creep acts to reduce shear stresses along the SWE sensor's perimeter at a rate that is inversely proportional to the snow viscosity. For sustained periods of differential snowmelt, a difference in the mass of snow over the sensor compared with the surrounding soil will develop, producing additional permanent errors in SWE measurements. The theory indicates that SWE pressure sensor performance can be improved by designing a sensor with a high Young's modulus (low compressibility), low aspect ratio, large diameter and thermal properties that match those of the surrounding soil. Simulations of SWE pressure sensor errors using the theory are in close agreement with observed errors and may provide a means to correct historical SWE measurements for use in hydrological hindcast or climate studies. Published in 2003 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of a hedge surrounding bottomland on seasonal soil‐water movement

The influence of a hedge surrounding bottomland on soil‐water movement along the hillslope was studied on a plot scale for 28 months. The study was based on the comparison of two transects, one with a hedge, the other without, using mainly a dense grid of tensiometers. The influence of the bottomland hedge was located in the area where tree roots were developed, several metres upslope from the hedge, and could be observed both in the saturated and non‐saturated zone, from May to December. The hedge induced a high rate of soil drying, because of the high evaporative capacity of the trees. We evaluated that water uptake by the hedge during the growing season was at least 100 mm higher than without a hedge. This increased drying rate led to a delayed rewetting of the soils upslope from the hedge in autumn, of about 1 month compared with the situation without a hedge. Several consequences of this delayed rewetting are expected: a delay in the return of subsurface transfer from the hillslope to the riparian zone, a buffering effect of hedges on floods, already observed at the catchment scale, and an increased residence time of pollutants. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE CORRESPONDING ANALYSIS OF HEAVY-METAL POLLUTION OF SOIL IN ZHUZHOU CITY

ＴＨＥ ＣＯＲＲＥＳＰＯＮＤＩＮＧ ＡＮＡＬＹＳＩＳ ＯＦ ＨＥＡＶＹ－ＭＥＴＡＬ ＰＯＬＬＵＴＩＯＮ ＯＦ ＳＯＩＬ ＩＮ ＺＨＵＺＨＯＵ ＣＩＴＹ ＳｈａｎｇＪｉｎｃｈｅｎｇ（尚金城）；ＬｏｎｇＡｉｍｉｎ（龙爱民）ＬｉＢｉｎ（李斌）；ＪｉａｎｇＪ...     

Using time‐domain reflectometry to characterize shallow solute transport in an oak woodland hillslope in northern California,USA

The natural heterogeneity of water and solute movement in hillslope soils makes it difficult to accurately characterize the transport of surface‐applied pollutants without first gathering spatially distributed hydrological data. This study examined the application of time‐domain reflectometry (TDR) to measure solute transport in hillslopes. Three different plot designs were used to examine the transport of a conservative tracer in the first 50 cm of a moderately sloping soil. In the first plot, which was designed to examine spatial variability in vertical transport in a 1·2 m² plot, a single probe per meter was found to adequately characterize vertical solute travel times. In addition, a dye and excavation study in this plot revealed lateral preferential flow in small macropores and a transport pattern where solute is focused vertically into preferential flow pathways. The bypass flow delivers solute deeper in the soil, where lateral flow occurs. The second plot, designed to capture both vertical and lateral flow, provided additional evidence confirming the flow patterns identified in the excavation of the first plot. The third plot was designed to examine lateral flow and once again preferential flow of the tracer was observed. In one instance rapid solute transport in this plot was estimated to occur in as little as 3% of the available pore space. Finally, it was demonstrated that the soil anisotropy, although partially responsible for lateral subsurface transport, may also homogenize the transport response across the hillslope by decreasing vertical solute spreading. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

均质土坡潜在滑面的搜索

均质土坡潜在滑面的确定 ,是对均质土坡进行稳定性计算的必要前提。传统的以瑞典圆弧法为代表的刚体极限平衡方法 ,虽然能够确定出均质土坡的滑面 ,但工作量较大 ,使用不方便。因此 ,在塑性极限分析方法的基础上 ,提出了一种新的搜索滑面的方法     

A classification of drainage and macropore flow in an agricultural catchment

This paper uses a variety of multivariate statistical techniques in order to improve current understanding of the antecedent and rainfall controls on drainage characteristics for an agricultural underdrained clay site. Using the dataset obtained from a two‐year hillslope study at Wytham (Oxfordshire, UK) a number of patterns in the nature and style of drainage events were explored. First, using principal components analysis, a distinction was drawn between drainflow controlled by antecedent conditions and drainflow controlled by rainfall characteristics. Dimensional analysis then distinguished between two further types of drainflow event: antecedent limited events (ALE) and non‐antecedent limited events (NALE). These were drainflow events requiring a minimum antecedent hydraulic head to occur (ALE) and events that occurred in response to rainfall irrespective of the antecedent conditions, because the rainfall was either of high enough intensity or duration to prompt a response in drainflow (NALE). 2. The dataset also made possible a preliminary investigation into the controls on and types of macropore flow at the site. Principal components analysis identified that rainfall characteristics were more important than antecedent conditions in generating high proportions of macropore flow in drainflow. Of the rainfall characteristics studied, rainfall amount and intensity were the dominant controls on the amount of macropore flow, with duration as a secondary control. Two styles of macropore flow were identified: intensity‐driven and duration‐driven. Intensity‐driven events are characterized by rainfall of high intensity and short duration. During such events the amount of macropore flow is proportional to the rainfall intensity and the interaction between macropore and matrix flow is kinetically limited. The second style of macropore flow is characterized by long‐duration events. For these events the amount of macropore flow approaches a maximum value whatever the rainfall duration. This suggests that these events are characterized by an equilibrium interaction between macropores and matrix flow. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulating daily soil water under foothills fescue grazing with the soil and water assessment tool model (Alberta,Canada)

Grazing is common in the foothills fescue grasslands and may influence the seasonal soil‐water patterns, which in turn determine range productivity. Hydrological modelling using the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) is becoming widely adopted throughout North America especially for simulation of stream flow and runoff in small and large basins. Although applications of the SWAT model have been wide, little attention has been paid to the model's ability to simulate soil‐water patterns in small watersheds. Thus a daily profile of soil water was simulated with SWAT using data collected from the Stavely Range Sub‐station in the foothills of south‐western Alberta, Canada. Three small watersheds were established using a combination of natural and artificial barriers in 1996–97. The watersheds were subjected to no grazing (control), heavy grazing (2·4 animal unit months (AUM) per hectare) or very heavy grazing (4·8 AUM ha^?1). Soil‐water measurements were conducted at four slope positions within each watershed (upper, middle, lower and 5 m close to the collector drain), every 2 weeks annually from 1998 to 2000 using a downhole CPN 503 neutron moisture meter. Calibration of the model was conducted using 1998 soil‐water data and resulted in Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient (EF or R²) and regression coefficient of determination (r²) values of 0·77 and 0·85, respectively. Model graphical and statistical evaluation was conducted using the soil‐water data collected in 1999 and 2000. During the evaluation period, soil water was simulated reasonably with an overall EF of 0·70, r² of 0·72 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 18·01. The model had a general tendency to overpredict soil water under relatively dry soil conditions, but to underpredict soil water under wet conditions. Sensitivity analysis indicated that absolute relative sensitivity indices of input parameters in soil‐water simulation were in the following order; available water capacity > bulk density > runoff curve number > fraction of field capacity (FFCB) > saturated hydraulic conductivity. Thus these data were critical inputs to ensure reasonable simulation of soil‐water patterns. Overall, the model performed satisfactorily in simulating soil‐water patterns in all three watersheds with a daily time‐step and indicates a great potential for monitoring soil‐water resources in small watersheds. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influences of Oyster Shell Soil Conditioner on Soil and Plant Rhizospheric Microorganisms

Oyster shell soil conditioner had significant influence on soil and rhizospheric microorganisms in their biomass, respiratory intensity and nutritional requirement. It could stimulate growth of soil and rhizospheric microorganisms, especially nitrogen-fixers, and intensify soil respiration in proportion to the dose and fertilizing time of the conditioner, leading to the increase in the number of nitrogen fixing bacteria and the decrease in the number of bacteria with special nutrition demands.     

A bimodal four‐parameter lognormal linear model of soil water repellency persistence

Soil water repellency may be characterized in terms of the delayed infiltration time of a water droplet resting on the soil surface, which is, water drop penetration time (WDPT), or repellency persistence. Such repellency persistence varies nonlinearly with soil water content (θ_g), although no models have been proposed to reproduce the variation of WDPT with θ_g in soils. Dynamic factor analysis (DFA) is used to identify two common patterns of unexplained variability in a scattered dataset of WDPT versus θ_g measurements. A four‐parameter lognormal distribution was fitted to both common patterns obtained by DFA, and these were combined additively in a weighted multiple linear bimodal model. We show how such an empirical model is capable of reproducing a large variety of WDPT versus θ_g curve shapes (N = 80) both within a wide range of measured WDPTs (0–17 000 s) and for samples with organic matter content ranging from 21·7 to 80·6 g (100 g)^?1. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.