Infiltration rates and soil moisture in a groved mulga community near Alice Springs, arid central Australia: evidence for complex internal rainwater redistribution in a runoff–runon landscape

2002 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. Dunkerley
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Infiltration Rates ◽  
Central Australia

INFILTRATION CHARACTERISTICS OF A GUELPH LOAM SOIL FROM ANALYSIS OF HYDROLOGIC DATA

1965 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Percy ◽  
H. D. Ayers ◽  
L. R. Webber
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Graphical Analysis ◽  
Bare Ground ◽  
Infiltration Rates ◽  
Continuous Corn ◽  
Hydrologic Data ◽  
Loam Soil

Graphical analysis of 9 years of hydrologic data was used to derive 46 infiltration curves for 0.05-acre plots of Guelph loam. The rankings of infiltration rates under four management practices were: continuous corn < bare ground < oats after corn < corn after 2 years of hay. Mass infiltration decreased as soil moisture increased, and increased as the amount of rain during a storm increased.Mass infiltration tended to decrease with time on a plot planted continuously to corn for 9 years.

scholarly journals Aerodynamic Resistance and Penman–Monteith Evapotranspiration over a Seasonally Two-Layered Canopy in Semiarid Central Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1562-1570 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Cleverly ◽  
Chao Chen ◽  
Nicolas Boulain ◽  
Randol Villalobos-Vega ◽  
Ralph Faux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Drag Coefficient ◽  
Vapor Pressure Deficit ◽  
Soil Moisture Content ◽  
Aerodynamic Resistance ◽  
Atmospheric Humidity ◽  
Vapor Transfer ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
Content Information

Abstract Accurate prediction of evapotranspiration E depends upon representative characterization of meteorological conditions in the boundary layer. Drag and bulk transfer coefficient schemes for estimating aerodynamic resistance to vapor transfer were compared over a semiarid natural woodland ecosystem in central Australia. Aerodynamic resistance was overestimated from the drag coefficient, resulting in limited E at intermediate values of vapor pressure deficit. Large vertical humidity gradients were present during the summer, causing divergence between momentum and vapor transport within and above the canopy surface. Because of intermittency in growth of the summer-active, rain-dependent understory and physiological responses of the canopy, leaf resistance varied from less than 50 s m−1 to greater than 106 s m−1, in which the particularly large values were obtained from inversion of drag coefficient resistance. Soil moisture limitations further contributed to divergence between actual and reference E. Unsurprisingly, inclusion of site-specific meteorological (e.g., vertical humidity gradients) and hydrological (e.g., soil moisture content) information improved the accuracy of predicting E when applying Penman–Monteith analysis. These results apply regardless of canopy layering (i.e., even when the understory was not present) wherever atmospheric humidity gradients develop and are thus not restricted to two-layer canopies in semiarid regions.

scholarly journals Evidence for enhanced infiltration of ion load during snowmelt

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1431-1457
Author(s):  
G. Lilbæk ◽  
J. W. Pomeroy
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Infiltration Rate ◽  
Frozen Soil ◽  
Ion Concentration ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Ion Concentrations ◽  
Infiltration Rates ◽  
Dry Soil ◽  
Infiltration Excess ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Meltwater ion concentration and infiltration rate into frozen soil both decline rapidly as snowmelt progresses. Their temporal association is highly non-linear and a covariance term must be added in order to use time-averaged values of snowmelt ion concentration and infiltration rate to calculate chemical infiltration. The covariance is labelled enhanced infiltration and represents the additional ion load that infiltrates due to the timing of high meltwater concentration and infiltration rate. Previous assessment of the impact of enhanced infiltration has been theoretical; thus, experiments were carried out to examine whether enhanced infiltration can be recognized in controlled laboratory settings and to what extent its magnitude varies with soil moisture. Three experiments were carried out: dry soil conditions, unsaturated soil conditions, and saturated soil conditions. Chloride solution was added to the surface of frozen soil columns; the concentration decreased exponentially over time to simulate snow meltwater. Infiltration excess water was collected and its chloride concentration and volume determined. Ion load infiltrating the frozen soil was specified by mass conservation. Results showed that infiltrating ion load increased with decreasing soil moisture as expected; however, the impact of enhanced infiltration increased considerably with increasing soil moisture. Enhanced infiltration caused 2.5 times more ion load to infiltrate during saturated conditions than that estimated using time-averaged ion concentrations and infiltration rates alone. For unsaturated conditions, enhanced infiltration was reduced to 1.45 and for dry soils to 1.3. Reduction in infiltration excess ion load due to enhanced infiltration increased slightly (2–5%) over time, being greatest for the dry soil (45%) and least for the saturated soil (6%). The importance of timing between high ion concentrations and high infiltration rates was best illustrated in the unsaturated experiment, which showed large inter-column variation in enhanced ion infiltration due to variation in this temporal covariance.

The root growth of irrigated perennial pastures and its effect on soil structure.

1953 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 283 ◽  
Author(s):  
KP Barley
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Root Growth ◽  
Soil Structure ◽  
Sandy Loam ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Infiltration Rate ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Infiltration Rates ◽  
Moisture Contents ◽  
Organic Particles

A separate of coherent organic particles obtained from soil suspensions by flotation and filtration is termed macroorganic matter. Three-year-old irrigated perennial pastures were found to have added 10 tons per acre of oven-dry macroorganic matter to a sandy loam at Deniliquin. Over half of this material hail been added to the top three inches of the soil. For any one pasture, as the macroorganic matter content of the top three inches of soil increased, infiltration rate decreased. When comparison was made at common macroorganic matter and soil moisture contents, soils under co-dominant white clover-perennial grass pastures were found to have higher infiltration rates than soils under lucerne-dominant pastures. The variability of the quantities measured is described.

Effects of rainfall and simulated browsing on the growth of Acacia georginae (F.M. Bailey) in arid central Australia.

1990 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
DF Robinson ◽  
JR Maconochie ◽  
PJ Hanna
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Leaf Growth ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Subsequent Growth ◽  
Leafy Shoots ◽  
Central Australia ◽  
Simulated Browsing

Leafy shoots of Acacia georginae were subjected to different combinations of pruning and defoliation, and their subsequent growth patterns recorded over two and a half years. Rainfall and soil moisture records were also kept. Rainfall, soil moisture, new growth and old leaf loss showed variable patterns from year to year and generally were not strongly related to each other. Light pruning was followed by increased leaf growth, with apparent stimulation, whereas heavy pruning and defoliation appeared to be detrimental to growth, mainly in that removed growth was not replaced. Actual inhibition could not be established.

scholarly journals Soil moisture storage in mature and replanted sub-humid boreal forest stands

1998 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Elliott ◽  
B. M. Toth ◽  
R. J. Granger ◽  
J. W. Pomeroy
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Canopy Structure ◽  
Mechanical Site Preparation ◽  
Soil Moisture Storage ◽  
Infiltration Rates ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Sampling Locations ◽  
Moisture Storage ◽  
Moisture Profiles

Soil moisture profiles at two mature forest sites (Pine and Mixed-Wood) and two plantations (1981 Pine and 1992 Mixedwood) in central Saskatchewan were studied in conjunction with soil properties, precipitation, interception and evapotranspiration. Sampling locations within each stand were chosen to highlight differences in soil moisture due to interception, evapotranspiration and soil physical properties.Soil moisture storage to 1-m depth was greatest on the 92-Plantation where transpiration and interception of precipitation were less than the other sites. Moisture storage in the 81-Plantation was similar to that in the mixed-wood stand. The Pine stand had the lightest textured soils and stored least water to 1-m depth. Variability in moisture storage was also observed within stands and was associated with canopy structure and density, water extraction patterns and mechanical site preparation. In the furrows at the 92-Plantation, wet soils in combination with low infiltration rates and transpiration may have lead to the generation and channelling of rainfall runoff during a major rainfall event. Key words: Boreal forest, hydrological pathways, soil moisture, infiltration, interception, evapotranspiration

Soil Moisture Redistribution as Affected by Throughfall and Stemflow in an Arid Zone Shrub Community

1976 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 641 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJ Pressland
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
Ground Flora ◽  
Infiltration Rates ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Stem Flow ◽  
Survival And Growth ◽  
Ecological Importance ◽  
Acacia Aneura

Changes in soil moisture under various densities of mulga (Acacia aneura F. Muell.) were followed from December 1971 to October 1973. Stemflow was instrumental in storing water at depth in the soil, being particularly noticeable with medium falls of rain (~ 75 mm); heavy (~ 160 mm) falls tended to mask the effect. Throughfall increased linearly with aggregate rainfall, and percentage throughfall decreased with increasing tree density. Of incoming precipitation, 94% was partitioned as throughfall under a tree density of 40 trees/ha-1 compared with 86% at a density of 4000 trees/ha. No distinct soil moisture patterns due to throughfall were found. Infiltration rates of water into the soil decreased with increasing distance from trees, being 46, 22 and 17 mm/h-1 after 10 min at distances 0.25, 0.5 and 2 m from a tree bole respectively, thus demonstrating that stemflow waters are absorbed at close proximity to the tree bole.The results are discussed in terms of the ecological importance of stem flow and soil moisture patterning to the survival and growth of mulga and associated ground flora.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document