Surface soil water dynamics in pastures in northern New South Wales. 1. Use of electrical resistance sensors

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 273 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Murphy ◽  
G. M. Lodge
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Electrical Resistance ◽  
New South ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Continuous Data ◽  
Soil Water Dynamics ◽  
South Wales

Stored soil water may influence both the generation of surface runoff and the rate of evapotranspiration from pastures, which may be significant in northern New South Wales. Continuous data is essential to fully understand these processes in field studies. Electrical resistance sensors were used to capture continuous data and they were calibrated directly for soil water content (SWC), so as to provide quantitative data in real time. Calibration equations (logarithmic regression) were significantly different for a range of installation depths (2.5–20 cm). To�provide quantitative insight into soil water dynamics in studies of stored soil water, surface runoff, and evapotranspiration, real time data were collected at intervals ranging from 4 min to 24 h. Resistance sensors provided estimates of stored soil water (0–30 cm) that differed by up to 29% compared with estimates obtained from using a neutron moisture metre alone. In surface runoff studies, data collected at 4 min intervals showed that runoff was generated when soil water content was high. In studies of evapotranspiration, daily data were used to quantify different evapotranspiration rates (2.3–4.9 mm/day) and progressive depth of drying for a range of treatments. We concluded that data collected in real time using resistance sensors may be used to make better estimates of SWC and so improve the interpretation of surface runoff generation and evapotranspiration data.

Soil water dynamics after fire in a Portuguese shrubland

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquim S. Silva ◽  
Francisco C. Rego ◽  
Stefano Mazzoleni
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Root Distribution ◽  
Control Plot ◽  
The Other ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Soil Water Dynamics ◽  
Surface Layers ◽  
Before And After

This paper presents a study where soil water content (SW) was measured before and after an experimental fire in a shrubland dominated by Erica scoparia L. in Portugal. Two plots were established: one was kept as a control plot and the other was burned by an experimental fire in June 2001. Measurements were taken before fire (2000), and after fire (2001, 2002, and 2003) at six depths down to 170 cm, from June to December. Measurements before fire allowed comparison of the two plots in terms of the SW differential, using 2000 as a reference. Results for 2001 showed that SW decreased less during the drying season (June–September) and increased more during the wetting season (October–December) in the burned plot than in the control plot. The magnitude of these effects decreased consistently in 2002 and 2003, especially at surface layers. The maximum gain of SW for the total profile in the burned plot was estimated as 105.5 mm in 2001, 70.2 mm in 2002, and 35.6 mm in 2003. The present paper discusses the mechanisms responsible for the increase in SW taking into account the characteristics of the plant community, including the root distribution, and the results of other studies.

scholarly journals Monitoring Water‐Soil Dynamics and Tree Survival Using Soil Sensors under a Big Data Approach

Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (21) ◽  
pp. 4634
Author(s):  
Pascual ◽  
Rivera ◽  
Gómez ◽  
Domínguez-Lerena
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Soil Dynamics ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Soil Water Dynamics ◽  
Soil Sensors ◽  
Tree Survival

The high importance of green urban planning to ensure access to green areas requires modern and multi-source decision-support tools. The integration of remote sensing data and sensor developments can contribute to the improvement of decision-making in urban forestry. This study proposes a novel big data-based methodology that combines real-time information from soil sensors and climate data to monitor the establishment of a new urban forest in semi-arid conditions. Water‐soil dynamics and their implication in tree survival were analyzed considering the application of different treatment restoration techniques oriented to facilitate the recovery of tree and shrub vegetation in the degraded area. The synchronized data-capturing scheme made it possible to evaluate hourly, daily, and seasonal changes in soil‐water dynamics. The spatial variation of soil‐water dynamics was captured by the sensors and it highly contributed to the explanation of the observed ground measurements on tree survival. The methodology showed how the efficiency of treatments varied depending on species selection and across the experimental design. The use of retainers for improving soil moisture content and adjusting tree-watering needs was, on average, the most successful restoration technique. The results and the applied calibration of the sensor technology highlighted the random behavior of water‐soil dynamics despite the small-scale scope of the experiment. The results showed the potential of this methodology to assess watering needs and adjust watering resources to the vegetation status using real-time atmospheric and soil data.

scholarly journals Quantitative high-resolution observations of soil water dynamics in a complicated architecture using time-lapse ground-penetrating radar

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 1125-1139 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Klenk ◽  
S. Jaumann ◽  
K. Roth
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Ground Penetrating Radar ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Soil Water Dynamics ◽  
Capillary Fringe ◽  
Ground Penetrating

Abstract. High-resolution time-lapse ground-penetrating radar (GPR) observations of advancing and retreating water tables can yield a wealth of information about near-surface water content dynamics. In this study, we present and analyze a series of imbibition, drainage and infiltration experiments that have been carried out at our artificial ASSESS test site and observed with surface-based GPR. The test site features a complicated but known subsurface architecture constructed with three different kinds of sand. It allows the study of soil water dynamics with GPR under a wide range of different conditions. Here, we assess in particular (i) the feasibility of monitoring the dynamic shape of the capillary fringe reflection and (ii) the relative precision of monitoring soil water dynamics averaged over the whole vertical extent by evaluating the bottom reflection. The phenomenology of the GPR response of a dynamically changing capillary fringe is developed from a soil physical point of view. We then explain experimentally observed phenomena based on numerical simulations of both the water content dynamics and the expected GPR response.

Surface soil water dynamics in pastures in northern New South Wales. 2. Surface runoff

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 283 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Murphy ◽  
G. M. Lodge ◽  
S. Harden
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Surface Runoff ◽  
New South ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Simulation Modelling ◽  
Runoff Generation ◽  
Grazed Pastures ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Runoff Events

Surface runoff can represent a significant part of the hydrological balance of grazed pastures on the north-west slopes of New South Wales, and is influenced by a range of rainfall characteristic, soil property, and pasture conditions. Runoff plots were established on grazed pastures at 3 sites as part of the Sustainable Grazing Systems National Experiment (SGS NE). Pastures were either native (redgrass, wallaby grass and wire grass) or sown species (phalaris, subterranean clover and lucerne) and a range of grazing management treatments were imposed to manipulate pasture herbage mass, litter mass and ground cover. Rainfall and runoff events were recorded using automatic data loggers between January 1998 and September 2001. Stored soil water in the surface layer (0–22.5 cm) was monitored continuously using electrical resistance sensors and automatic loggers. Pasture herbage mass, litter mass and ground cover were estimated regularly to provide information useful in interpreting runoff generation processes.Total runoff ranged from 6.6 mm at Manilla (0.3% of rainfall) to 185 mm at Nundle (5.7% of rainfall) for different grazing treatments, with the largest runoff event being recorded at Nundle (46.7 mm). Combined site linear regression analyses showed that soil depth, rainfall depth and rainfall duration explained up to 30.3% of the variation in runoff depth. For individual sites, these same variables were also important, accounting for 13.3–33.6% of the variation in runoff depth. Continuous monitoring of stored soil water in relation to these runoff events indicated that the majority of these events were generated by saturation excess, with major events in winter contributing substantially to regional flooding. Long-term simulation modelling (1957–2001) using the SGS Pasture Model indicated that most runoff events were generated in summer, which concurred with the number of flood events recorded at Gunnedah, NSW, downstream of the SGS sites. However, floods also occurred frequently in winter, but the simulations generated few runoff events at that time of the year. These results have important implications for sustainability of grazed pastures and long-term simulation modelling of the hydrological balance of such systems, since runoff generation processes are likely to vary both spatially and temporally for different rainfall events.

Soil water dynamics and growth of perennial pasture species for dryland salinity control

2000 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Lolicato
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Lotus Corniculatus ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Seasonal Growth ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Soil Water Dynamics

Fortnightly soil water content measurements to a depth of 2.1 m under 4 cocksfoot cultivars, 2 phalaris cultivars, 2 lucerne cultivars and 1 Lotus corniculatus cultivar were used to compare soil profile drying and to define seasonal patterns of plant water use of the species over a 3-year period, on a duplex soil. Cultivars were also selected, within species groups, for varying seasonal growth patterns to assess this influence on soil water dynamics and growth. Over the 3-year period, treatments with the highest and lowest measures of profile soil water content were used to derive and compare values of maximum plant extractable water. Plots were maintained for a further 3 years, after which soil water content measurements in autumn were used to assess long-term effects of the treatments. The effect of seasonal growth patterns within a species was negligible; however, there were significant differences between species. Twenty-one months after pasture establishment, lucerne alone had a drying effect at 2.0 m depth and subsequently it consistently showed profiles with the lowest soil water content. Maximum plant extractable water was greatest for lucerne (230 mm), followed by phalaris (210 mm), Lotus corniculatus (200 mm) and cocksfoot (170 mm). Profiles with the lowest soil water content were associated with greater herbage growth and greater depths of water extraction. The soil water deficits developed by the treatments in autumn of the fourth year were similar to those measured in autumn of the seventh year, implying that a species-dependant equilibrium had been reached. Long-term rainfall data is used to calculate the probabilities of recharge occurring when rainfall exceeds maximum potential deficits for the different pasture species.

Effects of continuous and seasonal grazing strategies on the herbage mass, persistence, animal productivity and soil water content of a Sirosa phalaris - subterranean clover pasture, North-West Slopes, New South Wales

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 539 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Lodge ◽  
S. R. Murphy ◽  
S. Harden
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Subterranean Clover ◽  
Animal Production ◽  
North West ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Continuous Grazing

An experimental site was established in 1997 on the North-West Slopes of New South Wales to further investigate the use of strategic grazing management to improve the persistence of phalaris (Phalaris aquatica cv.�Sirosa) and subsequent effects on animal production and soil water content. The pasture was sown in 1992 to Sirosa phalaris, subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum var. subterraneum cv. Seaton Park) and lucerne (Medicago sativa cv. Aurora). Four grazing treatments were applied in a randomised 3-replicate design. Treatments consisted of continuous grazing at 12.3 sheep/ha (C12 or control); continuous grazing at 6 sheep/ha (C6), and 2� spring and autumn strategies of either resting from grazing for 6 weeks in each season (SAR0), or reducing stocking rate from 12.3 to 4.0 sheep/ha (SAR4). Despite annual applications of fertiliser and high clover content, Sirosa phalaris herbage mass in plots continuously grazed at 12.3 sheep/ha declined from a mean of 3300 kg DM/ha in spring 1997 to < 700 kg DM/ha by May 1998. At the end of the study (February 2001), Sirosa mean herbage mass in these plots was 670 kg DM/ha and lower (P < 0.05) than for the other treatments (mean value 5400 kg DM/ha). These marked changes in herbage mass, and the degradation of the Sirosa-based pasture to an annual pasture by continuous grazing at 12.3 sheep/ha, were not generally reflected in either short-term animal production or substantial differences in soil water content. Wool production (kg/head) was not significantly different among treatments each year. Compared with continuous grazing at 12.3 sheep/ha, sheep liveweights were higher (P < 0.05) in plots continuously grazed at 6.1 sheep/ha from November 1997 to February 1999. However, from February 1999 to 2001, sheep liveweights in the 2 treatments with the highest Sirosa phalaris content were lower (P < 0.05) than those continuously grazed at 12.3 sheep/ha. Only the soil water content for the C6 and SAR4 treatments at 0–30�cm was significantly different to the control treatment, but the differences were predicted to be < 2.5 mm/year. In the root zone (0–90 cm), mean soil water content ranged from 159 to 309 mm (mean 220 mm), while plant available water (soil water content – soil water content at –1500 kPa) was a mean of 79 mm, ranging from 11 to 168 mm.

scholarly journals Soil water response to rainfall in a dune-interdune landscape in Horqin Sand Land, northern China

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 229-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueya Zhou ◽  
Dexin Guan ◽  
Jiabing Wu ◽  
Fenghui Yuan ◽  
Anzhi Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Soil Water Dynamics ◽  
Water Recharge ◽  
Sand Land ◽  
Horqin Sand Land ◽  
The Relationship

Soil water dynamic is considered an important process for water resource and plantation management in Horqin Sand Land, northern China. In this study, soil water content simulated by the SWMS-2D model was used to systematically analyse soil water dynamics and explore the relationship between soil water and rainfall among micro-landforms (i.e., top, upslope, midslope, toeslope, and bottomland) and 0–200 cm soil depths during the growing season of 2013 and 2015. The results showed that soil water dynamics in 0–20 cm depths were closely linked to rainfall patterns, whereas soil water content in 20–80 cm depths illustrated a slight decline in addition to fluctuations caused by rainfall. At the top position, the soil water content in different ranges of depths (20–40 and 80–200 cm) was near the wilting point, and hence some branches, and even entire plants exhibited diebacks. At the upslope or midslope positions, the soil water content in 20–80 or 80–200 cm depths was higher than at the top position. Soil water content was higher at the toeslope and bottomland positions than at other micro-landforms, and deep caliche layers had a positive feedback effect on shrub establishment. Soil water recharge by rainfall was closely related to rainfall intensity and micro-landforms. Only rainfalls &gt; 20 mm significantly increased water content in &gt; 40 cm soil depths, but deeper water recharge occurred at the toeslope position. A linear equation was fitted to the relationship between soil water and antecedent rainfall, and the slopes and R<sup>2</sup> of the equations were different among micro-landforms and soil depths. The linear equations generally fitted well in 0–20 and 20–40 cm depths at the top, upslope, midslope, and toeslope positions (R<sup>2</sup> value of about 0.60), with soil water in 0–20 cm depths showing greater responses to rainfall (average slope of 0.189). In 20–40 cm depths, the response was larger at the toeslope position, with a slope of 0.137. In 40–80 cm depths, a good linear fit with a slope of 0.041 was only recorded at the toeslope position. This study provides a soil water basis for ecological restoration in similar regions.  

Calibration of a water content reflectometer and soil water dynamics for an agroforestry practice

2010 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranjith P. Udawatta ◽  
Stephen H. Anderson ◽  
Peter P. Motavalli ◽  
Harold E. Garrett
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Soil Water Dynamics ◽  
Agroforestry Practice

Effect of gypsum on vertisols of the Gwydir Valley, New South Wales. 2. Ease of tillage

1989 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
DC McKenzie ◽  
HB So
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Soil Strength ◽  
South Wales

An experiment was carried out to deter- mine the effect of applied gypsum on the ease of tillage in 3 vertisols of the Gwydir Valley, New South Wales. The soils were classified as 'poor' and 'good' on the basis of past dryland wheat yields and structural of their surface aggregates.Where gypsum had been applied 22 months earlier at a rate of 7.5 t ha-1, tractor fuel consumption per centimetre of soil tilled was reduced by as much as 37% (0.85 v. 0.54 L ha-1 cm-1). The effect was most marked on the more sodic clays. The reduction in fuel consumption due to gypsum was associated with instability creased soil water content (0.127 v. 0.224 kg kg-1) and lower soil strength (330 v. 140 kPa).

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