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

Xueya Zhou, Dexin Guan, Jiabing Wu, Fenghui Yuan, Anzhi Wang, Cangjie Jin and Yushu Zhang
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Xueya Zhou: Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions, Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng, P.R. China
Dexin Guan: Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, P.R. China
Jiabing Wu: Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, P.R. China
Fenghui Yuan: Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, P.R. China
Anzhi Wang: Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, P.R. China
Cangjie Jin: Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, P.R. China
Yushu Zhang: Institute of Atmospheric Environment, China Meteorological Administration, Shenyang, P.R. China

Soil and Water Research, 2019, vol. 14, issue 4, 229-239

Abstract: 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 > 20 mm significantly increased water content in > 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 R2 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 (R2 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.

Keywords: antecedent rainfall; micro-landforms; response magnitude; soil water dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:caa:jnlswr:v:14:y:2019:i:4:id:142-2018-swr

DOI: 10.17221/142/2018-SWR

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