Impact of Agricultural Land Use Types on Soil Moisture Retention of Loamy Soils

Szabolcs Czigány, Noémi Sarkadi (), Dénes Lóczy, Anikó Cséplő, Richárd Balogh, Szabolcs Ákos Fábián, Rok Ciglič, Mateja Ferk, Gábor Pirisi, Marcell Imre, Gábor Nagy and Ervin Pirkhoffer
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Szabolcs Czigány: Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6., 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Noémi Sarkadi: Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6., 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Dénes Lóczy: Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6., 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Anikó Cséplő: Doctoral School of Earth Sciences, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6., 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Richárd Balogh: Doctoral School of Earth Sciences, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6., 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Szabolcs Ákos Fábián: Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6., 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Rok Ciglič: Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Anton Melik Geographical Institute, Novi trg 2., 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Mateja Ferk: Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Anton Melik Geographical Institute, Novi trg 2., 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Gábor Pirisi: Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6., 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Marcell Imre: Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6., 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Gábor Nagy: South Transdanubian Water Management Directorate, Köztársaság tér 7, 7623 Pécs, Hungary
Ervin Pirkhoffer: Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Pécs, Ifjúság útja 6., 7624 Pécs, Hungary

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Increasingly severe hydrological extremes are predicted for the Pannonian Basin as one of the consequences of climate change. The challenges of extreme droughts require the adaptation of agriculture especially during the intense growth phase of crops. For dryland farming, the selections of the optimal land use type and sustainable agricultural land management are potential adaptation tools for facing the challenges posed by increased aridity. To this end, it is indispensable to understand soil moisture (SM) dynamics under different land use types over drought-affected periods. Within the framework of a Slovenian–Hungarian project, soil moisture, matric potential and rainfall time series have been collected at three pilot sites of different land use types (pasture, orchards and a ploughland) in SW Hungary since September 2018. Experiments were carried out in soils of silt, silt loam and clay loam texture. In the summers (June 1 to August 31) of 2019 and 2022, we identified normal and dry conditions, respectively, with regard to differences in water balance. Our results demonstrated that soil moisture is closely controlled by land use. Marked differences of the moisture regime were revealed among the three land use types based on statistical analyses. Soils under pasture had the most balanced regime, whereas ploughland soils indicated the highest amplitude of moisture dynamics. The orchard, however, showed responses to weather conditions in sharp contrast with the other two sites. Our results are applicable for loamy soils under humid and subhumid temperate climates and for periods of extreme droughts, a condition which is expected to be the norm for the future.

Keywords: drought; ecosystem services; land use; soil moisture dynamics; water stress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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