Andisols present exceptional physical properties, making up < 1% of the world's soils. While there is a lot of information about non-volcanic soil properties, research about soils of volcanic origin is limited. Specifically, no major studies have been carried out to improve our knowledge of these soils' hydrological behavior, which is relevant due to the impact of climate change on water resources and to the soil's role in the hydrological cycle. Thus, the aim of this work was to analyze the water content dynamics of a soil slope derived from volcanic ashes under different land covers. We hypothesized that land cover, rainfall, and air temperature, in addition to the hydraulic properties of the volcanic ash soil, regulate the slope's water content dynamics. Our study was conducted in S Chile, in a fluvial terrace covered by pastures in the uplands, a native forest in the adjacent slope, and a hygrophilous forest in the floodplain at the base of the slope, surrounding a stream. Soil physical properties, such as bulk density (Db), volume of macropores (wCP), plant available water (PAW) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) were studied. Rainfall, air temperature, volumetric water content ( Field ) and soil temperature were continuously measured with data loggers. The groundwater level was also measured. Water content dynamics reflect the behavior of rainfall and air/soil temperatures under different land covers, as well as, revealing the specific behavior of volcanic soil's pore system (e.g., Db < 0.9 Mg m -3 ). Soil depths exposed to more intensive and dynamic wetting and drying cycles presented well-defined water release ranges as compared to the pore system of deeper soil horizons. Soils present large water holding capacities (PAW > 24%), however, during summer they can reach volumetric water contents near to the permanent wilting point quickly at a depth of 5 cm. The water table altitude was directly related to the temporal changes of Field measured at a depth of 50 cm, highlighting the fact that the saturated and unsaturated zones are connected.

Irrigation experiments on 12 instrumented field plots were used to assess the impact of dynamic soil crack networks on infiltration and run‐off. During applications of intensity similar to a heavy rainstorm, water was seen being preferentially delivered within the soil profile. However, run‐off was not observed until soil water content of the profile reached field capacity, and the apertures of surface‐connected cracks had closed >60%. Electrical resistivity measurements suggested that subsurface cracks persisted and enhanced lateral transport, even in wet conditions. Likewise, single‐ring infiltration measurements taken before and after irrigation indicated that infiltration remained an important component of the water budget at high soil water content values, despite apparent surface sealing. Overall, although the wetting and sealing of the soil profile showed considerable complexity, an emergent property at the hillslope scale was observed: all of the plots demonstrated a strikingly similar threshold run‐off response to the cumulative precipitation amount. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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This article reviews the state of the art with respect to the environmental effects of irrigated agriculture on water and soil quality in arid and semi-arid regions on a field scale. Information is scarce and fragmentary. Examples in selected areas of other arid and semi-arid regions in the world clearly show the importance of studying the environmental impact of irrigation practices on water and soil quality. Studies mainly refer to waterlogging and salinization. As regards agrochemicals, fertilizers have been taken into account through nitrate leaching. The impact of micropollutants such as pesticides and heavy metals on water and soil quality is studied mainly by modeling. Pharmaceutical compounds emerge as pollutants when wastewater is used for irrigation without any previous treatment, situation which is now the object of new studies. There is an obvious need to study in-depth knowledge related to appropriate technologies for the use, treatment, and reuse of wastewater which is a valuable resource in arid and semi-arid regions.

Different sets of parameters and conceptualizations of a basin can give equally good results in terms of predefined objective functions. Therefore, a need exists to tackle equifinality and quantify the uncertainty bands of a model. In this paper we use the concepts of equifinality, identifiability and uncertainty to propose a simple method aimed at constraining the equifinal parameters and reducing the uncertainty bands of model outputs, and obtaining physically possible and reasonable models. Additionally, the uncertainty of equifinal solutions is quantified to estimate the amount by which output uncertainty can be reduced by knowing how to discard most of the equifinal solutions of a model. As a study case, a conceptual model of the Chillán basin in Chile is carried out. From the study it is concluded that using identifiability analysis makes it possible to constrain equifinal solutions with reduced uncertainty and realistic models, resulting in a framework that can be recommended to practitioners, especially due to the simplicity of the method. En outre, l'incertitude de solutions équivalentes est quantifiée pour estimer dans quelle mesure l'incertitude de sortie peut être réduite en sachant comment rejeter la plupart des solutions équivalentes d'un modèle. Comme étude de cas, nous avons construit un modèle conceptuel du bassin du Chillán au Chili. De cette étude, nous concluons que l'utilisation de l'analyse d'identifiabilité permet de contraindre les solutions équivalentes avec une incertitude réduite et des modèles réalistes, ce qui définit un cadre pouvant être recommandé aux praticiens, en particulier en raison de la simplicité de la méthode.