A signature‐based approach to quantify soil moisture dynamics under contrasting land‐uses

Araki, Ryoko; Branger, Flora; Wiekenkamp, Inge; McMillan, Hilary

doi:10.1002/hyp.14553

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…These causes are difficult to distinguish and so trends are rarely addressed during quality control. Trends can impact various signatures, as estimated field capacity and wilting point signatures may change from year to year, and the shape of frequency distributions becomes unclear (Chandler et al, 2017; Araki et al, 2022; Figure 5). The dynamic range of soil moisture (the range between field capacity and wilting point, or between maximum and minimum values), often used as a normalization factor, may be overestimated.…”

Section: Case Studies: Challenges Applying Signatures In Large Sample...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used large sample studies to investigate controls on soil moisture seasonality, particularly the persistent wet and dry seasons that often appear in soil moisture data (Araki et al, 2022(Araki et al, , 2023. We used two signature types: the number of peaks of the soil moisture frequency distribution, and (for bimodal distributions only) dates and duration of transitions between wet and dry states.…”

Section: Event Identification Required Manual Checks In Drizzly Unite...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dynamic range of soil moisture (the range between field capacity and wilting point, or between maximum and minimum values), often used as a normalization factor, may be overestimated. For some signatures, trending time-series should be excluded, such as for field capacity and wilting point estimates (Araki et al, 2022). Alternatively, observations can be detrended by subtracting a 2-year moving average signatures (Basak et al, 2017).…”

Section: Non-stationarity In Soil Moisture Values Invalidated Magnitu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Signatures have many applications such as assessing habitat suitability and hydrologic alteration, evaluating hydrologic models, defining similarity between watersheds and investigating watershed processes (McMillan, 2021). Signature concepts have been extended to characterize soil moisture (Araki et al, 2022), water quality (Ebeling et al, 2021) and other hydrologic quantities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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When good signatures go bad: Applying hydrologic signatures in large sample studies

McMillan,

Coxon,

Araki

et al. 2023

Hydrological Processes

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Hydrologic signatures are quantitative metrics that describe streamflow statistics and dynamics. Signatures have many applications, including assessing habitat suitability and hydrologic alteration, calibrating and evaluating hydrologic models, defining similarity between watersheds and investigating watershed processes. Increasingly, signatures are being used in large sample studies to guide flow management and modelling at continental scales. Using signatures in studies involving 1000s of watersheds brings new challenges as it becomes impractical to examine signature parameters and behaviour in each watershed. For example, we might wish to check that signatures describing flood event characteristics have correctly identified event periods, that signature values have not been biassed by data errors, or that human and natural influences on signature values have been correctly interpreted. In this commentary, we draw from our collective experience to present case studies where naïve application of signatures fails to correctly identify streamflow dynamics. These include unusual precipitation or flow regimes, data quality issues, and signature use in human‐influenced watersheds. We conclude by providing guidance and recommendations on applying signatures in large sample studies.

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Section: Case Studies: Challenges Applying Signatures In Large Sample...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Event Identification Required Manual Checks In Drizzly Unite...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Non-stationarity In Soil Moisture Values Invalidated Magnitu...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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When good signatures go bad: Applying hydrologic signatures in large sample studies

McMillan,

Coxon,

Araki

et al. 2023

Hydrological Processes

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“…Observations of SWC dynamics at different soil depths are often used to infer preferential flow—relatively rapid water movement through the soil that bypasses part of the soil matrix (Hendrickx & Flury, 2001) and its relation to runoff generation (Demand et al, 2019; Zhang et al, 2022). SWC data from several locations have been used to develop hydrological signatures for understanding catchment‐scale soil moisture dynamics and runoff response in various land uses (Araki et al, 2022). Scaife et al (2020) used SWC at different depths in several locations along the hillslope in two small forested catchments in the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, North Carolina, USA.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing hydrological responses across catchments using a new soil water content metric

Segura,

Penna,

Borga

et al. 2023

Hydrological Processes

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Soil water content (SWC) is a fundamental variable involved in several hydrological processes governing catchment functioning. Comparative analysis of hydrological processes in different catchments based on SWC data is therefore beneficial to infer driving factors of catchment response. Here, we explored the use of high‐temporal resolution SWC data in three forested catchments (2.4–60 ha) in different European climates to characterize hydrological responses during wet and dry conditions. The investigated systems include Ressi, Italy, with a humid temperate climate, Weierbach, Luxembourg, with a semi‐oceanic climate, and Can Vila, Spain, with a Mediterranean climate. We introduced a new SWC metric defined as the difference between seasonal mean SWC at a relatively shallow and a deep soil layer. The difference is classified in three distinct states: similar SWC between the two layers, higher SWC in the deeper layer, and higher SWC in the shallow layer. In the most humid site, Ressi, we frequently found similar SWC at the two soil depths which was associated with high runoff ratios. Despite similar precipitation amounts in Can Vila and Weierbach, SWC patterns were very different in both catchments. In Weierbach, SWC was similar across the entire soil profile during wet conditions, whereas evaporation of shallow water resulted in higher SWC in the deep soil layer during dry conditions. This led to high runoff ratios during wet conditions and low runoff ratios during dry conditions. In Can Vila, SWC was consistently higher in the deeper layer compared to the shallow layer, irrespective of the season, suggesting an important role of hydraulic redistribution and vertical water movement in this site. Our approach provides an easy and useful method to assess differences in hydrological behaviour solely based on SWC data. As similar datasets are increasingly collected and available, this opens the possibility for further analyses and comparisons in sites around the globe with contrasted physiographic and climate characteristics.

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Woody Encroachment Modifies Subsurface Structure and Hydrological Function

Jarecke,

Zhang,

Keen

et al. 2024

Ecohydrology

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Woody encroachment—the expansion of woody shrubs into grasslands—is a widely documented phenomenon with global significance for the water cycle. However, its effects on watershed hydrology, including streamflow and groundwater recharge, remain poorly understood. A key challenge is the limited understanding of how changes to root abundance, size and distribution across soil depths influence infiltration and preferential flow. We hypothesised that woody shrubs would increase and deepen coarse‐root abundance and effective soil porosity, thus promoting deeper soil water infiltration and increasing soil water flow velocities. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a study at the Konza Prairie Biological Station in Kansas, where roughleaf dogwood (Cornus drummondii) is the predominant woody shrub encroaching into native tallgrass prairie. We quantified the distribution of coarse and fine roots and leveraged soil moisture time series and electrical resistivity imaging to analyse soil water flow beneath shrubs and grasses. We observed a greater fraction of coarse roots beneath shrubs compared to grasses, which was concurrent with greater saturated hydraulic conductivity and effective porosity. Half‐hourly rainfall and soil moisture data show that the average soil water flow through macropores was 135% greater beneath shrubs than grasses at the deepest B horizon, consistent with greater saturated hydraulic conductivity. Soil‐moisture time series and electrical resistivity imaging also indicated that large rainfall events and greater antecedent wetness promoted more flow in the deeper layers beneath shrubs than beneath grasses. These findings suggest that woody encroachment alters soil hydrologic processes with cascading consequences for ecohydrological processes, including increased vertical connectivity and potential groundwater recharge.

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A signature‐based approach to quantify soil moisture dynamics under contrasting land‐uses

Cited by 8 publications

References 111 publications

When good signatures go bad: Applying hydrologic signatures in large sample studies

When good signatures go bad: Applying hydrologic signatures in large sample studies

Comparing hydrological responses across catchments using a new soil water content metric

Woody Encroachment Modifies Subsurface Structure and Hydrological Function

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