Antecedent soil moisture affecting surface cracking of a Vertisol in field conditions

Kishné, Andrea Sz.; Morgan, Cristine L.S.; Ge, Yufeng; Miller, Wesley L.

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2010.03.020

Cited by 36 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Desiccation cracks can serve as water conduits and preferentially transport water and solutes into deep sections of the vadose zone during the generation of local runoff or occasional flooding (Bronswijk et al, 1995;Kurtzman and Scanlon, 2011;Baram et al, 2012a). Several field-scale and large-scale lysimeter experiments have shown that, even though desiccation cracks may disappear on the land surface under wet conditions, the cracks will not completely disappear from the subsurface and may still serve as preferential flow paths (Mermut et al, 1996;Gerke, 2006;Acworth and Timms, 2009;Greve et al, 2010;Kishne et al, 2010;Baram et al, 2012a). Mermut et al (1996) stated that while cultivation and wetting of a Vertisol land surface may result in the removal of observed desiccation cracks from the plow zone, the cracks below this zone will continue to exist.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Desiccation-crack-induced salinization in deep clay sediment

Baram

Ronen

Kurtzman

et al. 2013

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract.A study on water infiltration and solute transport in a clayey vadose zone underlying a dairy farm waste source was conducted to assess the impact of desiccation cracks on subsurface evaporation and salinization. The study is based on five years of continuous measurements of the temporal variation in the vadose zone water content and on the chemical and isotopic composition of the sediment and pore water in it. The isotopic composition of water stable isotopes (δ 18 O and δ 2 H) in water and sediment samples, from the area where desiccation crack networks prevail, indicated subsurface evaporation down to ∼ 3.5 m below land surface, and vertical and lateral preferential transport of water, following erratic preferential infiltration events. Chloride (Cl − ) concentrations in the vadose zone pore water substantially increased with depth, evidence of deep subsurface evaporation and down flushing of concentrated solutions from the evaporation zones during preferential infiltration events. These observations led to development of a desiccation-crack-induced salinization (DCIS) conceptual model. DCIS suggests that thermally driven convective air flow in the desiccation cracks induces evaporation and salinization in relatively deep sections of the subsurface. This conceptual model supports previous conceptual models on vadose zone and groundwater salinization in fractured rock in arid environments and extends its validity to clayey soils in semi-arid environments.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Desiccation-crack-induced salinization in deep clay sediment

Baram

Ronen

Kurtzman

et al. 2013

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Seasonal dry and wet periods produced short-term cycles of soil surface crack area density (crack density), and is reported in more detail in Kishne et al (2010). Crack formation occurred most extensively in the summer and early fall months.…”

Section: Temporal Variability Of Crackingmentioning

confidence: 96%

Vertisol Morphology, Classification, and Seasonal Cracking Patterns in the Texas Gulf Coast Prairie

2010

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vertisols have unique morphology and the capacity to change volume with changes in water content; therefore, they are well known for their spatial and temporal variability. Our objectives were to address the spatial variability of Vertisol surface and subsurface features, as well as the spatial and temporal variability of Vertisol cracking. First, we discuss surface and subsurface features of Vertisols based on the literature and more than three decades of interagency soil investigations in the Texas Gulf Coast Prairie. Second, we report on a 10‐yr field study of location, length, width, depth, and duration of seasonal crack openings in a 100‐m2 area of Laewest clay (fine, smectitic, hyperthermic, Typic Hapludert) with gilgai in a native grassland south of Victoria, TX. Results of the crack monitoring showed that cracks always started on, and crack density was greater on, microhighs or the upper part of microslopes. Under prolonged drying periods, cracks formed on microlows and were, on average, deeper in microlows. Cracks generally occurred in the same location within a year. Between years, crack locations shifted slightly, although they were clustered in the same general areas during the 10 yr of study. Vertisol cracking was affected not only by seasonal fluctuation of precipitation, but also by multiple‐year precipitation cycles. Analysis of precipitation over several decades indicated that the Ustert/ Udert classification criteria based on cracking in normal precipitation years was never met in this region of Texas because there were never eight normal months within a normal year. Normal yearly precipitation standards and months on a regional basis would provide better precipitation norms for soil classification.

show abstract

“…According to the USDA soil classification, clayey soils with clay content >30% (often Vertisols) cover around 320 million ha globally and are sensitive to swelling and shrinkage (Dinka and Lascono, 2012). Several studies have looked at the dynamics of shrinking and swelling and associated crack changes for the purpose of improving hydrological models (e.g., Arnold et al, 2005; Bronswijk, 1991; Kishné et al, 2010) but not for LSMs. An extensive review of these models was provided by Adem and Vanapalli (2015).…”

Section: Improving the Infiltration Process In Land Surface Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infiltration from the Pedon to Global Grid Scales: An Overview and Outlook for Land Surface Modeling

Vereecken

Weihermüller

Assouline

et al. 2019

Vadose Zone Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Core Ideas Land surface models (LSMs) show a large variety in describing and upscaling infiltration. Soil structural effects on infiltration in LSMs are mostly neglected. New soil databases may help to parameterize infiltration processes in LSMs. Infiltration in soils is a key process that partitions precipitation at the land surface into surface runoff and water that enters the soil profile. We reviewed the basic principles of water infiltration in soils and we analyzed approaches commonly used in land surface models (LSMs) to quantify infiltration as well as its numerical implementation and sensitivity to model parameters. We reviewed methods to upscale infiltration from the point to the field, hillslope, and grid cell scales of LSMs. Despite the progress that has been made, upscaling of local‐scale infiltration processes to the grid scale used in LSMs is still far from being treated rigorously. We still lack a consistent theoretical framework to predict effective fluxes and parameters that control infiltration in LSMs. Our analysis shows that there is a large variety of approaches used to estimate soil hydraulic properties. Novel, highly resolved soil information at higher resolutions than the grid scale of LSMs may help in better quantifying subgrid variability of key infiltration parameters. Currently, only a few LSMs consider the impact of soil structure on soil hydraulic properties. Finally, we identified several processes not yet considered in LSMs that are known to strongly influence infiltration. Especially, the impact of soil structure on infiltration requires further research. To tackle these challenges and integrate current knowledge on soil processes affecting infiltration processes into LSMs, we advocate a stronger exchange and scientific interaction between the soil and the land surface modeling communities.

show abstract

Antecedent soil moisture affecting surface cracking of a Vertisol in field conditions

Cited by 36 publications

References 57 publications

Desiccation-crack-induced salinization in deep clay sediment

Desiccation-crack-induced salinization in deep clay sediment

Vertisol Morphology, Classification, and Seasonal Cracking Patterns in the Texas Gulf Coast Prairie

Infiltration from the Pedon to Global Grid Scales: An Overview and Outlook for Land Surface Modeling

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About