Changes in soil water retention and content during shrub encroachment process in Inner Mongolia, northern China

Gao, Zhou; Hu, Xia; Li, Xiaoyan

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2021.105528

Cited by 27 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…The soil layers under no moss cover had the highest SOM values (13.82% and 8.75%, respectively), which is due to the large amount of plant litter in the surface layer under no moss cover. This is also consistent with other results, which showed that SOM was the important factor influencing soil water retention (Gao et al, 2021). Some studies have shown that SOM can improve water infiltration and the soil water-holding capacity by reducing the bulk density and increasing the porosity of soils (Franzluebbers, 2002;Zacharias & Wessolek, 2007;Naveed et al, 2014;Yang et al, 2014;Zhou et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…SWRCs were fitted by the VG model, and can illustrate the relationship between matric suction and the volumetric water content. The plant-available water (PAW), which directly reflects how much soil water can be used by plants, was calculated as the difference between the measured SWC and PWP (Gao et al, 2021). Concomitantly, soil water storage (SWS) and plant-available water storage (PAWS) were calculated for each 10 cm soil layer using the following equations (Wang et al, 2013):…”

Section: Swrcs and Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kalhoro et al (2018) explored the effect of land use on soil water retention through SWRCs on the Loess Plateau in northern China. Gao et al (2021) explored SWR changes in a shrub-encroached grassland using SWRCs. Accordingly, it is urgent to understand changes in SWR under the moss layer using SWRCs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Structural characteristics of the moss (bryophyte) layer and its underlying soil structure and water retention characteristics

2023

Preprint

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Aims The influence of the moss layer on soil structure and soil water retention is not well understood. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the changes in soil structure and soil water retention under moss layer and to reveal the influencing factors of these changes. Methods 3D networks of soil macropores were quantified using CT scanning and image analysis techniques, and soil water retention characteristics were quantified through soil water retention curves (SWRCs) and VG model. Results The length density of the soil macropores under the thin moss and thick moss layers was approximately 2.7 and 1.6 times higher than that under no moss cover. The soil water retention properties under the thin and thick moss layers were better than those under no moss cover, with the highest plant-available water capacity under the thin moss layer. The plant-available water capacity of soils under the thin moss layer was higher than that of soils under the thick moss layer. The maximum water-holding capacity of the moss layer was significantly positively correlated with the field water-holding capacity of the soil and negatively correlated with the equivalent diameter of the macropores, while the storage capacity of the moss layer was significantly negatively correlated with the maximum effective water content of the soil. Conclusions The effect of the moss layer on water retention may be mainly through influencing the pore distribution and organic matter accumulation. The moss layer had a positive ecohydrological effect on soil water retention and even water conservation in forest soils.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Swrcs and Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Structural characteristics of the moss (bryophyte) layer and its underlying soil structure and water retention characteristics

2023

Preprint

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“…investigated soil erosion around China and found that intensive soil erosion occurred on cropland, overgrazing grassland, and sparsely forested land. Gao et al (2021) investigated the shrub encroachment process in inner Mongolia, northern China, and found that the higher the shrub coverage was, the higher the soil water content, field capacity, soil clay, and organic matter content.…”

Section: Interactions Between Soil Water Erosion and Vegetation Patch...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A comprehensive review on coupled processes and mechanisms of soil-vegetation-hydrology, and recent research advances

Zhou

et al. 2022

Sci. China Earth Sci.

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Research on the coupling of soil, vegetation, and hydrological processes is not only a research hotspot in disciplines such as pedology, ecohydrology and Earth system science but also important for achieving sustainable development. However, scientists from different disciplines usually study the coupling mechanism of soil-vegetation-hydrological processes at very different space and time scales, and the mechanistic connections between different scales are quite few. This article reviewed research advances in coupled soil-vegetation-hydrological processes at different spatial scales-from leaf stomata to watershed and regional scales-and summarized the spatial upscaling methods and modeling approaches of coupled soil-vegetationhydrological processes. We identify and summarize the following coupling processes: (1) carbon-water exchange in leaf stomata and root-soil interface; (2) changes in soil aggregates and profile hydraulic properties caused by plant roots and water movement;(3) precipitation and soil moisture redistribution by plant canopy and root; (4) interactions between vegetation patches and local hydrological process; (5) links between plant community succession and soil development; and (6) links between watershed/ regional water budget and vegetation phenology and production. Meanwhile, the limitations and knowledge gaps in the observations, mechanisms, scaling methods, and modeling approaches of coupled soil-vegetation-hydrological processes were analyzed. To achieve a deep integration of various coupling processes across different spatiotemporal scales, future work should strengthen multiscale, multifactor and multiprocess soil-vegetation-hydrology coupling observations and mechanism studies, develop new scaling methods, identify different feedback pathways, and take time-variable plant behavior and soil hydraulic properties into account during modeling.

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“…The water balance of shrub patches significantly differed among micro‐landforms on a slope (Zhou et al, 2017). Soil water retention capacity increased after encroachment, and soil water plays an important role in shrub growth and expansion (Fan et al, 2019; Gao et al, 2021). Several studies have found that, relative to grass matrix, C. microphylla patches have higher porosity and more macropores as well as more water infiltration after heavy rainfall (Hu et al, 2015; Li et al, 2009; Zhang et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between shrub encroachment and water infiltration on the hillslope of a typical steppe

Zhang

et al. 2022

Ecohydrology

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Shrub encroachment has been a worldwide phenomenon, but the interactions between the surface hydrological cycle and the shrub‐encroached landscape at different hillslope positions remain poorly investigated. The present study was undertaken to explore the interactions between the water infiltration patterns affected by shrub encroachment. At four slope positions of a hillslope encroached by Caragana microphylla Lam, soil water content and temperature were continuously measured at 10‐min intervals at four or five depths in both the presence (shrub patches) and absence (grass matrix) of shrubs. Then, the infiltration of rainfall and meltwater was estimated based on analyses of the above data. The rainfall infiltration ratios (IRs) of grass matrix were as high as 0.78 ± 0.08, except at the lower site, which had a value of only 0.47. The IRs of shrub patches increased from 0.38 at the top site to 0.77 at the lower site. In snowy years, snow and ice were blown upward by wind and accumulated in the shrub patches and their leeward areas, which resulted in higher water input for the shrub patches than for the grass matrix. Shrub encroachment changed the microtopography and soil properties of the hillslope and further affected the surface hydrological processes. The feedbacks between shrub encroachment and water infiltration varied among sites of the hillslope, which may in turn have affected the development of shrub patches.

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Changes in soil water retention and content during shrub encroachment process in Inner Mongolia, northern China

Cited by 27 publications

References 53 publications

Structural characteristics of the moss (bryophyte) layer and its underlying soil structure and water retention characteristics

Structural characteristics of the moss (bryophyte) layer and its underlying soil structure and water retention characteristics

A comprehensive review on coupled processes and mechanisms of soil-vegetation-hydrology, and recent research advances

Interactions between shrub encroachment and water infiltration on the hillslope of a typical steppe

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