The Brigalow Catchment Study revisited: Effects of land development on deep drainage determined from non-steady chloride profiles

Silburn, D. M.; Cowie, B. A.; Thornton, Craig

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.05.012

Cited by 39 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…A large bulk of literature from eastern Australia has reported increased deep-drainage and leaching of salts, and in some cases, salinization of aquifers under cultivated vertisols. A typical increase in deep drainage from < 1 mm yr −1 under native conditions to 10-20 mm yr −1 under rain-fed cropping were reported by Silburn et al (2009);Timms et al (2012) and Young et al (2014); whereas variable deep fluxes often in the 100's mm yr −1 range were reported for irrigated fields (mostly furrow-irrigated cotton; Gunwardena et al, 2011;Silburn et al, 2013;Weaver et al, 2013). These deep fluxes desolate salts that accumulated in the vadose zone in the native-vegetation period, moving them down towards the water table (Fig.…”

Section: Impact Of Cultivation On Flushing Of the Unsaturated Zone Anmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…Low water content in the deeper unsaturated zone results in low hydraulic conductivities and makes aquifer recharge through matrix flow very small year-round. Matrix fluxes on the order of 1 mm yr −1 under the root/crack zone were reported in a number of studies (e.g., Silburn et al, 2009;Kurtzman and Scanlon, 2011;Timms et al, 2012). These very low water fluxes contain the conservative ions (e.g., chloride) originating from 200-600 mm yr −1 of precipitation (with salts from wet and dry fallout) that enter the matrix at soil surface.…”

Section: Soil Cracks As Deep Evaporators and Unsaturated-zone Salinitymentioning

confidence: 96%

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Soil–aquifer phenomena affecting groundwater under vertisols: a review

Kurtzman

Baram

Dahan

2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Vertisols are cracking clayey soils that (i) usually form in alluvial lowlands where, normally, groundwater pools into aquifers; (ii) have different types of voids (due to cracking), which make flow and transport of water, solutes and gas complex; and (iii) are regarded as fertile soils in many areas. The combination of these characteristics results in the unique soil-aquifer phenomena that are highlighted and summarized in this review. The review is divided into the following four sections: (1) soil cracks as preferential pathways for water and contaminants: in this section lysimeter-to basin-scale observations that show the significance of cracks as preferential-flow paths in vertisols, which bypass matrix blocks in the unsaturated zone, are summarized. Relatively fresh-water recharge and groundwater contamination from these fluxes and their modeling are reviewed; (2) soil cracks as deep evaporators and unsaturated-zone salinity: deep sediment samples under uncultivated vertisols in semiarid regions reveal a dry (immobile), saline matrix, partly due to enhanced evaporation through soil cracks. Observations of this phenomenon are compiled in this section and the mechanism of evapoconcentration due to air flow in the cracks is discussed; (3) impact of cultivation on flushing of the unsaturated zone and aquifer salinization: the third section examines studies reporting that land-use change of vertisols from native land to cropland promotes greater fluxes through the saline unsaturated-zone matrix, eventually flushing salts to the aquifer. Different degrees of salt flushing are assessed as well as aquifer salinization on different scales, and a comparison is made with aquifers under other soils; (4) relatively little nitrate contamination in aquifers under vertisols: in this section we turn the light on observations showing that aquifers under cultivated vertisols are somewhat resistant to groundwater contamination by nitrate (the major agriculturally related groundwater problem). Denitrification is probably the main mechanism supporting this resistance, whereas a certain degree of anion-exchange capacity may have a retarding effect as well.

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Section: Impact Of Cultivation On Flushing Of the Unsaturated Zone Anmentioning

confidence: 62%

Section: Soil Cracks As Deep Evaporators and Unsaturated-zone Salinitymentioning

confidence: 96%

Soil–aquifer phenomena affecting groundwater under vertisols: a review

Kurtzman

Baram

Dahan

2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…In this study, we distinguish among drivers of groundwater recharge using soil chloride as a natural tracer for water movement. Such an approach, using either natural deposition of chloride (Allison and Hughes, 1983;Radford et al, 2009;Silburn et al, 2009) or applied chloride tracers (Dyck et al, 2003;Woods et al, 2006), is useful to track changes in water movement following landcover conversion. We developed a conceptual model (Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in soil chloride following shrub removal and subsequent regrowth

Moore

Barre²,

Owens

2010

Geoderma

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“…The preanthropogenic extent of this semiarid bioregion is estimated to be up to 38 million ha (Thornton et al, 2012; Armston et al, 2007) and is distinct from surrounding locations based on its hydropedological, climatic, and ecological and biodiversity attributes (summarized in Table 1). For instance, the Brigalow Belt's annual rainfall ranges between 500 and 800 mm on average (Dwyer et al, 2009; Silburn et al, 2009; Lloyd, 1984); however, due to its location, the region is not fully dominated by major seasonal rain bearing systems such as those affecting northern and southern Australia (Lloyd, 1984). Instead, the region experiences erratically distributed spatiotemporal rainfall patterns characterized by short and intensive storm events during the summer wet season (Cowie et al, 2007).…”

Section: Geography and Attributes Of Brigalow Ecosystems And Associatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydropedology and Ecohydrology of the Brigalow Belt, Australia: Opportunities for Ecosystem Rehabilitation in Semiarid Environments

Arnold

Audet

Doley

et al. 2013

Vadose Zone Journal

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The Brigalow Belt Bioregion—located between the subtropical coastline and semiarid interior of eastern Australia—is a unique ecological area characterized by noncracking clay soils that have high water‐holding capacities, and rainfall patterns that are spatiotemporally erratic and unpredictable. These attributes have resulted in highly variable water‐supply conditions defined by alternating periods of intense rainfall and prolonged drought to which open‐forests and woodlands dominated by endemic Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla F. Muell. ex Benth.) plant communities are best adapted. Since the 1950s, most of the Brigalow woodland has been cleared for agriculture and now coal mining developments, therefore very little of the predisturbance vegetation today remains. The primary goal of landscape rehabilitation currently targets the re‐establishment of native Brigalow plant communities in hopes of achieving stable and self‐sustaining ecosystems. However, very few reference ecosystems exist from which to determine essential ecological structure and function. Therefore, restoration practitioners are faced with the daunting task of reconstructing landforms and ecosystems that are characteristic of the bioregion's distinct environmental conditions. Here, we examine the fundamental hydropedological and ecohydrological relationships that define the function of natural Brigalow ecosystems. We propose these relationships as the cornerstone for rehabilitation of semiarid environments and suggest applying investigative methods of related disciplines within a unifying modeling framework (gray‐box) to promote the development of native plants in the Brigalow Belt. This is particularly critical where model parameterization may span a broad ecological organizational scale or where there are knowledge gaps within the model framework.

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The Brigalow Catchment Study revisited: Effects of land development on deep drainage determined from non-steady chloride profiles

Cited by 39 publications

References 21 publications

Soil–aquifer phenomena affecting groundwater under vertisols: a review

Soil–aquifer phenomena affecting groundwater under vertisols: a review

Changes in soil chloride following shrub removal and subsequent regrowth

Hydropedology and Ecohydrology of the Brigalow Belt, Australia: Opportunities for Ecosystem Rehabilitation in Semiarid Environments

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