Factors determining the soil available water during the last two decades (1997–2019) in southern Spain

Abstract

Assessing soil hydrological conditions can provide essential information for understanding the environmental processes that affect ecosystem services and, particularly in the context of ongoing climate change. This is key in areas affected by water scarcity such as the Mediterranean belt. Therefore, the main goals of this research are (i) to assess the main rainfall dynamics and trends of some representative hotspots along with southern Spain and (ii) to determine the impact on the soil available water content (AWC) over the last two decades. An analysis of daily precipitation and soil hydrological conditions was combined with soil sampling (543) and laboratory analyses to evaluate the properties related to the soil infiltration and retention capacity. The results show that the organic factors control soil properties and their hydrodynamics in southern Spain. Furthermore, a general declining trend in soil water availability is observed over the last two decades. This is more extreme in arid and semi-arid areas, where there have been several years in the last decade with more than 200 days without the available water content. Moreover, in these areas, heavy rainfall during specific moments of the year is the key factor that manifests a greater incidence in areas with steeper slopes, which in turn, also conditions the biological factors and the hydrodynamics of the soil. In short, in the context of climate change, the analysis of soil hydrological dynamics could be used to identify biodiversity thresholds in the Mediterranean area and even to detect phenological changes in specific plant species.

Modeling the Rainfall Exploitation of the Reservoirs in Malaga Province, Spain

“…The area of study, from this climatic approach, is cataloged as a critical point of great sensitivity in the context of global change (Giorgi, 2006; IPCC, 2021). Thus, several authors and studies (Barcena-Martin et al, 2019; Ruiz-Sinoga et al, 2011, 2012; Sillero-Medina, Martínez-Murillo, Ruiz-Sinoga, 2021, Sillero-Medina, Rodrigo-Comino, Ruiz-Sinoga, 2021) agree that the western Mediterranean is a particularly sensitive area in the context of Climate Change, which has recently been endorsed by the latest IPCC (2021) report. From a hydrological point of view, this area in Spain corresponds to a “comb-shaped drainage pattern” composed of a whole series of hydrological basins that are arranged along it.…”

Assessment of vapor pressure deficit variability and trends in Spain and possible connections with soil moisture

“…In Spain, an official network of soil moisture observations is lacking, with only a few short-term measurements, which are very localised over space and maintained by local research teams (Martínez-Fernández and Ceballos, 2003;Scaini et al, 2015;Sillero-Medina et al, 2021). For this reason, we employed modelling data, based on meteorological and remote sensing input data, in order to assess the possible role of soil moisture in VPD variability and trends.…”

Understanding the balance between soil conservation and soil water storage capacity during the process of vegetation restoration in semi‐arid watersheds in the Loess Plateau, China

“…Managing erodible landscapes with accurate vegetation restoration programs can improve soil conservation functions and restore soil ecosystem services (Padovan et al, 2018). However, these water‐limited regions usually experience an overbalance of soil moisture due to the dense vegetation cover developed to prevent soil erosion (Chen et al, 2010; Sillero‐Medina et al, 2021). Discrepancies between water reservation and soil conservation require compromise to ensure the sustainability of these fragile ecosystems (Feng et al, 2016).…”