Hydropedology in South Africa: Advances, applications and research opportunities

Tol, Johan van

doi:10.1080/02571862.2019.1640300

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Since soil properties are not dynamic in nature and their spatial variation is not random, accurate mapping (vertically in the soil profile and horizontally along the hillslope) is possible. Interpreting soil morphological properties and relating them to the hydrological processes that formed them can be used to determine dominant flowpaths, storage mechanisms, and connectivity between different flowpaths (van Tol, 2020). This allows for a more holistic understanding of the hydrological functioning of landscapes at different scales (i.e., catchments and/or hillslopes) and can be used for example in process‐based modelling, wetland protection, and pollution studies (Ma et al, 2017; Mamera & van Tol, 2018; Van Tol, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In South Africa, the potential of hydropedological surveys was recognized by the government and adopted as part of water management policy by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS; van Tol, 2020). A hydropedological survey is now a pre‐requisite study for new Water Use Licence Applications (WULA) where drastic land‐use change is expected.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A hydropedological approach to simulate streamflow and soil water contents with SWAT+

Tol

Bieger

Arnold

2021

Hydrological Processes

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Reflecting internal catchment hydrological processes in hydrological models is important for accurate predictions of the impact of climate and land‐use change on water resources. Characterizing these processes is however difficult and expensive due to their dynamic nature and spatio‐temporal variability. Hydropedology is a relatively new discipline focusing on the synergistic integration of hydrology, soil physics and pedology. Hydropedological interpretations of soils and soil distribution can be used to characterize key hydrological processes, especially in areas with no or limited hydrometric measurements. Here we applied a hydropedological approach to reflect flowpaths through detailed routing in SWAT+ for a 157 ha catchment (Weatherley) in South Africa. We compared the hydropedological approach and a standard (no routing) approach against measured streamflow (two weirs) and soil water contents (13 locations). The catchment was treated as ‘ungauged’ and the model was not calibrated against hydrometric measurements in order to determine the direct contribution of hydropedology on modelling efficiency. Streamflow was predicted well without calibration (NSE > 0.8; R2 > 0.82) for both approaches at both weirs. The standard approach yielded slightly better streamflow predictions. The hydropedological approach resulted in considerable improvements in the simulation of soil water contents (R2 increased from 0.40 to 0.49 and PBIAS decreased from 40% to 20%). The routing capacity of SWAT+ as employed in the hydropedological approach reduced the underestimation of wetland water regimes drastically and resulted in a more accurate representation of the dominant hydrological processes in this catchment. We concluded that hydropedology can be a valuable source of ‘soft data’ to reflect internal catchment structure and processes and, potentially, for realistic calibrations in other studies, especially those conducted in areas with limited hydrometric measurements.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A hydropedological approach to simulate streamflow and soil water contents with SWAT+

Tol

Bieger

Arnold

2021

Hydrological Processes

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“…Of particular interest is the pioneering work in South Africa based on modeling the effect of subsurface pedogenic soil horizons on regional flow regimes (Van Tol, 2020; van Tol & van Zijl, 2022; Van Tol et al., 2018; Van Tol et al., 2021). An intriguing example was generated in Oman where soil scientists observed locally vegetated patterns in an otherwise barren sand basin.…”

Section: Why Consider Hydropedology Rather Than Just Soil Physics?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of hydropedology when aiming for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Bouma

2023

Vadose Zone Journal

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Soil physics defines soil water, air, and temperature regimes that are crucial for agricultural production, the quality of water resources, and waste management. Positioning such activities in the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will provide a valuable link to the international policy arena and should also include consideration of other SDGs dealing with climate change, biodiversity preservation, and soil health, thereby covering aspects of SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG3 (good health and wellbeing), SDG6 (clean water and sanitation), SDG13 (climate action), and SDG15 (life on land). Combined expertise of soil physicists and pedologists in hydropedology offers a basic soil package, to be completed by soil chemists and biologists, to interdisciplinary teams studying ecosystem services in line with SDGs. Soils not being isotropic and homogeneous, pedology offers descriptions of soil heterogeneity, requiring innovative measuring methods. Digital mapping significantly improves the quality of traditional soil maps by being more quantitative at lower cost. Socioeconomic conditions are important elements of sustainable development as is recognized by the soil security concept, distinguishing soil connectivity with users and soil codification, linking soil with the policy arena. The latter has been successfully achieved in South Africa. Innovative, “applied” interdisciplinary research is needed to develop operational methods, assessing ecosystem services that are relatively of low cost, simple, and transparent, allowing acceptance by critical stakeholders. Modern proximal sensing techniques offer a promising perspective. An exploratory case study of a Dutch: “Living Lab” is referred to as an example of such an “applied” interdisciplinary approach.

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“…In South Africa, hydropedological research was readily adopted by the government through the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). A hydropedological survey now forms part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure for application for a water-use license in new developments (e.g., mining, residential, industrial) (Van Tol, 2020). Since hydropedology forms part of environmental policy in South Africa, training of soil science consultants to conduct hydropedological surveys and knowledge transfer (from theory to practice) of hydropedological research has become essential.…”

Section: Environmental Impact Assessment In South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

How Can Pedology and Soil Classification Contribute Towards Sustainable Development as a Data Source and Information Carrier?

Bouma¹,

Bonfante²,

Basile³

et al. 2022

SSRN Journal

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Hydropedology in South Africa: Advances, applications and research opportunities

Cited by 8 publications

References 33 publications

A hydropedological approach to simulate streamflow and soil water contents with SWAT+

A hydropedological approach to simulate streamflow and soil water contents with SWAT+

The role of hydropedology when aiming for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

How Can Pedology and Soil Classification Contribute Towards Sustainable Development as a Data Source and Information Carrier?

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