Soil water dynamics and deep soil recharge in a record wet year in the southern Loess Plateau of China

Liu, Wenzhao; Zhang, X. C.; Dang, Tinghui; Ouyang, Zhu; Li, Zhi; Wang, Jun; Wang, Rui; Gao, Changqing

doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2010.01.001

Cited by 123 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…For instance, the soil moisture consumption rate was found to be dependent on vegetation type (Wang et al, 2010b(Wang et al, , 2009b. Liu et al (2010) found a negative relationship between deep soil moisture content and plant age. Yang et al (2012) found a negative relationship between deep soil moisture content and plant growth conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Deep soil moisture is seldom recharged , so restoration through the introduction of vegetation is limited by the available soil water resources. Negative impacts of the initially promoted afforestation have occurred because of deep soil desiccation, such as decreasing the restoration effort Liu et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2011b), vegetation deterioration and difficulties in renewal and reforestation , fluctuating agriculture crop production (Huang et al, 2003;Wang et al, 2008), and decreasing ecosystem services (Chazdon, 2008;Liu et al, 2008a). A decline in soil moisture has many other consequences for local water resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

Yang

Wei

Chen

et al. 2012

Journal of Hydrology

209

126

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s u m m a r ySoil moisture is an effective water source for plant growth in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China. Characterizing the response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation is important for the sustainability of vegetation restoration in this region. In this paper, the dynamics of soil moisture were quantified to evaluate the effect of land use on soil moisture at a depth of 2 m. Specifically, the gravimetric soil moisture content was measured in the soil layer between 0 and 8 m for five land use types in the Longtan catchment of the western Loess Plateau. The land use types included traditional farmland, native grassland, and lands converted from traditional farmland (pasture grassland, shrubland and forestland). Results indicate that the deep soil moisture content decreased more than 35% after land use conversion, and a soil moisture deficit appeared in all types of land with introduced vegetation. The introduced vegetation decreased the soil moisture content to levels lower than the reference value representing no human impact in the entire 0-8 m soil profile. No significant differences appeared between different land use types and introduced vegetation covers, especially in deeper soil layers, regardless of which plant species were introduced. High planting density was found to be the main reason for the severe deficit of soil moisture. Landscape management activities such as tillage activities, micro-topography reconstruction, and fallowed farmland affected soil moisture in both shallow and deep soil layers. Tillage and micro-topography reconstruction can be used as effective countermeasures to reduce the soil moisture deficit due to their ability to increase soil moisture content. For sustainable vegetation restoration in a vulnerable semi-arid region, the plant density should be optimized with local soil moisture conditions and appropriate landscape management practices.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

Yang

Wei

Chen

et al. 2012

Journal of Hydrology

209

126

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“…Considerable interest has since been generated around the world in the assessment of vertical distribution and influencing factors Yang et al, 2012), depletion and replenishment (Li and Huang, 2008;Liu et al, 2010), dynamics and simulations (Jipp et al, 1998;Markewitz et al, 2010;Zhao et al, 2008) of SWC in soils to a depth of roughly 1000 cm. The depth of depletion of SWC, inferred to be a function of root uptake, has recently been reported to be 1800 cm in an Amazonian forest (Davidson et al, 2011) and to be 1550, 2240 and 2150 cm (based on the comparison of soil-water conditions between shrublands/forests and permanent farmland) in alfalfa grassland, Caragana korshinskii shrubland and pine forest, respectively, on the Loess Plateau of China (Wang et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Choosing an optimal land-use pattern for restoring eco-environments in a semiarid region of the Chinese Loess Plateau

Wang

Shao

Zhang

et al. 2015

Ecological Engineering

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A B S T R A C TThe natural environments in the semiarid regions of the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) are fragile due to the serious soil erosion and the weak ecological services of the plants. To ascertain and then evaluate a sustainable land-use pattern in these regions, we selected six typical land-use patterns (i.e., a farmland, a natural grassland, a homogeneous shrubland (S), a mix of shrubland and cultivated grassland (S-Alf), a mix of shrubland and orchard (S-O) and a mix of shrubland and grassland (S-G)) on the plateau and then measured the soil water, related soil properties and plant root indices to a depth of 1800 cm. We also measured the aboveground net primary productivities (ANPPs). The mean soil water content (SWC) within the 0-1800 cm profile was significantly highest (15.2%) in farmland, followed by grassland (11.4%) and S-Alf (8.0%). The available water (AW), the ratio between AW and AW capacity, and the thickness of the dried soil layers also demonstrated that farmland had the best conditions of soil water, followed by grassland and shrubland. The aboveground biomasses of grassland in both non-growing (140 g m À2 ) and growing (370 g m À2 ) seasons were significantly higher than those of shrublands. The ANPPs of the grassland (2.0 g m À2 d À1 ) demonstrated a similar trend. The patterns of land use (including the mixtures of different plant species) greatly affected the patterns of vertical distribution and quantities of soil water within the 1800-cm profile. The data for the soil-water regime and the ANPP further indicated that grassland would be an optimal use of the land for these semiarid regions. This information should be useful to the ecological scientists and policy makers for developing strategies for the sustainable management of vegetation on the CLP and possibly other water-limited regions around the world.

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“…Previous studies showed that restoration with introduced vegetation was not always the most appropriate choice compared with natural vegetation types [34]. A negative relationship between deep soil moisture and the age of plants has been found in a recent study [35]. In many parts of semiarid regions, introduced shrubs cannot obtain sufficient water for their growth due to limited rainfall [36].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Water Storage Changes within Deep Profiles under Introduced Shrubs during the Growing Season: Evidence from Semiarid Loess Plateau, China

Liu

Zhao

Zhang

et al. 2016

Water

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Water stored deep in the soil profile is the primary bio-available reservoir for regional vegetation in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China. However, the planting of introduced shrubs over many years as part of the "Grain to Green Program (GGP)" has consistently lead to dried soil in areas with severe water scarcity. Knowledge of soil water storage (SWS) changes within deep profiles in water-deficient regions is critical for the sustainable development of vegetation restoration. Caragana korshinskii K. (CK) and Hippophae rhamnoides L. (HR) are widely planted in the Loess Plateau to control soil erosion. We selected these two shrubs for a study on variations in deep soil water (100-500 cm) and identified the main factors affecting deep soil water storage replenishment (SWSR) during their growing seasons. The results indicated that the mean SWS at 100-500 cm depth under HR was significantly higher than that under CK at both the beginning (352.74 mm for CK and 644.79 mm for HR) and end of the growing season (311.95 mm for CK and 529.05 mm for HR) (p < 0.01). In these ecosystems, SWS was only recharged below 340 cm under CK, which was due to vegetation characteristics. Under HR, however, soil water consumption exceeded recharge throughout the whole 100-500 cm profile. The SWSR at the 100-340 cm depth was mainly affected by sand content, which explained 28% of the variability of SWSR. At the 340-500 cm depth, the variability in SWSR was due to vegetation type. Therefore, expansion of the GGP should pay more attention to both soil water conditions and influencing factors, including appropriate vegetation selection and the altering of the microtopography.

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Soil water dynamics and deep soil recharge in a record wet year in the southern Loess Plateau of China

Cited by 123 publications

References 11 publications

Response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

Response of deep soil moisture to land use and afforestation in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

Choosing an optimal land-use pattern for restoring eco-environments in a semiarid region of the Chinese Loess Plateau

Soil Water Storage Changes within Deep Profiles under Introduced Shrubs during the Growing Season: Evidence from Semiarid Loess Plateau, China

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