Soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity measured in a wide saturation range

Hohenbrink, Tobias L.; Jackisch, Conrad; Durner, Wolfgang; Germer, Kai; Iden, Sascha C.; Kreiselmeier, Janis; Leuther, Frederic; Metzger, Johanna Clara; Naseri, Mahyar; Peters, André

doi:10.5194/essd-2023-74

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 35 publications

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“…The influence of the SOC content on the SHP of the different soil materials was modeled with a pedotransfer function (PTF) based on a comprehensive collection of 572 highquality SHP datasets from undisturbed samples described by Hohenbrink et al (2023). The PTF predicts soil hydraulic functions of the PDI type dependent on SOC content and soil texture.…”

Section: Soil Profiles and Hydraulic Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of improved water retention by increased soil organic matter on the water balance of arable soils: A numerical analysis

Feifel,

Durner,

Hohenbrink

et al. 2023

Vadose Zone Journal

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Climate change will lead to prolonged droughts in various regions of the world, which may significantly affect agricultural production. This is particularly problematic for soils with low water retention capacity, which cannot store sufficient water for crops. In this paper, we investigate how a change in the water‐holding capacity of the soil material, as could be achieved by increasing the soil organic carbon (SOC) amount, affects the components of the soil water balance (evaporation, transpiration, and groundwater recharge). Specifically, we state the hypothesis that an increased water‐holding capacity in a shallow soil layer, as it is achieved through SOC enrichment at the soil surface, will result in more water being stored near the soil surface and lost to unproductive evaporation, thereby reducing the amount of water available to plants and groundwater recharge. The hypothesis was tested by numerical simulations, employing the Hydrus‐1D program package to model the water balance in a soil–plant–atmosphere system for an arable crop in hydrologically contrasting years. The study considered soils with varying textures and different depths of a soil layer with increased SOC content. The soil hydraulic properties (SHP) of the soil material, including the effect of SOC on the SHP, were determined using a recently developed pedotransfer model based on data from over 500 samples. We showed that both the improved water retention by SOC and its vertical distribution affect the soil water balance in a complex manner. In sandy soils, increasing the water‐holding capacity in shallow layers up to 0.1 m led to enhanced evaporation and thus a decrease in water availability for crops. However, deeper incorporated SOC could ameliorate these negative effects. Our findings suggest that not only the amount but also the vertical SOC distribution should be considered if enrichment of SOC shall be applied to mitigate the effect of droughts.

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Section: Soil Profiles and Hydraulic Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of improved water retention by increased soil organic matter on the water balance of arable soils: A numerical analysis

Feifel,

Durner,

Hohenbrink

et al. 2023

Vadose Zone Journal

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HESS Opinions: Are soils overrated in hydrology?

Gao¹,

Fenicia²,

Savenije³

2023

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Traditional hydrological theories are based on the assumption that soil is key in determining water's fate in the hydrological cycle. According to these theories, soil hydraulic properties determine water movement in both saturated and unsaturated zones, described by matrix flow formulas such as the Darcy–Richards equations. They also determine plant-available moisture and thereby control transpiration. Here we argue that these theories are founded on a wrong assumption. Instead, we advocate the reverse: the terrestrial ecosystem manipulates the soil to satisfy specific water management strategies, which are primarily controlled by the ecosystem's reaction to climatic drivers and by prescribed boundary conditions such as topography and lithology. According to this assumption, soil hydraulic properties are an effect rather than a cause of water movement. We further argue that the integrated hydrological behaviour of an ecosystem can be inferred from considerations about ecosystem survival and growth without relying on internal-process descriptions. An important and favourable consequence of this climate- and ecosystem-driven approach is that it provides a physical justification for catchment models that do not rely on soil information and on the complexity associated with the description of soil water dynamics. Another consequence is that modelling water movement in the soil, if required, can benefit from the constraints that are imposed by the embedding ecosystem. Here we illustrate our ecosystem perspective of hydrological processes and the arguments that support it. We suggest that advancing our understanding of ecosystem water management strategies is key to building more realistic hydrological theories and catchment models that are predictive in the context of environmental change.

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Soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity measured in a wide saturation range

Cited by 2 publications

References 35 publications

Effects of improved water retention by increased soil organic matter on the water balance of arable soils: A numerical analysis

Effects of improved water retention by increased soil organic matter on the water balance of arable soils: A numerical analysis

HESS Opinions: Are soils overrated in hydrology?

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