Abstract
The maximum infiltration depth and soil water supply must be evaluated in order to estimate the soil water resource use limit by plants and soil water carrying capacity for vegetation, and realize the sustainable use of soil water resources. However, there is no non-destructive method to estimate maximum infiltration depth and soil water supply. We conducted a simulated infiltration experiment and a long-term fixed-position investigation in situ in artificial Caragana shrubland at the Guyuan Eco-experimental Station in the semiarid Loess Plateau. The results showed that infiltration depth for one rain event was equal to the distance from the surface to the crossover point between the two soil water distribution curves with soil depth before a rain event and after the rain event. The soil water supply for one rainfall event was the difference in the soil water resources in the soil layers from maximum infiltration depth that occurred after a long period, and could be estimated by a series of two-curve methods. A maximum infiltration depth of 2.9 m occurred in the artificial Caragana shrubland. The results provide a foundation for controlling soil degradation and sustainable use of soil water resources in water-limited regions.
Highlights
Infiltration is a general hydrological phenomenon of water movement in porous media and the hydrological phenomenon
The plant–water relationship can be improved by reducing stand density based on the soil water-carrying capacity for vegetation (SWCCV) when the soil water resources within the maximum infiltration depth (MID) equal the soil water resource use limit by plants (SWRULP)
Infiltration depth and soil water supply for one rain event could be estimated by the two-curve method, and MID could be estimated by a series of two-curve methods
Summary
Infiltration is a general hydrological phenomenon of water movement in porous media and the hydrological phenomenon. Vegetation measures and soil management practices are of vital importance in preventing soil erosion in agricultural lands[7]. Soil becomes desiccated, leading to soil degradation, vegetation decline and eventually desertification in the artificial perennial grassland and woodland areas of the Loess Plateau[10,11,12]. The plant–water relationship can be improved by reducing stand density based on the soil water-carrying capacity for vegetation (SWCCV) when the soil water resources within the maximum infiltration depth (MID) equal the soil water resource use limit by plants (SWRULP). The SWCCV is the maximum amount of indicator plants in a plant population that soil water resources of a unit area can sustain and allow to grow healthily in a given period and place[12]. The dynamic relationship between plant growth and soil moisture in the root zone has become a key issue in the study of plant ecological water requirements[14]
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