Regulations and patterns of soil moisture dynamics and their controlling factors in hilly regions of lower reaches of Yangtze River basin, China

Abstract

Time-domain reflectometry was used to make continuous measurements of soil moisture to 18 sample points with depth of 2 m for 36 months in a typical artificial secondary oak forest located in a hilly area on Zijin Mountain in the suburbs of Nanjing, China. The data were then used to examine the patterns of soil moisture variations on temporal and spatial scales and predict the relationships between soil moisture and major factors of both meteorology and topography. Water in the topsoil was active, and the upper 30 cm of soil supplied about 43% of the water content variation during the whole year. This difference of water content changes among layers could be due to the distribution conditions of some soil physical properties. When initial soil moisture was in the range from 10% to 40%, the impact of a single storm event on soil moisture was extremely significant, especially on sunny slope. Both climate and slope condition were related to soil moisture change, and the impact of slope gradient on soil moisture was higher that on shady slope. Moreover, root uptake was another important path of soil water consumption.