Abstract
The double-ring infiltrometer is widely used to measure soil unsaturated hydraulic conductivity in the field. The scale effect of the inner and outer ring size (especially the inner one) affects the measurement results. In the semi-arid steppe, where water is scarce and transportation is inadequate, studying the scale effect caused by the inner-ring diameter of the infiltrometer can reduce the test consumption on the premise of ensuring the test accuracy. In this paper, a total of 190 double-ring infiltration tests with different inner-ring diameters (15, 20, 25, 30, and 40 cm) and 0.33 times outer buffer index were carried out at 38 sites with five soil types in the Xilin river basin, China. Results showed that: (1) When comparing the simulated parameters of six infiltration models, parameters increased with the increase of the infiltrometer inner diameter, but the trend gradually slowed down, indicating that the increase of the infiltrometer inner diameter would weaken the influence of the infiltrometer scale effect. However, the infiltrometer with an inner diameter of 40 cm is not enough to completely overcome the scale effect. (2) Through principal component analysis, the infiltration process is mainly affected by the particle size and the initial moisture content. (3) The soil infiltration map based on infiltration tests was more practical than the soil type map, which can provide a theoretical basis for ecological and soil restoration in the future.
Highlights
Against the background of global climate change, the intensity and frequency of human activities are continuously increasing, and the natural ecosystem is being severely damaged [1,2,3]
The infiltration rate and cumulated infiltration were directly proportional to the infiltrometer area, and the infiltration rate per unit area was independent of the infiltrometer diameter (Figure 3)
Rate and cumulated infiltration were directly proportional to the infiltrometer area, and the infiltration rate per unit area was independent of the infiltrometer diameter (Figure 3)
Summary
Against the background of global climate change, the intensity and frequency of human activities are continuously increasing, and the natural ecosystem is being severely damaged [1,2,3]. The semi-arid grasslands in the central and western parts of China, have suffered serious degradation [6]. Previous studies showed that the primary productivity in arid and semi-arid regions of Inner Mongolia, China, had significantly decreased since 2000 [7], with some areas even showing desertification [8]. There have been relatively few successful international cases attempting to control degraded ecosystems. Soil amendment with biochar can result in decreased bulk density and soil penetration resistance, and increased water-holding capacity [10]
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