Throughflow and solute transport in an isolated sloping soil block in a forested catchment

Abstract

A 3m wide by 9m long by 1m deep soil block on a forested hillslope near Orono, ME, was isolated by excavation of encircling trenches. A sprinkler system for application of water and potassium bromide tracer was constructed over the plot. Outflow was collected at six locations with troughs. Experiments were conducted at application rates of 2.5, 5, and 10 cm h −1. Pulses of tracer were applied subsequent to attainment of steady flow and breakthrough curves were measured at all outflow points. Recession limbs of outflow hydrographs exhibited distinct breaks when plotted on semilogarithmic axes, indicating drainage from at least two distinguishable pore size classes or flow pathways. Solute breakthrough curves were dominated by a single peak; travel times of solute were inversely related to the application rate. A secondary peak in the outflow curve, which is inconsistent with transport theories for a homogeneous soil, was observed in all cases. This second peak is unexplained, but is conceptually consistent with the notion of transport in at least two pore size classes. An undisturbed soil core (diameter of 30 cm and length of 40 cm) was sprinkled at the same rates as was the soil block, using Methylene Blue as tracer in the last run. Drainage hydrographs and visual examination of dye stains in the block indicated also at this smaller scale that flow and transport are controlled by preferred paths in the soil, paths that cannot be morphologically distinguished from the surrounding soil matrix. Theoretical explanations of processes on such hillslopes need to account for this fact.