Soil Surface Microrelief Research Articles

Pit-mound microrelief on a forested slope drives infiltration and preferential flow after heavy rainfall – experiments with soil resistance monitoring and dye tracing

With the changing climate, short heavy rainfalls (SHRs) are becoming more frequent and intensive. The distribution of rainwater and subsurface runoff formation in forest soils can be strongly affected by soil disturbances and surface microrelief. Rainwater redistribution and the formation of preferential flow in response to natural and simulated SHRs were investigated in soil profiles on slopes forested by Norway spruce with a pit-mound microrelief formed by historical tree uprooting using two independent methods; soil electrical resistance monitoring and the application of dye tracer. In the deepest soil layers, resistance decreased in responses to natural SHRs on average by 46% in pits and by 11% on ‘smooth slope’ controls, reflecting the deeper redistribution of infiltrated water in pits. Dye tracing in the simulated rainfall revealed the formation of shallow biomat flow at the control plot. In contrast, the shallow lateral flow was focused by the pit and redirected into funnel flow underneath the pit bottom. The sum of medium and high dye concentration classes obtained with the support vector machine classification of profile photographs indicated a higher water entry into topsoil and subsoil layers in pit (44% and 31% of area, respectively) as compared to the control profile (16% and 8% of area, respectively). Leaving pit-mound microrelief as the natural legacy in forest soils can mitigate some of the negative hydrological effects of intensive forest management and may improve the water yields on forested slopes by redirecting shallow subsurface runoff and facilitating deep distribution of infiltrated water. Such beneficial effects of pit-mounds on the hydrology of forested slopes should be considered in future hydrological modelling and land management.

The soil–cryogenic complex: Evidence of late Pleistocene–Holocene coevolution of permafrost and cryosols at the Kolyma Lowland

AbstractOne of the most important problems of cryopedology is the interaction of pedogenic processes with the processes that form the structure of the uppermost layers of the near‐surface permafrost. The thickness, structure, spatial variability, and other features are responsible for the reaction of the soil‐permafrost system to the bioclimatic fluctuations as well as the contemporary anthropogenic pressure. Together the soil profile and the upper layers of permafrost form the natural body of the “soil–cryogenic complex,” which is the result of simultaneous late Pleistocene–Holocene soil and permafrost coevolution. Pedogenic and cryogenic processes together form organic‐accumulative horizons above the permafrost table that have often been described in the profiles of Cryosols in different regions of Arctic. The multiannual dynamics of summer thawing depth determine the involvement of the material of these shielding horizons into the zone of active modern pedogenesis or its exclusion from it in case of their frozen state. Soil surface microrelief, complexity of the vegetation, and spatial differences of thermal properties of the suprapermafrost soil horizons and the transient layer of permafrost are responsible for the complicated pattern of permafrost table microrelief. Thus, the long‐term study of cryogenic soils that are developed on the close underlying permafrost provides improved understanding of the natural‐historical body—soil‐cryogenic complex.

Soil surface connectivity of tilled soil with wheel tracks and its development under simulated rainfall

• Linkage between soil surface microrelief and overland flow was examined. • Differently oriented wheel tracks served as water flow paths or as sediment sinks. • Increase of surface connectivity after a rain was shown by functional connectivity. • Structural connectivity showed reorganization of the surface runoff pathways. Although wheel tracks cover only a small portion of the surface of agricultural fields, their effect on surface runoff and sediment transport is substantial. Wheel tracks change the microrelief of the soil surface, and influence how the surface is further altered by rainfall and runoff. This study presents a plot-scale microrelief analysis of a tilled surface with wheel tracks under simulated rainfall. Digital elevation models of the microrelief with 1 cm spatial resolution were obtained using the Structure from Motion method. The random roughness, the structural connectivity, and functional connectivity were calculated for before-rainfall and after-rainfall soil surface conditions. The experiments were carried out on inclined, freshly-tilled plots (8 m long, 2 m wide). The wheel tracks were created by four passages of machinery in the slope direction (SWT) and in the contour-line direction (CWT). The experiments were compared to reference plots without wheel tracks (NWT). The wheel tracks increase water and sediment connectivity if they are oriented in slope-wise direction. Microrelief analysis shows that SWT drains water from the surrounding soil. The soil surface adjacent to SWT can also become more connected with the wheel track, due to changes in microrelief introduced by rainfall and runoff. The calculated higher connectivity in the SWT plot corresponded to the measured increased sediment loads. This suggests faster overland flow and therefore shorter flow pathways on the soil surface microrelief. CWT leads to a decrease in the water and sediment connectivity compared to the NWT and SWT plots. Although the surface runoff can overflow the CWT, the network of flow paths results in decreased flow velocity and a slower sediment transport rate. However, the CWT effect is not permanent, and declines as the wheel tracks become silted with the deposited sediment. It is shown that detailed microrelief data provide relevant information for a study of the changes in flow routing in a tilled agricultural field with the presence of a wheel track. SWT accelerates the runoff and especially the sediment transport. During a rainfall event, the hydraulic connection between the wheel track and the surrounding soil increases dramatically. CWT reduces the surface runoff and also the sediment transport. In the long term, rainfall events and surface runoff alter the microrelief connectivity, causing the soil surface to be more hydraulically connected, irrespective of the wheel track orientation. This study demonstrates the effect of wheel tracks on water and sediment transport. The results draw attention to the importance of appropriate soil protection measures, as a bare unprotected surface microrelief exposed to rainfall leads to increased sediment connectivity.

Can infrared thermography be used to estimate soil surface microrelief and rill morphology?

This study presents a new technique to estimate soil surface microrelief and rill morphology using infrared thermography. This technique can be specifically useful to characterise soil surface microrelief to identify preferential flow paths in mulching conditions and to estimate soil surface elevation where other microrelief measurement techniques cannot be successfully applied. Laboratory tests were carried out using two soil flumes where different conditions were tested: with artificial rills created at the soil surface and with a surface eroded by flowing water. The technique was tested both in bare soil conditions and in the presence of different mulching surface cover densities. Heated water was used to create a temperature gradient on the soil surface and high resolution soil surface thermal imaging was obtained using a portable infrared video camera.The proposed technique allows us to identify different microrelief structures at the soil surface and to visualize preferential flow paths in mulching densities up to 4ton/ha. Where other microrelief measurement techniques cannot be used, the thermography allows to obtain 3D models of the soil surface elevation, with satisfactory accuracy. Higher mulch cover densities (above 4ton/ha) strongly affected the performance of the technique.

Effect of Management Practices on Soil Microstructure and Surface Microrelief

Soil surface roughness (SSR) and porosity were evaluated from soils located in two farms belonging to the Plant Breeding Institute of the University of Sidney. The sites differ in their soil management practices; the first site (PBI) was strip-tilled during early fall (May 2010), and the second site (JBP) was under power harrowed tillage at the end of July 2010. Both sites were sampled in mid-August. At each location, SSR was measured for three 1 m2subplots using shadow analysis. To evaluate porosity and aggregation, soil samples were scanned using X-ray computed tomography with 5 μm resolution. The results show a strong negative correlation between SSR and porosity, 20.13% SSR and 41.38% porosity at PBI versus 42.00% SSR and 18.35% porosity at JBP. However, soil images show that when soil surface roughness is higher due to conservation and soil management practices, the processes of macroaggregation and structural porosity are enhanced. Further research must be conducted on SSR and porosity in different types of soils, as they provide complementary information on the evaluation of soil erosion susceptibility.

Evolution of the soil surface roughness using geostatistical analysis

The objective of this work was to investigate the decay of initial surface roughness induced by simulated rainfall under different soil residue cover and to compare classical statistical indices with geostatistical parameters. A conventionally tilled loamy soil with low structure stability, thus prone to crusting was placed at 1 m² microplots. Each microplot received three successive rainfall events which bring about cumulative 25 mm, 50 mm and 75 mm at 65 mm h-1 intensity. Five treatments without replication were tested with different corn straw quantities (0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 Mg ha"1). Soil surface microrelief was measured at the initial stage and after each simulated rainfall event. Five treatments and four surface stages were monitored, resulting in 20 data sets. Point elevation data were taken at 0.03 m intervals using a pinmeter. Digital elevation models were generated and analysed using semivariograms. All data sets showed spatial dependence and spherical models were fitted to experimental semivariograms. A very significant relationship was found between the random roughness index, RR, and the sill of the semivariogram (C0+C1). All the treatments showed a clear trend to sill value reduction with increasing precipitation. However, roughness decay was lower in treatments with higher straw cover (3 and 4 Mg ha-1). Therefore, residue cover limited soil surface roughness decline. The control treatment, without straw, showed the lowest nugget effect (C0), which means the lowest spatial discontinuity of all treatments in this study. The range of spatial dependence (a) also showed a trend to decrease with increased cumulative rain, which was most apparent in treatments without or with relatively low straw cover (0, 1 and 2 Mg ha-1). The suitability of using sill variance and range for describing patterns of soil surface microrelief decline is discussed.

Quantification of tillage, plant cover, and cumulative rainfall effects on soil surface microrelief by statistical, geostatistical and fractal indices

Abstract. Changes in soil surface microrelief with cumulative rainfall under different tillage systems and crop cover conditions were investigated in southern Brazil. Surface cover was none (fallow) or the crop succession maize followed by oats. Tillage treatments were: 1) conventional tillage on bare soil (BS), 2) conventional tillage (CT), 3) minimum tillage (MT) and 4) no tillage (NT) under maize and oats. Measurements were taken with a manual relief meter on small rectangular grids of 0.234 and 0.156 m2, throughout growing season of maize and oats, respectively. Each data set consisted of 200 point height readings, the size of the smallest cells being 3×5 cm during maize and 2×5 cm during oats growth periods. Random Roughness (RR), Limiting Difference (LD), Limiting Slope (LS) and two fractal parameters, fractal dimension (D) and crossover length (l) were estimated from the measured microtopographic data sets. Indices describing the vertical component of soil roughness such as RR, LD and l generally decreased with cumulative rain in the BS treatment, left fallow, and in the CT and MT treatments under maize and oats canopy. However, these indices were not substantially affected by cumulative rain in the NT treatment, whose surface was protected with previous crop residues. Roughness decay from initial values was larger in the BS treatment than in CT and MT treatments. Moreover, roughness decay generally tended to be faster under maize than under oats. The RR and LD indices decreased quadratically, while the l index decreased exponentially in the tilled, BS, CT and MT treatments. Crossover length was sensitive to differences in soil roughness conditions allowing a description of microrelief decay due to rainfall in the tilled treatments, although better correlations between cumulative rainfall and the most commonly used indices RR and LD were obtained. At the studied scale, parameters l and D have been found to be useful in interpreting the configuration properties of the soil surface microrelief.

Assessing soil surface roughness decay during simulated rainfall by multifractal analysis

Abstract. Understanding and describing the spatial characteristics of soil surface microrelief are required for modelling overland flow and erosion. We employed the multifractal approach to characterize topographical point elevation data sets acquired by high resolution laser scanning for assessing the effect of simulated rainfall on microrelief decay. Three soil surfaces with different initial states or composition and rather smooth were prepared on microplots and subjected to successive events of simulated rainfall. Soil roughness was measured on a 2×2 mm2 grid, initially, i.e. before rain, and after each simulated storm, yielding a total of thirteen data sets for three rainfall sequences. The vertical microrelief component as described by the statistical index random roughness (RR) exhibited minor changes under rainfall in two out of three study cases, which was due to the imposed wet initial state constraining aggregate breakdown. The effect of cumulative rainfall on microrelief decay was also assessed by multifractal analysis performed with the box-count algorithm. Generalized dimension, Dq, spectra allowed characterization of the spatial variation of soil surface microrelief measured at the microplot scale. These Dq spectra were also sensitive to temporal changes in soil surface microrelief, so that in all the three study rain sequences, the initial soil surface and the surfaces disturbed by successive storms displayed great differences in their degree of multifractality. Therefore, Multifractal parameters best discriminate between successive soil stages under a given rain sequence. Decline of RR and multifractal parameters showed little or no association.

Recovery of lichen-dominated soil crusts in a hyper-arid desert

Soil crust lichens can be the dominant vegetation in desert regions that are unsuitable for higher plants, and are vital to soil stabilization and primary production. Biological soil crusts are vulnerable to disturbance and there is little evidence of the lichen components achieving full recovery following human disturbances in semi-arid to arid environments, and no records of recovery in hyper-arid deserts. Eight sites with varying anthropogenic, mechanical disturbance regimes were assessed in the hyper-arid Namib Desert for levels of recovery and successional convergence, based on a comparative analysis of overall lichen cover and community composition in disturbed and control locations. Recovery time estimations ranged from 5 to 530 years, with no detected linear relationship to impact gradient (low to high impact). Variables that were found to most strongly influence recovery rates were the overall cover of lichen growth and total number of lichen species in the bordering undisturbed areas, followed by the extent of soil compaction in the disturbed area, altered soil surface microrelief and vitality of subsurface soil crust components. An assessment of pioneering species demonstrated a link between increased soil depressions, i.e. track ruts, and the occurrence of fragmenting, wind-dispersing species. Track ruts in hype-arid deserts are not as vulnerable to the water erosion found in less arid deserts, and may be advancing recovery by trapping fragments. However, the lichen community structure was significantly different between all of the disturbed and control areas, regardless of the recovery phase, suggesting that while the lichen community composition may not. The ecological consequences of such disturbances may be far reaching in hyper-arid deserts where lichens are primary heterotrophs soil stabilizers. Given the economic development occurring within coastal hyper-acid deserts of the world, these impacts undoubtedly call for conservation attention.

Describing soil surface microrelief by crossover length and fractal dimension

Abstract. Accurate description of soil surface topography is essential because different tillage tools produce different soil surface roughness conditions, which in turn affects many processes across the soil surface boundary. Advantages of fractal analysis in soil microrelief assessment have been recognised but the use of fractal indices in practice remains challenging. There is also little information on how soil surface roughness decays under natural rainfall conditions. The objectives of this work were to investigate the decay of initial surface roughness induced by natural rainfall under different soil tillage systems and to compare the performances of a classical statistical index and fractal microrelief indices. Field experiments were performed on an Oxisol at Campinas, São Paulo State (Brazil). Six tillage treatments, namely, disc harrow, disc plow, chisel plow, disc harrow + disc level, disc plow + disc level and chisel plow + disc level were tested. Measurements were made four times, firstly just after tillage and subsequently with increasing amounts of natural rainfall. Duplicated measurements were taken per treatment and date, yielding a total of 48 experimental surfaces. The sampling scheme was a square grid with 25×25 mm point spacing and the plot size was 1350×1350 mm, so that each data set consisted of 3025 individual elevation points. Statistical and fractal indices were calculated both for oriented and random roughness conditions, i.e. after height reading have been corrected for slope and for slope and tillage tool marks. The main drawback of the standard statistical index random roughness, RR, lies in its no spatial nature. The fractal approach requires two indices, fractal dimension, D, which describes how roughness changes with scale, and crossover length, l, specifying the variance of surface microrelief at a reference scale. Fractal parameters D and l, were estimated by two independent self-affine models, semivariogram (SMV) and local root mean square (RMS). Both algorithms, SMV and RMS, gave equivalent results for D and l indices, irrespective of trend removal procedure, even if some bias was present which is in accordance with previous work. Treatments with two tillage operations had the greatest D values, irrespective of evolution stage under rainfall and trend removal procedure. Primary tillage had the greatest initial values of RR and l. Differences in D values between treatments with primary tillage and those with two successive tillage operations were significant for oriented but not for random conditions. The statistical index RR and the fractal indices l and D decreased with increasing cumulative rainfall following different patterns. The l and D decay from initial value was very sharp after the first 24.4 mm cumulative rainfall. For five out of six tillage treatments a significant relationship between D and l was found for the random microrelief conditions allowing a covariance analysis. It was concluded that using RR or l together with D best allow joint description of vertical and horizontal soil roughness variations.

Soil deformation and its spectral signature

AbstractSpatial variation of the surface micro‐relief in a Sharkey clay soil was investigated. The micro‐relief measurements of the soil surface were obtained using an automated infrared laser system and evaluated with methods of Fourier analysis. The authors illustrate the spectral technique with a simple example and then use the technique to interpret the surface micro‐relief patterns of soil samples subjected to three simulated rainstorm intensities. The periodicity of the soil surface micro‐relief in the longitudinal direction was 80–120 mm. The periodic surface micro‐relief patterns immediately following the rainstorm are shown to be an early manifestation of the cracking pattern. Published in 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effect of tillage on fractal indices describing soil surface microrelief of a Brazilian Alfisol

Soil surface roughness is known to influence water infiltration, runoff and erosion. Soil surface roughness changes with management and weather and its mathematical description still remains an important issue. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of tillage on the two fractal indices, fractal dimension, D, and crossover length, l, currently used in characterizing soil surface microrelief. The statistical index random roughness, RR, was also assessed. Field experiments were done on an Alfisol located at Rio Grande do Sul State (Brazil). Two tillage treatments (conventional versus direct drilling) were tested. The soil surface microrelief was assessed by point elevation measurements in 16 plots for each treatment. The sampling scheme was a square grid with 20 × 20 mm between point spacing and the plot size was 280 × 280 mm, so that each data set consisted of 225 individual elevation points. All indices were calculated after trend removal, both by slope correction, i.e., oriented microrelief, and by slope plus tillage marks correction, i.e., random microrelief. The implemented algorithm for estimating D and l consisted in evaluating the roughness around the local root mean square deviation (RMS) of the point elevation values. Irrespective of tillage treatment and detrending procedure, fractal behavior extended only over a bounded range of scales, from 40 to 100 mm, due to the experimental setup. In these conditions, assessing fractal indices was not always straightforward. The statistical index RR and the fractal index l were significantly different between tillage treatments for oriented and random surface conditions. D values of random soil surfaces were not affected by tillage treatment, whereas D values of oriented microrelief were significantly lower in the direct drilled plots. Removal of tillage marks trend resulted in a significant increase in D values. Within each tillage treatment, l and D were significantly correlated.

Effect of mesofaunal activity on the rehabilitation of sealed soil surfaces

The impact of soil mesofauna on the rehabilitation of soil surfaces sealed by rainfall was investigated in a long-term laboratory experiment. Fifteen undisturbed soil monoliths from the Ap horizon of a Gleyic Podzoluvisol/Haplic Luvisol derived from loess were obtained after conventional tillage and seedbed preparation. The soil of this site is known to be susceptible to surface sealing as a result of rainfall activity. All monoliths were defaunated in a microwave oven and then inoculated with mesofauna, some with 300 individuals of Collembola and others with 200 individuals of Enchytraeidae. Additional monoliths were left uninoculated for comparison. Ten monoliths were then treated with simulated rainfall (intensity: 29 mm h −1; time: 60 min) to form a surface seal. The roughness of all 15 monoliths was measured using a non-contact laser scanner immediately and after 6 and 18 months. Differences in the soil surface roughness were assumed to indicate mesofaunal activities and intrinsic soil processes. Soil surface roughness was significantly different between monoliths with and without rain impact. Monoliths subjected to rainfall showed significant differences in soil surface roughness between those with and without mesofauna as well as between monoliths inoculated with Collembola and Enchytraeidae. The roughness differences detected between unsealed monoliths were not significant. Over the entire experimental time of 18 months the relative changes in sealed uninoculated monoliths were much lower than the alterations as a result of mesofaunal activities. The results show that within a few months the activities of Collembola and Enchytraeidae distinctly contribute to the rehabilitation of sealed soil surfaces and the development of a finely structured soil surface microrelief.

Estimation of surface runoff and water-covered area during filling of surface microrelief depressions

During the filling of surface microrelief depressions the precipitation excess (precipitation minus infiltration and interception) is divided between surface storage and runoff, i.e. runoff starts before the surface depressions are filled. Information on the division of precipitation excess is needed for modelling surface runoff during the filling of surface depressions. Furthermore, information on the surface of the area covered with water is needed for calculating infiltration of water stored in soil surface depressions. Thirty-two soil surface microreliefs were determined in Danish erosion study plots. The slope was c. 10% for all plots. Data were treated initially by removing the slope, after which 20 ‘artificial’ slopes (1–20%) were introduced producing 640 new data sets. Runoff during filling of the microrelief storage was calculated for each of the 640 data sets using a model developed for calculating surface storage and runoff from grid elevation measurements. Runoff started immediately after the first addition of water for all data sets. On a field scale, however, runoff has to travel some distance as overland flow and storage in smaller and larger depressions below the runoff initiation point must be taken into consideration. The runoff increases by intermittent steps. Whenever a depression starts to overflow to the border of the plot, the runoff jumps accordingly. In spite of the jumps, the distribution between surface storage and runoff was closely related to the quotient between precipitation excess and depression storage capacity. Surface area covered with water was exponentially related to the amount of water stored in surface depressions. Models for calculating surface storage and runoff from grid elevation measurements are cumbersome and require time-consuming measurements of the soil surface microrelief. Therefore, estimation from roughness indices requiring fewer measurements is desirable. New improved equations for such estimations are suggested. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Roughness indices for estimation of depression storage capacity of tilled soil surfaces

Information on the depression storage capacity (DSC) of soil surfaces is needed for modelling surface runoff and erosion. However, time-consuming measurements of the soil surface microrelief in a two-dimensional grid are necessary to obtain accurate estimates. Therefore, estimation of DSC from roughness indices requiring fewer measurements is desirable. In this study a new simple and physically based roughness index was developed and tested. Thirty-two soil surface microreliefs were determined in Danish erosion study plots on two sandy loam soil types, Humic Acrosol and Haplic Luvisol according to the FAO soil classification. The soil treatments were: cultivated up-and-down the slope (black fallow), mouldboard ploughed up-and-down the slope, winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) drilled up-and-down the slope and winter wheat drilled across the slope. The slope was ca. 10% for all plots. Data were treated initially by removing the slope after which 20 artificial slopes (1–20%) were introduced producing 640 data sets. The DSC was calculated for each data set and a number of roughness indices were related to the calculated DSC. The best correlation to DSC was obtained by the newly developed index, mean upslope depression, MUD ( R 2 = 0.86), followed by the geostatistically based limiting elevation difference, LD, and limiting slope, LS ( R 2 = 0.76), and some statistically based parameters as standard deviation adjusted for oriented roughness up-and-down the slope ( R 2 = 0.76), random roughness, RR ( R 2 = 0.67), and standard deviation adjusted for oriented roughness both up-and-down and across the slope ( R 2 = 0.62). Furthermore, MUD appeared to give less biased estimates than other indices, which overestimated small DSC-values and underestimated larger DSC-values. Calculations showed that the MUD index required relatively few measurements. MUD based on less than 200 surface elevation readings gave a good prediction ( R 2 > 0.7) of DSC of tilled soil surfaces.

The Monitoring of Soil Surface Development Using Analytical Photogrammetry

The importance of soil surface microrelief has been identified in the literature of soil erosion. However, studies of soil microrelief have often ignored photogrammetry as a means of obtaining soil surface data. This paper recognizes the validity of analytical photogrammetry to quantify height changes at the experimental plot scale (≤1 m2). Additionally, however, analytical photogrammetry enables the recording of non‐morphological information (including soil aggregates and rock fragments) so that the impact of such features upon the evolution of soil surfaces may be considered. The two forms of information may then be integrated within a geographical information system to relate the effects of such features upon soil surface height changes.

Changes in physical properties of two dry soils during tracked vehicle passage

Soil strength, surface micro-relief, bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity were measured for two soil types (Dd 1.13 and Uc 2.12) at Shoalwater Bay, Queensland, before and after the passage of a tracked vehicle. Such impact of a vehicle resulted in a decrease in the strength of the surface soil, an increase in bulk density, a decrease in saturated hydraulic conductivity and the formation of ruts. The degree of change depended on soil type, the number of vehicular passes and whether the vehicle was travelling in a straight line or turning.

The effect of tracked vehicles on soil strength and micro-relief of a calcareous earth (Gc1.12) North of Woomera, South Australia.

Changes in soil strength and surface micro-relief were measured in a calcareous earth (Gc. 1.12) at a site north of Woomera, before and after the passage of a tracked vehicle. The passage of a tracked vehicle resulted in a reduction of ?oil strength and the formation of ruts. The degree of change depended on the number of vehicle passes and whether the vehicle was travelling in a straight line or turning. Implications for erosion are discussed.