Vegetation impact on the hydrology of an aeolian sandy soil in a continental climate

0349887 - ÚH 2011 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Lichner, Ľ. - Hallett, P. D. - Orfánus, T. - Czachor, H. - Rajkai, K. - Šír, Miloslav - Tesař, Miroslav
Vegetation impact on the hydrology of an aeolian sandy soil in a continental climate.
Ecohydrology. Roč. 3, č. 4 (2010), s. 413-420. ISSN 1936-0584. E-ISSN 1936-0592
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT MEB0808114
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20600510
Keywords : sandy soil * water repellency * plant cover * sorptivity * hydraulic conductivity
Subject RIV: DA - Hydrology ; Limnology
Impact factor: 1.835, year: 2010

Plant cover and surface crusts can influence soil hydrology considerably after long periods of hot weather and drought when water repellency (WR) is greatest. This was studied on an aeolian sandy soil that frequently experiences long dry and hot weather, followed by intense precipitation. The different vegetation covers examined were (1) predominantly grass species (grassland soil); (2) a 30-year-old Scots pine forest (forest soil); (3) mainly moss species (glade soil) and (4) subsoil at 50-cm depth of treatment (5) to remove the influence of vegetation or soil crusts (pure sand). Vegetation cover influenced hydrological and pedological properties of the sandy soil. Both the water drop penetration time (WDPT) and WR index R decreased in the order: forest soil - glade soil = grassland soil - pure sand. WDPT and R were up to 3 orders of magnitude greater, whereas sorptivity and hydraulic conductivity were up to 3 orders of magnitude less, in some vegetated soils compared to pure sand.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0190015