Wildfires naturally occur worldwide, however the potential disruption to ecosystem services from subsequent post-fire flooding and erosion often necessitates a response from land managers. The impact of high severity wildfire on infiltration and interrill erosion responses was evaluated for five years after the 2003 Hot Creek Fire in Idaho, USA. Relative infiltration from mini-disk tension infiltrometers (MDI) was compared to rainfall simulation measurements on small burned and control plots. Vegetation recovery was slow due to the severity of the fire, with median cover of 6–8% on burned sites after 5 years. Consequently, interrill sediment yields remained significantly higher on the burned sites (329–1200 g m–2) compared to the unburned sites (3–35 g m–2) in year 5. Total infiltration on the burned plots increased during the study period, yet were persistently lower compared to the control plots. Relative infiltration measurements made at the soil surface, and 1- and 3-cm depths were significantly correlated to non-steady state total infiltration values taken in the first 10 minutes of the hour-long rainfall simulations. Significant correlations were found at the 1-cm (ρ = 0.4–0.6) and 3-cm (ρ = 0.3–0.6) depths (most p-values <0.001), and somewhat weaker correlations at the soil surface (ρ = 0.2–0.4) (p-values <0.05 and up). Soil water repellency is often stronger below the soil surface after severe wildfire, and likely contributes to the reduced infiltration. These results suggest that relative infiltration measurements at shallow depths may be useful to estimate potential infiltration during a short-duration high-intensity storm and could be used as an input for post-fire erosion models.
Application of compost is known to improve the hydraulic characteristics of soils. The objective of this study was to examine the seasonal and short-term effects of solid waste compost amendments on selected hydrophysical properties of soil during dry and rainy seasons and to explore any negative impacts of municipal solid waste compost (MSWC) amendments on soil hydrophysical environment concerning Agriculture in low-country wet zone, Sri Lanka. Eight (T1–T8) MSWC and two (T9, T10) agricultural-based waste compost (AWC) samples were separately applied in the field in triplicates at 10 and 20 Mg ha–1 rates, with a control (T0). Field measurements (initial infiltration rate, Ii; steady state infiltration rate, ISS; unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, k; sorptivity, SW) were conducted and samples were collected (0–15 cm depth) for laboratory experiments (water entry value, hwe; potential water repellency: measured with water drop penetration time, WDPT) before starting (Measurement I) and in the middle of (Measurement II) the seasonal rainfall (respectively 5 and 10 weeks after the application of compost). The difference in the soil organic matter (SOM) content was not significant between the dry and rainy periods. All the soils were almost non-repellent (WDPT = <1–5 s). The hwe of all the samples were negative. In the Measurement I, the Ii of the T0 was about 40 cm h–1, while most treatments show comparatively lower values. The ISS, SW, and k of compost amended samples were either statistically similar, or showed significantly lower values compared with T0. It was clear that all the surface hydraulic properties examined in situ (Ii, ISS, SW) were higher in the Measurement I (before rainfall) than those observed in the Measurement II (after rainfall). Water potential differences in soils might have affected the surface hydrological properties such as SW. However, water potential differences would not be the reason for weakened ISS and k in the Measurement II. Disruption of aggregates, and other subsequent processes that would take place on the soil surface as well as in the soil matrix, such as particle rearrangements, clogging of pores, might be the reason for the weakened ISS and k in the Measurement II. Considering the overall results of the present study, compost amendments seemed not to improve or accelerate but tend to suppress hydraulic properties of soil. No significant difference was observed between MSWC and AWC considering their effects on soil hydraulic properties. Application of composts can be considered helpful to slower the rapid leaching by decreasing the water movements into and within the soil.
This study explored the effect of soil water repellency (SWR) on soil hydrophysical properties with depth. Soils were sampled from two distinctly wettable and water repellent soil profiles at depth increments from 0–60 cm. The soils were selected because they appeared to either wet readily (wettable) or remain dry (water repellent) under field conditions. Basic soil properties (MWD, SOM, θ v) were compared to hydrophysical properties (Ks, Sw, Se, Sww, Swh, WDPT, RIc, RIm and WRCT) that characterise or are affected by water repellency. Our results showed both soil and depth affected basic and hydrophysical properties of the soils (p<0.001). Soil organic matter (SOM) was the major property responsible for water repellency at the selected depths (0–60). Water repellency changes affected moisture distribution and resulted in the upper layer (0–40 cm) of the repellent soil to be considerably drier compared to the wettable soil. The water repellent soil also had greater MWDdry and Ks over the entire 0–60 cm depth compared to the wettable soil. Various measures of sorptivity, Sw, Se, Sww, Swh, were greater through the wettable than water repellent soil profile, which was also reflected in field and dry WDPT measurements. However, the wettable soil had subcritical water repellency, so the range of data was used to compare indices of water repellency. WRCT and RIm had less variation compared to WDPT and RIc. Estimating water repellency using WRCT and RIm indicated that these indices can detect the degree of SWR and are able to better classify SWR degree of the subcritical-repellent soil from the wettable soil.
The aim of this study was to determine the potential development of water sorptivity of soil aggregates by heating. Soil aggregates were sampled from arable layer of 5 Polish soils: Haplic Luvisol 1 from Czesławice, Haplic Luvisol 2 from Wierzchucinek, Haplic Cambisol from Felin, Gleyic Mollic Cambisol from Chylice, and Haplic Phaeozem from Grabiec. Three aggregates of each soil type with minimum diameter between 4 and 10 mm were heated in the oven for at least 3 hours at temperatures 20, 100, 200, 250, and 360ºC. After each temperature treatment the soil aggregates were conditioned at the room temperature for 16 hours. Laboratory measurements of water sorptivity of soil aggregates were performed under a negative tension h0 = -2 cm using tension infiltrometer. It was found that the exposure to temperatures between 100 and 200°C tends to decrease water sorptivity of aggregates from all the studied soils but one (Haplic Luvisol 1), followed by about two- to four-fold increase in water sorptivity for exposure to temperatures of 250°C (in Haplic Luvisol 1, Haplic Luvisol 2, and Haplic Phaeozem) or 360°C (in Haplic Cambisol and Gleyic Mollic Cambisol).
Although playing an important role in shaping the environment, the mechanisms responsible for runoff initiation and yield in arid and semiarid regions are not yet fully explored. With infiltration-excess overland flow, known also as Hortonian overland flow (HOF) taking place in these areas, the uppermost surface 'skin' plays a cardinal role in runoff initiation and yield. Over large areas, this skin is composed of biocrusts, a variety of autotrophs (principally cyanobacteria, green algae, lichens, mosses) accompanied by heterotrophs (such as fungi, bacteria, archaea), which may largely dictate the infiltration capability of the surface. With most biocrust organisms being capable of excreting extracellular polymeric substances (EPS or exopolymers), and growing evidence pointing to the capability of certain EPS to partially seal the surface, EPS may play a cardinal role in hindering infiltration and triggering HOF. Yet, despite this logic thread, great controversy still exists regarding the main mechanisms responsible for runoff generation (runoff initiation and yield). Elucidation of the possible role played by EPS in runoff generation is the focus of the current review.
Water repellency is a relative (and a little misleading) term because no surface actually exerts a repelling force on a liquid. There is always some attraction between a liquid and any solid. The affinity (hydrophilicity) or repellency (hydrophobicity) between water and solid surfaces originates from mutual attractive forces (adhesion) and the attraction between the water molecules (cohesion). Soil water repellency is generally attributed to hydrophobic organic matter coating soil particles or accumulating in the soil environment. The definition of hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity, based on the contact angle α between water and a solid, reads: if α < 90°, the solid is wettable, if α ≥ 90°, the solid is water repellent (Adamson, 1990). Another definition of hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity, based on the surface-free energy, reads: solid surfaces with a surface-free energy σsa > 72.75 mN m-1 attract water and are therefore hydrophilic. Solid surfaces with a surface-free energy σsa < 72.75 mN m-1 are hydrophobic (Doerr et al., 2000). Soil water repellency (WR) is characterised using three parameters: severity (degree) of WR, persistence of WR, and index of WR. The most frequently used techniques for the severity and persistence of WR measurements are MED (molarity of ethanol droplet) and WDPT (water drop penetration time) test, respectively. and Vodoodpudivosť je relatívny (a trochu zavádzajúci) pojem, pretože žiadny povrch tuhej látky nepôsobí na kvapalinu odpudivou, ale vždy príťažlivou silou. Afinita (hydrofilnosť) alebo odpudivosť (hydrofóbnosť) medzi vodou a povrchom tuhej látky vzniká zo vzájomných príťažlivých síl (adhézia) a príťažlivých síl medzi molekulami vody (kohézia). Vodoodpudivosť pôdy sa všeobecne pripisuje hydrofóbnej organickej hmote, ktorá buď pokrýva pôdne častice alebo je akumulovaná v pôdnom prostredí. Definícia hydrofóbnosti a hydrofilnosti, založená na veľkosti uhla omáčania, znie: ak je uhol omáčania α menší ako 90°, tuhá látka je zmáčavá, ak je väčší alebo sa rovná 90°, tuhá látka je vodoodpudivá (Adamson, 1990). Iná definícia hydrofóbnosti a hydrofilnosti, založená na povrchovej voľnej energii, znie: povrch tuhej látky s povrchovou voľnou energiou σsa > 72,75 mN m-1 je hydrofilný a povrch tuhej látky s povrchovou voľnou energiou σsa < 72,75 mN m-1 je hydrofóbny (Doerr et al., 2000). Vodoodpudivosť je charakterizovaná tromi parametrami: veľkosť, stálosť a index vodoodpudivosti. Najčastejšie používanou metódou na meranie veľkosti vodoodpudivosti pôdy je MED test, v ktorom sa povrchová voľná energia pôdy určuje z molarity kvapky etanolu, ktorá vnikne do pôdy za určitý čas. Najčastejšie používanou metódou na meranie stálosti vodoodpudivosti pôdy je WDPT test, pri ktorom sa meria čas, potrebný na infiltráciu kvapky destilovanej vody do pôdy.
The main hydrological and geomorphological impacts of soil water repellency are: (a) reduced infiltration capacity; (b) increased overland flow; (c) spatially localised infiltration and/or percolation, often with fingered flow development; (d) effects on the three-dimensional distribution and dynamics of soil moisture, evapotranspiration, as well as plant germination and growth; (e) enhanced streamflow responses to rainstorm; (f) enhanced total streamflow; and (g) enhanced soil erosion. Surfactants (wetting agents), clay, and municipal solid waste compost were found to be successful in mitigation of the consequences of soil water repellency. and Hlavné hydrologické a geomorfologické dôsledky vodoodpudivosti sú: (a) zmenšenie rýchlosti infiltrácie vody do pôdy, (b) zväčšenie povrchového prúdenia, (c) priestorovo lokalizovaná infiltrácia a/alebo perkolácia a prúdenie prstami, (d) účinky na trojrozmerné rozdelenie a dynamiku pôdnej vlhkosti, evapotranspiráciu, ako aj klíčenie a rast rastlín, (e) zväčšenie odtoku po búrke, (f) zväčšenie celkového odtoku a (g) zväčšenie erózie pôdy. Dôsledky vodoodpudivosti pôdy možno zmierniť aplikáciou povrchovo aktívnych látok (zmáčadiel), ílu a kompostu z tuhého komunálneho odpadu.
Biocrusts are biological communities that occupy the soil surface, accumulate organic matter and mineral particles and hence strongly affect the properties of the soils they cover. Moreover, by affecting water repellency, biocrusts may cause a preferential infiltration of rainwater, with a high impact on the formation of local water pathways, especially for sand dunes. The aim of this study is to shed light on the connections between water repellency and pH, carbonate and organic matter content in two dune ecosystems with different biocrust types. For this, we used contact angle measurements, gas volumetric carbonate determination and organic matter characterization via FT-IR and TOFSIMS. In both ecosystems, moss-dominated biocrusts showed higher water repellency and higher amounts of organic matter compared to algal or cyanobacterial biocrusts. Surprisingly, the biocrusts of the two dune systems did not show differences in organic matter composition or organic coatings of the mineral grains. Biocrusts on the more acidic dunes showed a significantly higher level of water repellency as compared to higher carbonate containing dunes. We conclude that the driving factor for the increase in water repellency between cyanobacterial and moss-dominated biocrusts within one study site is the content of organic matter. However, when comparing the different study sites, we found that higher amounts of carbonate reduced biocrust water repellency.