Water repellency under natural conditions in sandy soils of southern Spain
Francisco J. Moral García A , Louis W. Dekker B C , Klaas Oostindie B and Coen J. Ritsema BA Departamento de Expresión Gráfica, Universidad de Extremadura, Centra de Elvas s/n 06071 Badajoz, Spain.
B Alterra, Soil Science Center, Department of Land Use and Soil Processes, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
C Corresponding author. Email: Louis.Dekker@wur.nl
Australian Journal of Soil Research 43(3) 291-296 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR04089
Submitted: 25 June 2004 Accepted: 7 January 2005 Published: 25 May 2005
Abstract
The occurrence and consequences of fire-induced water repellency have been studied in several regions of Spain since 1989. The occurrence of water repellency formed under natural conditions, however, has only been described for a few areas in Spain since 1998. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the severity of naturally occurring water repellency in the sandy soils of the Natural Park of Doñana in southern Spain. The persistence and degree of soil water repellency were measured on field-moist and dried sandy soil samples taken beneath Pinus pinea trees. Around 50% of the field-moist soil samples taken at 0–0.10 m depths exhibited (actual) water repellency. Potential water repellency, measured after drying the samples at 60°C, showed for 68% of the samples slight to extreme water repellency. The organic matter content was found to be positively correlated with persistence and with degree of potential water repellency.
Additional keywords: actual water repellency, alcohol percentage test, organic matter content, potential water repellency, WDPT-test.
Acknowledgments
The project is partly carried out with financial support from the Commission of the European Community. It is financed under the work programme FAIR (ref. 4027). The project does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s views and in no way anticipates its future policy in this area.
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