Temporal dynamics of water repellency and soil moisture in eucalypt plantations, Portugal
Gemma Leighton-Boyce A D , Stefan H. Doerr A , Richard A. Shakesby A , Rory P. D. Walsh A , António J. D. Ferreira B C , Anne-Karine Boulet B and Celeste O. A. Coelho BA Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
B Centro das Zonas Costeiras e do Mar, Departamento de Ambiente e Ordenamento, Universidade de Aveiro, P-3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
C Environmental Technologies Sector, Department of Pure and Environmental Sciences, ESAC, IPC, Bencanta, P-3040-316 Coimbra, Portugal.
D Corresponding author. Current address: Komex International Ltd., 4500 16 Avenue NW, Calgary, Alberta T3B OM6, Canada. Email: gleightonboyce@calgary.komex.com
Australian Journal of Soil Research 43(3) 269-280 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR04082
Submitted: 25 June 2004 Accepted: 22 April 2005 Published: 25 May 2005
Abstract
This paper investigates water repellency and soil moisture under 4 different Eucalyptus globulus plantations in Portugal. On 8 occasions over a 16-month period, measurements were made at 3 depths (surface, 0.10 and 0.20 m) at 60 points on four 10 by 18 m grids. The main results are: (i) at all sites and depths, spatial frequency of repellency (defined as percentage of repellent grid points) followed a moisture-related seasonal cycle, its amplitude being greatest for the longest established site, where surface repellency was contiguous in dry late-summer conditions, but was entirely absent after wet winter conditions; (ii) at a few points at 2 sites, repellency persisted during winter; (iii) repellency severity was dichotomously distributed regardless of season (i.e. soils were generally either wettable or highly repellent); and (iv) at the longest established site, when soil moisture was <14% soils were repellent, and when soil moisture was >27% soils were wettable. This may either support the existence of a ‘transition zone’, or be an artefact of the different scales of repellency and soil moisture assessments. Reasons for the observed changes in repellency and their relationship with soil moisture and antecedent rainfall are explored and soil hydrological implications discussed.
Additional keywords: water repellence, repellency severity, %Ethanol method, hydrophobicity, Eucalyptus globulus, overland flow, time domain reflectometry, transition zone.
Acknowledgments
We thank K. Burdett, K. Cooke, K. Emeny, D. Hayward, A. Vater and R. Woodland for assistance with fieldwork. GLB acknowledges the financial support of a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Research Studentship (GT/4/99/295/TS) and SHD and RAS of a EU contract (FAIR-CT98-4027). This work does not necessarily reflect the European Commission’s views and in no way anticipates its future policy in this area. The authors thank the anonymous referees for their thorough and constructive comments.
Burch GJ,
Moore ID, Burns J
(1989) Soil hydrophobic effects on infiltration and catchment runoff. Hydrological Processes 3, 211–222.
Crockford H,
Topalidis S, Richardson DP
(1991) Water repellency in a dry sclerophyll eucalypt forest–measurements and processes. Hydrological Processes 5, 405–420.
DeBano LF, Krammes JS
(1966) Water repellent soils and their relation to wildfire temperatures. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Bulletin 2, 4–19.
DeBano LF,
Savage SM, Hamilton AD
(1976) The transfer of heat and hydrophobic substances during burning. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 40, 779–782.
Dekker LW
(1998) ‘Moisture variability resulting from water repellency in Dutch soils’. PhD thesis, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands
Dekker LW,
Doerr SH,
Oostindie K,
Ziogas AK, Ritsema CJ
(2001) Water repellency and critical soil water content in a dune sand. Soil Science Society of America Journal 65, 1667–1674.
Dekker LW, Ritsema CJ
(1994) How water moves in a water-repellent sandy soil. 1. Potential and actual water-repellency. Water Resources Research 30, 2507–2517.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dekker LW, Ritsema CJ
(1995) Fingerlike wetting patterns in two water-repellent loam soils. Journal of Environmental Quality 24, 324–333.
Doerr SH
(1998) On standardising the ‘water drop penetration time’ and the ‘molarity of an ethanol droplet’ techniques to classify soil hydrophobicity: A case study using medium textured soils. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 23, 663–668.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Doerr SH,
Ferreira AJD,
Walsh RPD,
Shakesby RA,
Leighton-Boyce G, Coelho COA
(2003) Soil water repellency as a potential parameter in rainfall-runoff modelling: experimental evidence at point to catchment scales from Portugal. Hydrological Processes 17, 363–377.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Doerr SH,
Shakesby RA, Walsh RPD
(1998) Spatial variability of soil hydrophobicity in fire-prone eucalyptus and pine forests, Portugal. Soil Science 163, 313–324.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Doerr SH,
Shakesby RA, Walsh RPD
(2000a) Soil water repellency: its causes, characteristics and hydro-geomorphological consequences. Earth Science Reviews 51, 33–65.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Doerr, SH ,
Shakesby, RA ,
and
Walsh, RPD (2000b). Hydrophobicity in soils of the European Atlantic margin: preliminary observations and implications for soil hydrological response. British Hydrological Society Occasional Paper No. 11 b. pp. 211–218.
Doerr SH, Thomas AD
(2000) The role of soil moisture in controlling water repellency: new evidence from forest soils in Portugal. Journal of Hydrology 231–232, 134–147.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
FAO (1988). ‘FAO-UNESCO soil map of the world. Revised legend.’ World Soil Resources Report 60 (FAO: Rome)
Ferreira AJD,
Coelho COA,
Walsh RPD,
Shakesby RA,
Ceballos A, Doerr SH
(2000) Hydrological implications of soil-water repellency in Eucalyptus globulus forests, north-central Portugal. Journal of Hydrology 231–232, 165–177.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gilmour DA
(1968) Water repellence of soils related to surface dryness. Australian Forestry 32, 143–148.
Imeson AC,
Verstraten JM,
Van Mulligen EJ, Sevink J
(1992) The effects of fire and water repellency on infiltration and runoff under Mediterranean type forests. CATENA 19, 345–361.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Jungerius PD, de Jong JH
(1989) Variability of water repellence in the dunes along the Dutch coast. CATENA 16, 491–497.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Leighton-Boyce G
(2002) Spatio-temporal dynamics and hydrogeomorphic implications of soil water repellency within Eucalyptus forests in north-central Portugal. PhD thesis, University of Wales, Swansea, UK
Letey J
(1969) Measurement of contact angle, water drop penetration time, and critical surface tension. ‘Water repellent soils. Proceedings of a Symposium on Water Repellent Soils’. Riverside, CA. (Ed. LF DeBano ,
J Letey )
pp. 43–47.
O’Connor, KM ,
and
Dowding, CH (1999).
Pereira V, FitzPatrick EA
(1995) Cambisols and related soils in north-central Portugal: their genesis and classification. Geoderma 66, 185–212.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Roberts, FJ ,
and
Carbon, BA (1971). Water repellence in sandy soils of south-western Australia. 1. Some studies related to field occurrence. Field Station Record No. 10. pp. 13–20. (Division of Plant Industry CSIRO: Australia)
Scott DF
(1994) The hydrological effects of fire in South African catchments. PhD thesis, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Scott DF
(2000) Soil wettability in forested catchments in South Africa: as measured by different methods and as affected by vegetation cover and soil characteristics. Journal of Hydrology 231–232, 87–104.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Scott DF,
Versfeld DB, Lesch W
(1998) Erosion and sediment yield in relation to afforestation and fire in the mountains of the western Cape Province, South Africa. The South African Geographical Journal 80, 52–59.
Shakesby RA,
Coelho COA,
Ferreira AJD,
Terry JP, Walsh RPD
(1993) Wildfire impacts on soil erosion and hydrology in wet Mediterranean forest, Portugal. International Journal of Wildland Fire 3, 95–110.
Shakesby RA,
Doerr SH, Walsh RPD
(2000) The erosional impact of soil repellency: current problems and future research directions. Journal of Hydrology 231–232, 178–191.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Soto, B ,
Basanta, R ,
Benito, E ,
Perez, R ,
and
Diaz-Fierros, F (1994). Runoff and erosion from burnt soils in northwest Spain. In ‘Soil erosion as a consequence of forest fires’. pp. 91–98. (Geoforma Ediciones: Logroño, Spain)
Topp GC,
Davis JL, Annan AP
(1980) Electromagnetic determination of soil water content: measurements in coaxial transmission lines. Water Resources Research 16, 574–582.
Walsh, RPD ,
Coelho, COA ,
Shakesby, RA ,
Ferreira, AJD ,
and
Thomas, AD (1995). Post-fire land use and management and runoff responses to rainstorms in northern Portugal. In ‘Geomorphology and land management in a changing environment’. pp. 283–308. (Wiley: Chichester, UK)
Zierholz C,
Hairsine P, Booker F
(1995) Runoff and soil erosion in bushland following the Sydney bushfires. Australian Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 8, 28–37.
1 Stand ages are those estimated on 1 August 2000. Repellency was monitored between August 2000 and November 2001. Hence, by the end of the monitoring period, the stands were aged ~11 years (‘mature’), ~6 years (established), ~2 years (young), and ~2 years (burnt).
