Response of soil moisture of Achnatherum splendens to precipitation in growing season by small scale Electrical Resistivity Tomography in the Qinghai Lake Basin Critical Zone Observatory
Abstract
The interactions between deep-rooted grass and soil hydrological processes are unclear. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is considered one of the most effective geophysical methods used in agriculture and environmental studies. There are few studies on the changes of soil moisture in different soil layers before and after rainfall of Achnatherum splendens by geophysical methods. In this study, we aim to reveal the variation characteristics of soil moisture in different soil layers of Achnatherum splendens after rainfall in the growing season in Qinghai Lake watershed on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in northwestern China. The Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) method and soil moisture probe were used. Firstly, we dug up the soil profile from Achnatherum splendens grassland in Qinghai Lake Basin, obtained the actual distribution of soil layer and installed TDR probe in different soil layers. In addition, soil samples from different soil layers were collected to investigate soil physical properties (e.g. hydraulic conductivity, particle composition and field moisture capacity). Further, an experimental plot of size 30m×12m was designed for collecting electrical resistivity images under natural rainfall in growing season, 2019. The field experiment was performed under seven simulated rainfall amounts (5, 10, 20 and 40 mm) on a single plant of Achnatherum splendens by ERT to explore variation of soil moisture in different soil layers within 24 hours. Our findings provide valuable insights in understanding the eco-hydrological processes of deep-rooted vegetation.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFM.H21H1804Z
- Keywords:
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- 1829 Groundwater hydrology;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1835 Hydrogeophysics;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1865 Soils;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1899 General or miscellaneous;
- HYDROLOGY