Influence of the Brood X Cicada Emergence on Soil Water Infiltration Rates
Abstract
The 2021 emergence of the 17-year Brood X cicadas saw billions of cicadas emerge from the soil throughout the Midwestern and Eastern United States. When the adult cicadas emerge, they leave emergence holes and burrows in the soil. Studies of the effects of the Brood X emergence have largely been focused on vegetation, while their influence on local and regional hydrology remains largely unknown. Here, we examine differences in soil water infiltration rates between sites with high and low cicada emergence across different land uses in central Indiana, which was at the epicenter of the Brood X cicada emergence. Using a single ring dual head infiltrometer, we measured saturated hydraulic conductivity in soils during the Spring and Summer of 2021, focusing on different levels of cicada emergence in areas with (urban) and without human disturbance (forests, open fields). In areas without much human disturbance, we find a significant difference in saturated hydraulic conductivities between soils with (median = 17.1 cm/hr +/- 0.40 cm/hr; n = 14) and without (median = 6.9 cm/hr +/- 0.30 cm/hr; n = 14) cicada emergence holes. In areas with human disturbance, no significant difference between areas with (median = 4.3 cm/hr +/- 0.28 cm/hr; n = 19) and without (median = 4.1 cm/hr +/- 0.41 cm/hr; n = 17) cicada emergence holes were found, suggesting that the signal of human disturbance (e.g., soil tamping) may override the presence of emergence holes. Additionally, no significant correlation was found between the number of holes present and the saturated hydraulic conductivity rates. Our work shows how large-scale disturbances, even on a semi-rare basis, can disrupt soil water hydrology, especially in areas with relatively little human disturbance. The widespread cicada burrowing from the Brood X emergence acts as a conduit that connects precipitation to deep soil column and groundwater regimes, which has implications for vegetative water uptake, surface water runoff, groundwater recharge rates, and soil water/groundwater quality.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021AGUFM.H15N1205B