Soil moisture regime under the canopy of beech, spruce, and larch trees

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60460709%3A41330%2F24%3A98213" target="_blank" >RIV/60460709:41330/24:98213 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="http://czuni.cz/?event=6th-international-symposium-of-soil-physics" target="_blank" >http://czuni.cz/?event=6th-international-symposium-of-soil-physics</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

čeština

Original language name

Soil moisture regime under the canopy of beech, spruce, and larch trees

Original language description

Forest soil is an amazingly diverse environment. The vast vegetation cover produces a high amount of plant litter, which enriches the mineral substrate through the decomposition of organic matter. Root systems further shape the soil environment by creating preferential pathways that significantly increase the infiltration process (Jarvis et al., 2012). While the vegetation impact on soil hydraulic properties is mostly pronounced in the organic horizon, the soil water regime is deeply impacted by precipitation partitioning through vegetation. Structural tree traits, e.g., branch inclination, root system architecture, bark roughness, and stem shape, have a major effect on the rainwater input into the soil (Crockford & Richardson, 2000). Since the close connection of vegetation and soil water, the seasonality of deciduous forests is significantly affecting the forest hydrological balance (Staelens et al., 2008). With different traits and strategies among tree species, the very same mineral soil properties may result in completely different soil moisture conditions during the annual seasons (Kuželková et al., 2023). As climate change brings rising temperatures and uneven precipitation patterns, Central Europe should expect a concerning increase in drought periods (Markonis et al., 2021). In order to improve efficient water management within the landscape, the insights on vegetation effect on soil moisture regime are becoming highly relevant for future actions. This study aims to gain an understanding of the vegetation effect on soil moisture across different tree species and to assess its hydrological impact on the landscape under changing climate. With more than 50 soil moisture and temperature autonomous stations (TMS 4, TOMST), a monitoring network under three common Central-European tree species was built in a drought-prone area of central Bohemia. During the nearly three years of monitoring, strong patterns in soil moisture regimes between different tree species were observed. While the seasonality of deciduous beech and larch trees promoted efficient winter and early spring soil water recharge, with the mean VWC in the spring of 2022 being 0.30±0.04 for beech and 0.22±0.04 for larch, the soil conditions under evergreen spruce trees remained significantly drier 0.14±0.04. Moreover, even though the mean bulk density of silty loam mineral substrate remained consistent across all sites, the organic soil layer exhibited a distinct variation between different tree species, suggesting the ability of vegetation to re-form the soil environment and its hydro-physical properties.

Czech name

Soil moisture regime under the canopy of beech, spruce, and larch trees

Czech description

Forest soil is an amazingly diverse environment. The vast vegetation cover produces a high amount of plant litter, which enriches the mineral substrate through the decomposition of organic matter. Root systems further shape the soil environment by creating preferential pathways that significantly increase the infiltration process (Jarvis et al., 2012). While the vegetation impact on soil hydraulic properties is mostly pronounced in the organic horizon, the soil water regime is deeply impacted by precipitation partitioning through vegetation. Structural tree traits, e.g., branch inclination, root system architecture, bark roughness, and stem shape, have a major effect on the rainwater input into the soil (Crockford & Richardson, 2000). Since the close connection of vegetation and soil water, the seasonality of deciduous forests is significantly affecting the forest hydrological balance (Staelens et al., 2008). With different traits and strategies among tree species, the very same mineral soil properties may result in completely different soil moisture conditions during the annual seasons (Kuželková et al., 2023). As climate change brings rising temperatures and uneven precipitation patterns, Central Europe should expect a concerning increase in drought periods (Markonis et al., 2021). In order to improve efficient water management within the landscape, the insights on vegetation effect on soil moisture regime are becoming highly relevant for future actions. This study aims to gain an understanding of the vegetation effect on soil moisture across different tree species and to assess its hydrological impact on the landscape under changing climate. With more than 50 soil moisture and temperature autonomous stations (TMS 4, TOMST), a monitoring network under three common Central-European tree species was built in a drought-prone area of central Bohemia. During the nearly three years of monitoring, strong patterns in soil moisture regimes between different tree species were observed. While the seasonality of deciduous beech and larch trees promoted efficient winter and early spring soil water recharge, with the mean VWC in the spring of 2022 being 0.30±0.04 for beech and 0.22±0.04 for larch, the soil conditions under evergreen spruce trees remained significantly drier 0.14±0.04. Moreover, even though the mean bulk density of silty loam mineral substrate remained consistent across all sites, the organic soil layer exhibited a distinct variation between different tree species, suggesting the ability of vegetation to re-form the soil environment and its hydro-physical properties.

Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10501 - Hydrology

Project

<a href="/en/project/SS02030027" target="_blank" >SS02030027: Water systems and water management in the Czech Republic in conditions of climate change</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)<br>S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů