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Soil water and temperature patterns in an arid desert dune sand

Berndtsson, Ronny LU orcid ; Nodomi, Kanichi ; Yasuda, Hiroshi ; Persson, Thomas ; Chen, Heshen and Jinno, Kenji (1996) In Journal of Hydrology 185(1-4). p.221-240
Abstract

Under arid natural conditions, soil water content governs and limits the number and size of perennial plant species. Thus, plant-available soil water is the main constraint for sustainable control of desert encroachment. To evaluate possibilities for re-vegetation of bare sand surfaces, soil water and temperature patterns for typical sand dunes in a desert climate were investigated. Bare and vegetated soil transects were selected for observation of soil water content and temperature. The investigated soil transects covered crest-to-crest spacings (about 60 m horizontally and 15 m vertically) in a shifting sand dune area. Observations were made at Shapotou field research station bordering the Tengger Desert in Northwestern China. The... (More)

Under arid natural conditions, soil water content governs and limits the number and size of perennial plant species. Thus, plant-available soil water is the main constraint for sustainable control of desert encroachment. To evaluate possibilities for re-vegetation of bare sand surfaces, soil water and temperature patterns for typical sand dunes in a desert climate were investigated. Bare and vegetated soil transects were selected for observation of soil water content and temperature. The investigated soil transects covered crest-to-crest spacings (about 60 m horizontally and 15 m vertically) in a shifting sand dune area. Observations were made at Shapotou field research station bordering the Tengger Desert in Northwestern China. The paper presents two-dimensional properties of soil water content (0.1-3.0 m depth) and temperature (0-1.0 m depth) before and after rainfall. Rainfall (15-22 mm) affected soil water distribution down to 1.5-2.0 m and temperature distribution down to 1.0 m. Soil water appeared to be transported through the apparently highly pervious and homogeneous sand along the dune slopes. High water contents and, thus, infiltration occurred mainly at the non-sloping parts, i.e. the dune crests and bottoms. Rainfall changed the temperature patterns from a mainly horizontally layered appearance before the rainfall to increasingly vertically shaped patterns.

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organization
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Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Hydrology
volume
185
issue
1-4
pages
20 pages
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:0030292979
ISSN
0022-1694
DOI
10.1016/0022-1694(95)02987-7
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Funding Information: This study was supported by the Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries (SAREC) and the Swedish Natural Science Research Council (NFR).
id
48f8402a-d76f-4029-82fb-768e589655fe
date added to LUP
2023-08-17 15:23:18
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2023-10-03 10:18:50
@article{48f8402a-d76f-4029-82fb-768e589655fe,
  abstract     = {{<p>Under arid natural conditions, soil water content governs and limits the number and size of perennial plant species. Thus, plant-available soil water is the main constraint for sustainable control of desert encroachment. To evaluate possibilities for re-vegetation of bare sand surfaces, soil water and temperature patterns for typical sand dunes in a desert climate were investigated. Bare and vegetated soil transects were selected for observation of soil water content and temperature. The investigated soil transects covered crest-to-crest spacings (about 60 m horizontally and 15 m vertically) in a shifting sand dune area. Observations were made at Shapotou field research station bordering the Tengger Desert in Northwestern China. The paper presents two-dimensional properties of soil water content (0.1-3.0 m depth) and temperature (0-1.0 m depth) before and after rainfall. Rainfall (15-22 mm) affected soil water distribution down to 1.5-2.0 m and temperature distribution down to 1.0 m. Soil water appeared to be transported through the apparently highly pervious and homogeneous sand along the dune slopes. High water contents and, thus, infiltration occurred mainly at the non-sloping parts, i.e. the dune crests and bottoms. Rainfall changed the temperature patterns from a mainly horizontally layered appearance before the rainfall to increasingly vertically shaped patterns.</p>}},
  author       = {{Berndtsson, Ronny and Nodomi, Kanichi and Yasuda, Hiroshi and Persson, Thomas and Chen, Heshen and Jinno, Kenji}},
  issn         = {{0022-1694}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  number       = {{1-4}},
  pages        = {{221--240}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Hydrology}},
  title        = {{Soil water and temperature patterns in an arid desert dune sand}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(95)02987-7}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/0022-1694(95)02987-7}},
  volume       = {{185}},
  year         = {{1996}},
}