Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T03:29:06.941Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Stochastic soil moisture dynamic modelling: a case study in the Loess Plateau, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2018

Cong WANG ,
Shuai WANG ,
Bojie FU ,
Lu ZHANG ,
Nan LU  and
Lei JIAO
Cong WANG
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 2871, Beijing 100085, PR China. Email: [email protected]
Shuai WANG
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, PR China.
Bojie FU*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 2871, Beijing 100085, PR China. Email: [email protected]
Lu ZHANG
Affiliation:
CSIRO Land and Water Flagship, Clunies Ross Street, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.
Nan LU
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 2871, Beijing 100085, PR China. Email: [email protected]
Lei JIAO
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 2871, Beijing 100085, PR China. Email: [email protected]
*
*Corresponding author
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Soil moisture is a key factor in the ecohydrological cycle in water-limited ecosystems, and it integrates the effects of climate, soil, and vegetation. The water balance and the hydrological cycle are significantly important for vegetation restoration in water-limited regions, and these dynamics are still poorly understood. In this study, the soil moisture and water balance were modelled with the stochastic soil water balance model in the Loess Plateau, China. This model was verified by monitoring soil moisture data of black locust plantations in the Yangjuangou catchment in the Loess Plateau. The influences of a rainfall regime change on soil moisture and water balance were also explored. Three meteorological stations were selected (Yulin, Yan'an, and Luochuan) along the precipitation gradient to detect the effects of rainfall spatial variability on the soil moisture and water balance. The results showed that soil moisture tended to be more frequent at low levels with decreasing precipitation, and the ratio of evapotranspiration under stress in response to rainfall also changed from 74.0% in Yulin to 52.3% in Luochuan. In addition, the effects of a temporal change in rainfall regime on soil moisture and water balance were explored at Yan'an. The soil moisture probability density function moved to high soil moisture in the wet period compared to the dry period of Yan'an, and the evapotranspiration under stress increased from 59.5% to 72% from the wet period to the dry period. The results of this study prove the applicability of the stochastic model in the Loess Plateau and reveal its potential for guiding the vegetation restoration in the next stage.

Keywords

stochastic modelvegetation restorationwater balancewater stress
Type
Articles
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 109 , Issue 3-4: Earth surface processes and environmental sustainability in China , September 2018 , pp. 437 - 444
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Society of Edinburgh 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

6. References

Bai, Y. & Shao, M. 2009. Soil water properties in a slope of different land use in the wind-water erosion crisscross region on the Loess Plateau. Agricultural Research in the Arid Areas 27, 122–129. [In Chinese.]Google Scholar
Cao, S., Ge, S., Zhang, Z., Chen, L., Qi, F., Fu, B., Mcnulty, S., Shankman, D., Tang, J. & Wang, Y. 2011. Greening China naturally. Ambio A Journal of the Human Environment 40, 828–831.10.1007/s13280-011-0150-8Google Scholar
Caylor, K. K., Scanlon, T. M. & Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. 2009. Ecohydrological optimization of pattern and processes in water-limited ecosystems: a trade-off-based hypothesis. Water Resources Research 45, W08407.10.1029/2008WR007230Google Scholar
Chen, L., Wang, J., Wei, W., Fu, B. & Wu, D. 2010. Effects of landscape restoration on soil water storage and water use in the Loess Plateau region, China. Forest Ecology & Management 259, 1291–1298.10.1016/j.foreco.2009.10.025Google Scholar
Cordova, J. R. & Bras, R. L. 1981. Physically based probabilistic models of infiltration, soil moisture, and actual evapotranspiration. Water Resources Research 17, 93–106.10.1029/WR017i001p00093Google Scholar
Daly, E. & Porporato, A. 2006. Impact of hydroclimatic fluctuations on the soil water balance. Water Resources Research 42, 648–648.10.1029/2005WR004606Google Scholar
D'Odorico, P., Caylor, K., Okin, G. S. & Scanlon, T. M. 2007. On soil moisture–vegetation feedbacks and their possible effects on the dynamics of dryland ecosystems. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres 112, 231–247.10.1029/2006JG000379Google Scholar
D'Odorico, P. & Porporato, A. 2006. Dryland ecohydrology. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.10.1007/1-4020-4260-4Google Scholar
Eagleson, P. S. 1978. Climate, soil, and vegetation: 2. The distribution of annual precipitation derived from observed storm sequences. Water Resources Research 14, 713–721.10.1029/WR014i005p00713Google Scholar
Flerchinger, G. N., Baker, J. M. & Spaans, E. J. A. 1996. A test of the radiative energy balance of the SHAW model for snowcover. Hydrological Processes 10, 1359–1367.Google Scholar
Franz, T. E., Caylor, K. K., Nordbotten, J. M., Rodrigueziturbe, I. & Celia, M. A. 2010. An ecohydrological approach to predicting regional woody species distribution patterns in dryland ecosystems. Advances in Water Resources 33, 215–230.10.1016/j.advwatres.2009.12.003Google Scholar
Franz, T. E., Caylor, K. K., King, E. G., Nordbotten, J. M. & Celia, M. A. 2012. An ecohydrological approach to predicting hillslope-scale vegetation patterns in dryland ecosystems. Water Resources Research 48, 1515.10.1029/2011WR010524Google Scholar
Fu, W., Huang, M., Gallichand, J. & Shao, M. 2012. Optimization of plant coverage in relation to water balance in the Loess Plateau of China. Geoderma , 134–144.10.1016/j.geoderma.2011.12.016Google Scholar
Jiao, L., Lu, N., Sun, G., Ward, E. J. & Fu, B. 2015. Biophysical controls on canopy transpiration in a black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) plantation on the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China. Ecohydrology: Ecosystems, Land and Water Process Interactions, Ecohydrogeomorphology 282, 17–18.Google Scholar
Jiao, L., Lu, N., Fu, B., Gao, G., Wang, S., Jin, T., Zhang, L., Liu, J. & Zhang, D. 2016. Comparison of transpiration between different aged black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) trees on the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China. Journal of Arid Land 8, 1–14.10.1007/s40333-016-0047-2Google Scholar
Kiang, N. Y.-l. 2002. Savannas and seasonal drought: the landscape-leaf connection through optimal stomatal control. Berkeley, CA: University of California. 322 pp.Google Scholar
Laio, F., Porporato, A., Fernandez-Illescas, C. P. & Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. 2001a. Plants in water-controlled ecosystems: active role in hydrologic processes and response to water stress: Iv. Discussion of real cases. Advances in Water Resources 24, 745–762.10.1016/S0309-1708(01)00007-0Google Scholar
Laio, F., Porporato, A., Ridolfi, L. & Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. 2001b. Plants in water-controlled ecosystems: active role in hydrologic processes and response to water stress: Ii. Probabilistic soil moisture dynamics. Advances in Water Resources 24, 707–723.10.1016/S0309-1708(01)00005-7Google Scholar
Li, Y. 2001. Effects of forest on water circle on the Loess Plateau. Journal of Natural Resources 16, 427–432. [In Chinese with English abstract.]Google Scholar
Liang, W., Bai, D., Wang, F., Fu, B., Yan, J., Shuai, W., Yang, Y., Di, L. & Feng, M. 2015. Quantifying the impacts of climate change and ecological restoration on streamflow changes based on a Budyko hydrological model in China's Loess Plateau. Water Resources Research 51, 6500–6519.10.1002/2014WR016589Google Scholar
Liu, Y. 2007. Analysis on the change trend of precipitation in North Shaanxi Province in the Loess Plateau. Arid Zone Research 24, 49–55. [In Chinese.]Google Scholar
Lu, N., Akujärvi, A., Wu, X., Liski, J., Wen, Z., Holmberg, M., Feng, X., Zeng, Y. & Fu, B. 2015. Changes in soil carbon stock predicted by a process-based soil carbon model (yasso07) in the Yanhe watershed of the Loess Plateau. Landscape Ecology 30, 399–413.10.1007/s10980-014-0132-xGoogle Scholar
Lü, Y., Zhang, L., Feng, X., Zeng, Y., Fu, B., Yao, X., Li, J. & Wu, B. 2015. Recent ecological transitions in China: greening, browning, and influential factors. Scientific Reports 5, 8732.Google Scholar
Manfreda, S., Scanlon, T. M. & Caylor, K. K. 2010. On the importance of accurate depiction of infiltration processes on modelled soil moisture and vegetation water stress. Ecohydrology: Ecosystems, Land and Water Process Interactions, Ecohydrogeomorphology 3, 155–165.Google Scholar
McVicar, T. R., Niel, T. G. V., Li, L. T., Wen, Z. M., Yang, Q. K., Li, R. & Jiao, F. 2010. Parsimoniously modelling perennial vegetation suitability and identifying priority areas to support China's re-vegetation program in the Loess Plateau: matching model complexity to data availability. Forest Ecology & Management 259, 1277–1290.10.1016/j.foreco.2009.05.002Google Scholar
Miao, C., Sun, Q., Duan, Q. & Wang, Y. 2016. Joint analysis of changes in temperature and precipitation on the Loess Plateau during the period 1961–2011. Climate Dynamics 47, 3221–3234.10.1007/s00382-016-3022-xGoogle Scholar
Milly, P. C. D. 1993. An analytic solution of the stochastic storage problem applicable to soil water. Water Resources Research 29, 3755–3758.10.1029/93WR01934Google Scholar
Porporato, A., Laio, F., Ridolfi, L. & Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. 2001. Plants in water-controlled ecosystems: active role in hydrologic processes and response to water stress: Iii. Vegetation water stress. Advances in Water Resources 24, 725–744.10.1016/S0309-1708(01)00006-9Google Scholar
Rawls, W. J., Ahuja, L. R., Brakensiek, D. L., Shirmohammadi, A. & Maidment, D. R. 1992. Infiltration and soil water movement, pp. 5.1–5.51.Google Scholar
Ridolfi, L., D'Odorico, P., Porporato, A. & Rodriguez-Iturbe, I. 2000. Impact of climate variability on the vegetation water stress. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres 105, 18013–26.10.1029/2000JD900206Google Scholar
Rodriguez-Iturbe, I., Porporato, A., Ridolfi, L., Isham, V. & Coxi, D. R. 1999. Probabilistic modelling of water balance at a point: the role of climate, soil and vegetation. Proceedings Mathematical Physical & Engineering Sciences 455, 3789–3805.10.1098/rspa.1999.0477Google Scholar
Rodriguez-Iturbe, I., Porporato, A., Laio, F. & Ridolfi, L. 2001. Plants in water-controlled ecosystems: active role in hydrologic processes and response to water stress : I. Scope and general outline. Advances in Water Resources 24, 695–705.10.1016/S0309-1708(01)00004-5Google Scholar
Rodríguez-Iturbe, I. & Porporato, A. 2004. Ecohydrology of water-controlled ecosystems: soil moisture and plant dynamics. New York: Cambridge University Press, United States of America by Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Scholes, R. & Walker, B. 1993. An African savanna. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511565472Google Scholar
Sun, Q., Miao, C., Duan, Q. & Wang, Y. 2015. Temperature and precipitation changes over the Loess Plateau between 1961 and 2011, based on high-density gauge observations. Global & Planetary Change 132, 1–10.10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.05.011Google Scholar
Verma, P., Yeates, J. & Daly, E. 2011. A stochastic model describing the impact of daily rainfall depth distribution on the soil water balance. Advances in Water Resources 34, 1039–1048.10.1016/j.advwatres.2011.05.013Google Scholar
Vervoort, R. W. & van der Zee, S. E. 2008. Simulating the effect of capillary flux on the soil water balance in a stochastic ecohydrological framework. Water Resources Research 44, W08425.10.1029/2008WR006889Google Scholar
Wang, C., Wang, S., Fu, B., Li, Z., Wu, X. & Tang, Q. 2017a. Precipitation gradient determines the tradeoff between soil moisture and soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and species richness in the Loess Plateau, China. Science of the Total Environment 575, 1538–1545.10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.047Google Scholar
Wang, C., Wang, S., Fu, B., Yang, L. & Li, Z. 2017b. Soil moisture variations with land use along the precipitation gradient in the north-south transect of the Loess Plateau. Land Degradation & Development 28, 926–935.10.1002/ldr.2604Google Scholar
Wang, M. C., Wang, J. X., Shi, Q. H. & Zhang, J. S. 2007. Photosynthesis and water use efficiency of Platycladus orientalis and Robinia pseudoacacia saplings under steady soil water stress during different stages of their annual growth period. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 49, 1470–1477.10.1111/j.1672-9072.2007.00561.xGoogle Scholar
Wang, S., Fu, B. J., Gao, G. Y., Yao, X. L. & Zhou, J. 2012. Soil moisture and evapotranspiration of different land cover types in the Loess Plateau, China. Hydrology & Earth System Sciences 16, 2883–2892.10.5194/hess-16-2883-2012Google Scholar
Wang, S., Fu, B., Piao, S., Lü, Y., Ciais, P., Feng, X. & Wang, Y. 2015. Reduced sediment transport in the Yellow River due to anthropogenic changes. Nature Geoscience 9, 38–41.10.1038/ngeo2602Google Scholar
Xia, Y. Q. & Shao, M. A. 2008. Soil water carrying capacity for vegetation: a hydrologic and biogeochemical process model solution. Ecological Modelling 214, 112–124.Google Scholar
Xingyao, P., Lu, Z., Nicholas, J. P., Jun, X. & Yongqiang, Z. 2011. Probabilistic modeling of soil moisture dynamics of irrigated cropland in the north China plain. Hydrological Sciences Journal/journal Des Sciences Hydrologiques 56, 123–137.Google Scholar
Yu, Y., Wei, W., Chen, L. D., Yang, L., Jia, F. Y. & Zhang, H. D. 2015. Responses of vertical soil moisture to rainfall pulses and land uses in a typical loess hilly area, China. Solid Earth 6, 595–608.10.5194/se-6-595-2015Google Scholar
Zhang, L. & Xu, X. 2011. Distribution characters of Robinia pseudoacacia root in Yangou watershed in Yan'an. Journal of Northwest Forestry University 26, 9–14. [In Chinese.]Google Scholar
Zhang, X., Zhao, W., Liu, Y., Fang, X. & Feng, Q. 2016. The relationships between grasslands and soil moisture on the Loess Plateau of China: a review. Catena 145, 56–67.Google Scholar
Zheng, Y., Zhao, Z., Zhou, J., Zhou, H., Liang, Z. & Luo, Z. 2011. The importance of slope aspect and stand age on the photosynthetic carbon fixation capacity of forest: a case study with black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) plantations on the Loess Plateau. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum 33(2), 419–429.Google Scholar
Zhou, J., Fu, B., Gao, G., Lü, Y. & Wang, S. 2016. Effect of restoration vegetation on the stochasticity of soil erosion in a semi-arid environment. Hydrology & Earth System Sciences Discussions 2016, 1–46.Google Scholar