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Characteristics of deep drainage and soil water in the mobile sandy lands of Inner Mongolia, northern China

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Abstract

Quantification of deep drainage and the response of soil water content to rainfall patterns are critical for an effective management strategy of soil water conservation and groundwater utilization. However, there has been little information on how rainfall characteristics influence soil water dynamics and deep drainage in mobile sandy lands. We used an underground chamber to examine the responses of deep drainage and soil water content in mobile sandy lands to rainfall characteristics in Inner Mongolia during the growing seasons of 2010, 2011 and 2012. Results showed that rainfall in this area was dominated by small events (≤5 mm), which increased soil water content in the surface soil layers (0–40 cm), but did not increase soil water content in the deeper soil layers (greater than 40 cm). Soil water content at the 0–100 cm depth increased significantly when the total amount of rain was >20 mm. Rainfall amount, intensity and the duration of dry intervals were significantly related to the soil water content in different soil layers. Deep drainage was significantly correlated with rainfall amount and intensity, but not with the duration of dry intervals. The coefficients of deep drainage in the mobile sandy lands ranged from 61.30% to 67.94% during the growing seasons. Our results suggested that rainfall infiltration in the mobile sandy lands had considerable potential to increase soil water storage while recharging the groundwater in this region.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Naiman Desertification Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    XinPing Liu, YuHui He, XueYong Zhao, TongHui Zhang, LaMei Zhang, YunHua Ma, ShuXia Yao, ShaoKun Wang & ShuiLian Wei

  2. Laboratory of Stress Ecophysiology and Biotechnology, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    XinPing Liu, YuHui He, XueYong Zhao, TongHui Zhang, LaMei Zhang, YunHua Ma, ShuXia Yao, ShaoKun Wang & ShuiLian Wei

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  1. XinPing Liu
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Liu, X., He, Y., Zhao, X. et al. Characteristics of deep drainage and soil water in the mobile sandy lands of Inner Mongolia, northern China. J. Arid Land 7, 238–250 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-014-0095-4

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