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Relationships between precipitation, soil water and groundwater at Chongling catchment with the typical vegetation cover in the Taihang mountainous region, China

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Abstract

Vegetation cover plays an important role in the process of evaporation and infiltration. To explore the relationships between precipitation, soil water and groundwater in Taihang mountainous region, China, precipitation, soil water and water table were observed from 2004 to 2006, and precipitation, soil water and groundwater were sampled in 2004 and 2005 for oxygen-18 and deuterium analysis at Chongling catchment. The soil water was sampled at three sites covered by grass (Carex humilis and Carex lanceolata), acacia and arborvitae respectively. Precipitation is mainly concentrated in rainy seasons and has no significant spatial variance in study area. The stable isotopic compositions are enriched in precipitation and soil water due to the evaporation. The analysis of soil water potential and isotopic profiles shows that evaporation of soil water under arborvitae cover is weaker than under grass and acacia, while soil water evaporation under grass and acacia showed no significant difference. Both δ18O profiles and soil water potential dynamics reveal that the soil under acacia allows the most rapid infiltration rate, which may be related to preferential flow. In the process of infiltration after a rainstorm, antecedent water still takes up over 30% of water in the topsoil. The soil water between depths of 0–115 cm under grass has a residence time of about 20 days in the rainy season. Groundwater recharge from precipitation mainly occurs in the rainy season, especially when rainstorms or successive heavy rain events happen.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (No. 40671034) and Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China: Hydrological Cycle Observing Compare and contrast at different scales catchments: A Case Study of Baiyangdian River Basin (No. 40830636). The collection of water samples was assisted by Water and Soil Conservation Station of Baoding City, Hebei Province of China. The authors give the sincere thanks to Mr. Zhang and other staffs in the station and to Prof. Caitang Liu, Prof. Lin Li for their earnest field work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Beijing, 100101, China

    Xianfang Song, Peng Wang, Jingjie Yu, Xin Liu, Jianrong Liu & Ruiqiang Yuan

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  1. Xianfang Song
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  2. Peng Wang
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  3. Jingjie Yu
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  4. Xin Liu
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  5. Jianrong Liu
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Correspondence to Peng Wang.

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Song, X., Wang, P., Yu, J. et al. Relationships between precipitation, soil water and groundwater at Chongling catchment with the typical vegetation cover in the Taihang mountainous region, China. Environ Earth Sci 62, 787–796 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0566-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0566-7

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