Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatio-temporal variation of soil moisture in a fixed dune at the southern edge of the Gurbantunggut Desert in Xinjiang, China

  • Published:
Journal of Arid Land Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Soil moisture is critical for vegetation growth in deserts. However, detailed data regarding the soil moisture distribution in space and time in the Gurbantunggut Desert of China have not yet been reported. In this study, we conducted a series of in situ observation experiments in a fixed sand dune at the southern edge of the Gurbantunggut Desert from February 2014 to October 2016, to explore the spatio-temporal variation of soil moisture content, investigate the impact of Haloxylon ammodendron (C. A. Mey.) Bungeon soil moisture content in its root zone, and examine the factors influencing the soil moisture spatial pattern. One-way analysis of variance, least significant difference tests and correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that the soil moisture content exhibited annual periodicity and the temporal variation of soil moisture content throughout a year could be divided into three periods, namely, a moisture-gaining period, a moisture-losing period and a moisture-stable period. According to the temporal and spatial variability, the 0–400 cm soil profile could be divided into two layers: an active layer with moderate variability and a stable layer with weak variability. The temporal variability was larger than the spatial variability in the active layer, and the mean profile soil moisture content at different slope positions displayed the trend of decreasing with increasing relative height and mainly followed the order of interdune area>west and east slopes>slope top. The mean profile soil moisture content in the root zone of dead H. ammodendron individuals was significantly higher than that in the root zones of adult and young individuals, while the soil moisture content in the root zone of adult individuals was slightly higher than that in the root zone of young individuals with no significant difference. The spatial pattern of soil moisture was attributable to the combined effects of snowfall, vegetation and soil texture, whereas the effects of rainfall and evaporation were not significant. The findings may offer a foundation for the management of sandy soil moisture and vegetation restoration in arid areas.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barnett T P, Adam J C, Lettenmaier D P. 2005. Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions. Nature, 438(7066): 303–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baroni G, Ortuani B, Facchi A, et al. 2013. The role of vegetation and soil properties on the spatio-temporal variability of the surface soil moisture in a maize-cropped field. Journal of Hydrology, 489: 148–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brocca L, Melone F, Moramarco T, et al. 2010. Spatial-temporal variability of soil moisture and its estimation across scales. Water Resources Research, 46(2): W02516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buttafuoco G, Castrignanò A. 2005. Study of the spatio-temporal variation of soil moisture under forest using intrinsic random functions of order k. Geoderma, 128(3–4): 208–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen L D, Huang Z L, Gong J, et al. 2007. The effect of land cover/vegetation on soil water dynamic in the hilly area of the loess plateau, China. Catena, 70(2): 200–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Y B, Hu S J, Zhu H, et al. 2014. Soil evaporation of Haloxylon ammodendron community in the southern Gurbantunggut Desert. Journal of Desert Research, 36(1): 190–198. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Choi M, Jacobs J M. 2007. Soil moisture variability of root zone profiles within SMEX02 remote sensing footprints. Advances in Water Resources, 30(4): 883–896.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowan I R. 1965. Transport of water in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. Journal of Applied Ecology, 2(1): 221–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dai Y, Zheng X J, Tang L S, et al. 2015. Stable oxygen isotopes reveal distinct water use patterns of two Haloxylon species in the Gurbantonggut Desert. Plant and Soil, 389(1–2): 73–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Odorico P, Caylor K, Okin G S, et al. 2007. On soil moisture—vegetation feedbacks and their possible effects on the dynamics of dryland ecosystems. Journal of Geophysical Research, 112(G4): G04010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Famiglietti J S, Rudnicki J W, Rodell M. 1998. Variability in surface moisture content along a hillslope transect: Rattlesnake Hill, Texas. Journal of Hydrology, 210(1–4): 259–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gad M R M, Kelan S S. 2012. Soil seed bank and seed germination of sand dunes vegetation in North Sinai — Egypt. Annals of Agricultural Sciences, 57(1): 63–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao L, Shao M, Peng X, et al. 2015. Spatio-temporal variability and temporal stability of water contents distributed within soil profiles at a hillslope scale. Catena, 132: 29–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao X, Wu P, Zhao X, et al. 2011. Soil moisture variability along transects over a well-developed gully in the Loess Plateau, China. Catena, 87(3): 357–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao X, Wu P, Zhao X, et al. 2013. Estimation of spatial soil moisture averages in a large gully of the Loess Plateau of China through statistical and modeling solutions. Journal of Hydrology, 486: 466–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Aparicio L, Gómez J M, Zamora R, et al. 2005. Canopy vs. soil effects of shrubs facilitating tree seedlings in Mediterranean montane ecosystems. Journal of Vegetation Science, 16(2): 191–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Plaza A, Martínez-Mena M, Albaladejo J, et al. 2001. Factors regulating spatial distribution of soil water content in small semiarid catchments. Journal of Hydrology, 253(1–4): 211–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heathman G C, Cosh M H, Merwade V, et al. 2012. Multi-scale temporal stability analysis of surface and subsurface soil moisture within the Upper Cedar Creek Watershed, Indiana. Catena, 95: 91–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu W, Shao M, Wang Q, et al. 2009. Time stability of soil water storage measured by neutron probe and the effects of calibration procedures in a small watershed. Catena, 79(1): 72–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu W, Shao M, Han F, et al. 2011. Spatio-temporal variability behavior of land surface soil water content in shrub- and grassland. Geoderma, 162(3–4): 260–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang Y, Wang Y, Zhao Y, et al. 2015. Spatiotemporal distribution of soil moisture and salinity in the Taklimakan Desert highway shelterbelt. Water, 7(8): 4343–4361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hupet F, Vanclooster M. 2002. Intraseasonal dynamics of soil moisture variability within a small agricultural maize cropped field. Journal of Hydrology, 261(1–4): 86–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jia Y H, Shao M A. 2013. Temporal stability of soil water storage under four types of revegetation on the northern Loess Plateau of China. Agricultural Water Management, 117: 33–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joshi C, Mohanty B P. 2010. Physical controls of near-surface soil moisture across varying spatial scales in an agricultural landscape during SMEX02. Water Resoure Research, 46(12): W12503.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kemp P R. 1983. Phenological patterns of Chihuahuan Desert plants in relation to the timing of water availability. Journal of Ecology, 71(2): 427–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li B, Rodell M. 2013. Spatial variability and its scale dependency of observed and modeled soil moisture over different climate regions. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 17: 1177–1188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li H, Shen W, Zou C, et al. 2013. Spatio-temporal variability of soil moisture and its effect on vegetation in a desertified aeolian riparian ecotone on the Tibetan Plateau, China. Journal of Hydrology, 479: 215–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Zhao C Y, Song Y J, et al. 2010. Spatial patterns of desert annuals in relation to shrub effects on soil moisture. Journal of Vegetation Science, 21(2): 221–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li J F. 1991. Xinjiang Climate. Beijing: Meteorological Press, 115–124. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu H, Zhou H F, Liu X. 2015. Analysis of soil moisture migration on sand dune under the condition of heavy rainfall. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 29(2): 157–162. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Meza E, Whitford W G. 1996. Stemflow, throughfall and channelization of stemflow by roots in three Chihuahuan desert shrubs. Journal of Arid Environments, 32(3): 271–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mauchamp A, Janeau J L. 1993. Water funnelling by the crown of Flourensia cernua, a Chihuahuan Desert shrub. Journal of Arid Environments, 25(3): 299–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meerveld T V, McDonnell J J. 2006. On the interrelations between topography, soil depth, soil moisture, transpiration rates and species distribution at the hillslope scale. Advances in Water Resources, 29(2): 293–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno-de las Heras M, Espigares T, Merino-Martín L, et al. 2011. Water-related ecological impacts of rill erosion processes in Mediterranean-dry reclaimed slopes. Catena, 84(3): 114–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Návar J, Bryan R. 1990. Interception loss and rainfall redistribution by three semi-arid growing shrubs in northeastern Mexico. Journal of Hydrology, 115(1–4): 51–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen D R, Bouma J. 1985. Soil Spatial Variability. Wageningen: Pudoc Press, 1–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nulsen R A, Bligh K J, Baxter I N, et al. 1986. The fate of rainfall in a mallee and heath vegetated catchment in southern Western Australia. Austral Ecology, 11(4): 361–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan Y X, Wang X P, Jia R L, et al. 2008. Spatial variability of surface soil moisture content in a re-vegetated desert area in Shapotou, Northern China. Journal of Arid Environments, 72(9): 1675–1683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan Y X, Wang X P. 2009. Factors controlling the spatial variability of surface soil moisture within revegetated-stabilized desert ecosystems of the Tengger Desert, Northern China. Hydrological Processes, 23(11): 1591–1601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan Y X, Wang X P, Zhang Y F, et al. 2015. Spatio-temporal variability of root zone soil moisture in artificially revegetated and natural ecosystems at an arid desert area, NW China. Ecological Engineering, 79: 100–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Penna D, Borga M, Norbiato D, et al. 2009. Hillslope scale soil moisture variability in a steep alpine terrain. Journal of Hydrology, 364(3–4): 311–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Penna D, Brocca L, Borga M, et al. 2013. Soil moisture temporal stability at different depths on two alpine hillslopes during wet and dry periods. Journal of Hydrology, 477: 55–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porporato A, D’Odorico P, Laio F, et al. 2002. Ecohydrology of water-controlled ecosystems. Advances in Water Resources, 25(8–12): 1335–1348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qian Y B, Wu Z N. 2010. Environments of Gurbantonggut Desert. Beijing: Science Press, 1–196. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Reichle R H, Koster R D, Dong J, et al. 2004. Global soil moisture from satellite observations, land surface models, and ground data: Implications for data assimilation. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 5(3): 430–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds J F, Virginia R A, Kemp P R, et al. 1999. Impact of drought on desert shrubs: Effects of seasonality and degree of resource island development. Ecological Monographs, 69(1): 69–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez-Iturbe I, D’Odorico P, Porporato A, et al. 1999. On the spatial and temporal links between vegetation, climate, and soil moisture. Water Resoure Research, 35(12): 3709–3722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum U, Bogena H R, Herbst M, et al. 2012. Seasonal and event dynamics of spatial soil moisture patterns at the small catchment scale. Water Resources Research, 48(10): W10544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vereecken H, Huisman J A, Bogena H, et al. 2008. On the value of soil moisture measurements in vadose zone hydrology: A review. Water Resoure Research, 44(4): W00D06.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Pan Y, Zhang Y, et al. 2013. Temporal stability analysis of surface and subsurface soil moisture for a transect in artificial revegetation desert area, China. Journal of Hydrology, 507: 100–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Shao M, Liu Z. 2013. Vertical distribution and influencing factors of soil water content within 21-m profile on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Geoderma, 193–194: 300–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Western A W, Blöschl G. 1999. On the spatial scaling of soil moisture. Journal of Hydrology, 217(3–4): 203–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Western A W, Zhou S L, Grayson R B, et al. 2004. Spatial correlation of soil moisture in small catchments and its relationship to dominant spatial hydrological processes. Journal of Hydrology, 286(1–4): 113–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson D J, Western A W, Grayson R B, et al. 2003. Spatial distribution of soil moisture over 6 and 30 cm depth, Mahurangi river catchment, New Zealand. Journal of Hydrology, 276(1–4): 254–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu H, Li Y, Xu G, et al. 2007. Ecophysiological response and morphological adjustment of two Central Asian desert shrubs towards variation in summer precipitation. Plant Cell and Environment, 30(4): 399–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang Y F, Zhou H F, Xu L G. 2011. Dynamic variations of soil moisture in Haloxylon ammodendron root zone in Gurbantunggut Desert. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 22(7): 1711–1716. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yuan C, Gao G, Fu B. 2016. Stemflow of a xerophytic shrub (Salix psammophila) in northern China: Implication for beneficial branch architecture to produce stemflow. Journal of Hydrology, 539: 577–588.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang P, Shao M. 2013. Temporal stability of surface soil moisture in a desert area of northwestern China. Journal of Hydrology, 505: 91–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou H F, Zheng X J, Zhou B, et al. 2012. Sublimation over seasonal snowpack at the southeastern edge of a desert in central Eurasia. Hydrological Processes, 26(25): 3911–3920.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou H F, Xiao Z Y, Yao H J. 2013. Temporal and spatial variation of soil moisture in dendritic sand dune over Gurbantunggut Desert in central Eurasia. Advances in Water Science, 24(6): 771–777. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41671032, U1303181, U1806215), the National Key Research and Development Programs of China (2016YFC0501401, 2016YFD0200303, 2016YFC0501309, 2016YFC0501201), the National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB429902), and the Key Deployment Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KFZD-SW-112-03-02). We thank all the staffs of the Fukang Desert Ecosystem Observation and Experiment Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for their excellent field and laboratory assistance, and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

Author information

Author notes

  1. The first and second authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Hai Zhu & Jingsong Yang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China

    Hai Zhu, Shunjun Hu, Fidele Karamage, Hao Li & Sihua Fu

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Hai Zhu, Fidele Karamage, Hao Li & Sihua Fu

  4. Akesu National Station of Observation and Research for Oasis Agro-ecosystem, Aksu, 843017, China

    Shunjun Hu

  5. Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Fidele Karamage

Authors
  1. Hai Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shunjun Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jingsong Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fidele Karamage
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hao Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Sihua Fu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jingsong Yang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhu, H., Hu, S., Yang, J. et al. Spatio-temporal variation of soil moisture in a fixed dune at the southern edge of the Gurbantunggut Desert in Xinjiang, China. J. Arid Land 11, 685–700 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-019-0104-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-019-0104-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation