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Deep soil water infiltration and its dynamic variation in the shifting sandy land of typical deserts in China

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Abstract

Soil moisture is the key resource constraint in arid ecosystems, and has been a focus of research on restoration. However, quantitative studies on the contribution of rainfall to deep soil rainfall infiltration are lacking. In this study, we used the YWB-01 Deep Soil Infiltration Water Recorder which had been invented by ourselves to measure the quantity of rain infiltration into deep soil, 150 cm below ground, in four locations in China: Mu Us Sandy Land and Ulan Buh, Tengger, and Badan Jilin deserts over a 2-year period. We found: (1) Deep soil rainfall infiltration decreased progressively from east to west and from semiarid to arid areas, with two locations completely lacking rainfall infiltration. Heavy rain was important to deep soil infiltration in shifting sandy land of arid and semiarid areas. (2) Seasonal variation of infiltration was correlated with rainfall, with a time lag that was less apparent in areas with more rainfall. (3) For single intense rainfall events, infiltration maximums occurred 40–55 h after the rainfall, during which the infiltration rates increased rapidly before reaching a peak, and then decreased slowly. Continuous infiltration could last about 150 h. Rainfall infiltration was determined by the combined action of intensity, quantity and duration. Rainfall with low intensity, long duration, and large quantity was most favorable for deep soil infiltration. Our results can be used in water resource assessments and protection during eco-restoration in the arid and semiarid areas in China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China

    WenBin Yang, JinNian Tang, HongZhong Dang & Wei Li

  2. State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Gansu Desertification and Aeolian Sand Disaster Combating, Gansu Desert Control Research Institute, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    JinNian Tang

  3. Inner Mongolia Academy of Forestry Science, Huhhot, 010010, China

    HaiRong Liang

Authors
  1. WenBin Yang
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  2. JinNian Tang
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  3. HaiRong Liang
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  4. HongZhong Dang
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  5. Wei Li
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Correspondence to JinNian Tang.

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Yang, W., Tang, J., Liang, H. et al. Deep soil water infiltration and its dynamic variation in the shifting sandy land of typical deserts in China. Sci. China Earth Sci. 57, 1816–1824 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-014-4882-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-014-4882-8

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