Effects of the roots of Cynodon dactylon and Schefflera heptaphylla on water infiltration rate and soil hydraulic conductivity

Water infiltration rate and hydraulic conductivity in vegetated soil are two vital hydrological parameters for agriculturists to determine availability of soil moisture for assessing crop growths and yields, and also for engineers to carry out stability calculations of vegetated slopes. However, any...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrological processes Vol. 29; no. 15; pp. 3342 - 3354
Main Authors: Leung, A. K., Garg, A., Coo, J. L., Ng, C. W. W., Hau, B. C. H.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Chichester Blackwell Publishing Ltd 15.07.2015
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:
China
climate
Cynodon dactylon
ecological restoration
engineers
evapotranspiration
Fluid dynamics
Fluid flow
Grasses
hydraulic conductivity
Hydraulics
Hydrology
Infiltration
infiltration rate
Roots
Schefflera
Soil (material)
soil suction
soil water
summer
tensiometers
trees
vegetation
water infiltration rate
China, People's Rep
China
ISSN:0885-6087, 1099-1085
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Water infiltration rate and hydraulic conductivity in vegetated soil are two vital hydrological parameters for agriculturists to determine availability of soil moisture for assessing crop growths and yields, and also for engineers to carry out stability calculations of vegetated slopes. However, any effects of roots on these two parameters are not well‐understood. This study aims to quantify the effects of a grass species, Cynodon dactylon, and a tree species, Schefflera heptaphylla, on infiltration rate and hydraulic conductivity in relation to their root characteristics and suction responses. The two selected species are commonly used for ecological restoration and rehabilitation in many parts of the world and South China, respectively. A series of in‐situ double‐ring infiltration tests was conducted during a wet summer, while the responses of soil suction were monitored by tensiometers. When compared to bare soil, the vegetated soil has lower infiltration rate and hydraulic conductivity. This results in at least 50% higher suction retained in the vegetated soil. It is revealed that the effects of root‐water uptake by the selected species on suction were insignificant because of the small evapotranspiration (<0.2 mm) when the tests were conducted under the wet climate. There appears to have no significant difference (less than 10%) of infiltration rates, hydraulic conductivity and suction retained between the grass‐covered and the tree‐covered soil. However, the grass and tree species having deeper root depth and greater Root Area Index (RAI) retained higher suction. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-1SSQV743-K
EU FP7 Marie Curie Career Integration Grant - No. PICG14-GA-2013-631541
ArticleID:HYP10452
Research Grants Council of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR - No. HKUST6/CRF/12R
istex:9B147FC154F1255AFB6F3733F924C3DAA89B76B3
Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China - No. 2012CB719805
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0885-6087
1099-1085
DOI:10.1002/hyp.10452