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At least 847 records · Page 47Linked to original sources
USGS2022

Understanding the role of initial soil moisture and precipitation magnitude in flood forecast using a hydrometeorological modelling system

We adapted the WRF-Hydro modelling system to Hurricane Florence (2018) and performed a series of diagnostic experiments to assess the influence of initial soil moisture and precipitation magnitude on flood simulation over the Cape Fear River basin in the United States. Model results suggest that: (1) The modulation effect of initial soil moisture on the flood peak is non-linear and weakens as precipitation magnitude increases. There is a threshold value of the soil saturation, below and above which the sensitivity of flood peak to the soil moisture differentiates substantially; (2) For model spin-up, streamflow needs longer time to reach the ‘practical’ equilibrium (10%) than the soil moisture and latent heat flux. The model uncertainty from spin-up can propagate through the hydrometeorological modelling chain and get amplified into the flood peak; (3) For ensemble flood modelling with a hydrometeorological system, modelling uncertainty is dominated by the precipitation forecast. Spin-up induced uncertainty can be minimized once the model reaches the ‘practical’ equilibrium.

North Carolina↗
USGS2013

Use of soil-streamwater relationships to assess regional patterns of acidic deposition effects in the northeastern USA

Declines of acidic deposition levels by as much as 50% since 1990 have led to partial recovery of surface waters in the northeastern USA but continued depletion of soil calcium through this same period suggests a disconnection between soil and surface water chemistry. To investigate the role of soil-surface water interactions in recovery from acidification, the first regional survey to directly relate soil chemistry to stream chemistry during high flow was implemented in a 4144-km 2 area of the Catskill region of New York, where acidic deposition levels are among the highest in the East. More than 40% of 95 streams sampled in the southern Catskill Mountains were determined to be acidified and had inorganic monomeric aluminum concentrations that exceeded a threshold that is toxic to aquatic biota. More than 80% likely exceeded this threshold during the highest flows, but less than 10% of more than 100 streams sampled were acidified in the northwestern portion of the region. Median Oa horizon soil base saturation ranged from 50% to 80% at 200 sites across the region, but median base saturation in the upper 10 cm of the B horizon was less than 20% across the region and was only 2% in the southern area. Aluminum is likely to be interfering with root uptake of calcium in the mineral horizon in approximately half the sampled watersheds. Stream chemistry was highly variable over the Catskill region and, therefore, did not always reflect the calcium depletion of the B horizon that our sampling suggested was nearly ubiquitous throughout the region. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

New York↗
USGS2024

Influence of irrigation water and soil on annual mercury dynamics in Sacramento Valley rice fields

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a human and environmental toxin produced in flooded soils. Little is known about MeHg in rice ( Oryza Sativa L.) fields in Sacramento Valley, California. The objectives of this study were to quantify mercury fractions in irrigation water and within rice fields and to determine their mercury pools in surface water, soil, and grain. Soil, grain, and surface water (dissolved and particulate) MeHg and total mercury (THg) were monitored in six commercial rice fields throughout a winter fallow season and subsequent growing season. Both dissolved and particulate mercury fractions were higher in fallow season rice field water. Total suspended solids and particulate mercury concentrations were positively correlated ( r = 0.99 and 0.98 for THg and MeHg, respectively), suggesting that soil MeHg was suspended in the water column and potentially exported. Dissolved THg and MeHg concentrations were positively correlated with absorbance at 254 nm ( r = 0.47 and 0.58, respectively) in fallow season field water. In the growing season, fields with higher irrigation water MeHg concentrations (due to recycled water use) had elevated field-water MeHg ( r = 0.86) and grain MeHg concentrations ( r = 0.96). Based on a mass balance analysis, soil mercury pools were orders of magnitude larger than surface water or grain mercury pools; however, fallow season drainage and grain harvest were the primary pathways for MeHg export. Based on these findings, reducing (1) discharge when water is turbid, (2) straw inputs, and (3) use of recycled irrigation water could help reduce mercury exports in rice field drainage water.

California↗
USGS2021

Developing a strategy for the national coordinated soil moisture monitoring network

Soil moisture is a critical land surface variable, affecting a wide variety of climatological, agricultural, and hydrological processes. Determining the current soil moisture status is possible via a variety of methods, including in situ monitoring, remote sensing, and numerical modeling. Although all of these approaches are rapidly evolving, there is no cohesive strategy or framework to integrate these diverse information sources to develop and disseminate coordinated national soil moisture products that will improve our ability to understand climate variability. The National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network initiative has developed a national strategy for network coordination with NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System. The strategy is currently in review within NOAA, and work is underway to implement the initial milestones of the strategy. This update reviews the goals and steps being taken to establish this national-scale coordination for soil moisture monitoring in the United States.

Vadose Zone Journal↗
USGS2000

Hydrologic influences on soil properties along ephemeral rivers in the Namib Desert

Soils were examined along three ephemeral rivers in the Namib Desert to assess the influence of their hydrologic characteristics on soil properties. Soils consisted of layers of fluvially deposited, organic-rich silts, interstratified with fluvial and aeolian sands. The most significant influence of the ephemeral hydrologic regime upon soils was related to the downstream alluviation associated with hydrologic decay. This alluviation increased the silt proportion of soils in the lower reaches of the rivers. Organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous were correlated with silt content, and silt deposition patterns influenced patterns of moisture availability and plant rooting, creating and maintaining micro-habitats for various organisms. Localized salinization occurred in association with wetland sites and soluble salt content tended to increase downstream. Because of the covariance between silt and macronutrients, and the influence of silt upon moisture availability and habitat suitability, alluviation patterns associated with the hydrologic regime strongly influence the structure, productivity, and spatial distribution of biotic communities in ephemeral river ecosystems. (C) 2000 Academic Press.

Journal of Arid Environments↗
USGS2017

Buried soils in a perched dunefield as indicators of late holecene lake-level change in the Lake Superior basin

A stratigraphic analysis of buried soils within the Grand Sable Dunes, a dune field perched 90 m above the southern shore of Lake Superior, reveals a history of eolian activity apparently linked with lake-level fluctuations over the last 5500 yr. A relative rise in the water plane of the Nipissing Great Lakes initially destabilized the lakeward bluff face of the Grand Sable plateau between 5400 and 4600 14 C yr B.P. This led to the burial of the Sable Creek soil by eolian sediments derived from the bluff face. Subsequent episodes of eolian activity appear to be tied to similar destabilizing events; high lake levels may have initiated at least four and perhaps eleven episodes of dune building as expressed by soil burials within the dunes. Intervening low lake levels probably correlate with soil profile development, which varies from the well-developed Sable Creek Spodosol catena to thin organic layers containing in-place stumps and tree trunks. Paleoecological reconstructions available for the area do not imply enough climatic change to account for the episodic dune activity. Burial of soils by fine-fraction sediments links dune-building episodes with destabilization of the lower lake-facing bluff, which is rich in fines.

Michigan↗
USGS2016

Soil moisture and biogeochemical factors influence the distribution of annual Bromus species

Abiotic factors have a strong influence on where annual Bromus species are found. At the large regional scale, temperature and precipitation extremes determine the boundaries of Bromus occurrence. At the more local scale, soil characteristics and climate influence distribution, cover, and performance. In hot, dry, summer-rainfall-dominated deserts (Sonoran, Chihuahuan), little or no Bromus is found, likely due to timing or amount of soil moisture relative to Bromus phenology. In hot, winter-rainfall-dominated deserts (parts of the Mojave Desert), Bromus rubens is widespread and correlated with high phosphorus availability. It also responds positively to additions of nitrogen alone or with phosphorus. On the Colorado Plateau, with higher soil moisture availability, factors limiting Bromus tectorum populations vary with life stage: phosphorus and water limit germination, potassium and the potassium/magnesium ratio affect winter performance, and water and potassium/magnesium affect spring performance. Controlling nutrients also change with elevation. In cooler deserts with winter precipitation (Great Basin, Columbia Plateau) and thus even greater soil moisture availability, B. tectorum populations are controlled by nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium. Experimental nitrogen additions stimulate Bromus performance. The reason for different nutrients limiting in dissimilar climatic regions is not known, but it is likely that site conditions such as soil texture (as it affects water and nutrient availability), organic matter, and/or chemistry interact in a manner that regulates nutrient availability and limitations. Under future drier, hotter conditions, Bromus distribution is likely to change due to changes in the interaction between moisture and nutrient availability.

Book chapter↗
USGS2016

Biological soil crusts as an organizing principle in drylands

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) have been present on Earth’s terrestrial surfaces for billions of years. They are a critical part of ecosystem processes in dryland regions, as they cover most of the soil surface and thus mediate almost all inputs and outputs from soils in these areas. There are many intriguing, but understudied, roles these communities may play in drylands. These include their function in nutrient capture and transformation, influence on the movement and distribution of nutrients and water within dryland soils, ability to structure vascular plant communities, role in creating biodiversity hotspots, and the possibility that they can be used as indicators of soil health. There are still many fascinating aspects of these communities that need study, and we hope that this chapter will facilitate such efforts.

Book chapter↗
USGS2016

Patterns and controls on nitrogen cycling of biological soil crusts

Biocrusts play a significant role in the nitrogen [N ] cycle within arid and semi-arid ecosystems, as they contribute major N inputs via biological fixation and dust capture, harbor internal N transformation processes, and direct N losses via N dissolved, gaseous and erosional loss processes (Fig. 1). Because soil N availability in arid and semi-arid ecosystems is generally low and may limit net primary production (NPP), especially during periods when adequate water is available, understanding the mechanisms and controls of N input and loss pathways in biocrusts is critically important to our broader understanding of N cycling in dryland environments. In particular, N cycling by biocrusts likely regulates short-term soil N availability to support vascular plant growth, as well as long-term N accumulation and maintenance of soil fertility. In this chapter, we review the influence of biocrust nutrient input, internal cycling, and loss pathways across a range of biomes. We examine linkages between N fixation capabilities of biocrust organisms and spatio-temporal patterns of soil N availability that may influence the longer-term productivity of dryland ecosystems. Lastly, biocrust influence on N loss pathways such as N gas loss, leakage of N compounds from biocrusts, and transfer in wind and water erosion are important to understand the maintenance of dryland soil fertility over longer time scales. Although great strides have been made in understanding the influence of biocrusts on ecosystem N cycling, there are important knowledge gaps in our understanding of the influence of biocrusts on ecosystem N cycling that should be the focus of future studies. Because work on the interaction of N cycling and biocrusts was reviewed in Belnap and Lange (2003), this chapter will focus primarily on research findings that have emerged over the last 15 years (2000-2015).

Book chapter↗
USGS2016

Biological soil crusts: An organizing principle in dryland ecosystems (aka: the role of biocrusts in arid land hydrology)

Biocrusts exert a strong influence on hydrological processes in drylands by modifying numerous soil properties that affect water retention and movement in soils. Yet, their role in these processes is not clearly understood due to the large number of factors that act simultaneously and can mask the biocrust effect. The influence of biocrusts on soil hydrology depends on biocrust intrinsic characteristics such as cover, composition, and external morphology, which differ greatly among climate regimes, but also on external factors as soil type, topography and vegetation distribution patterns, as well as interactions among these factors. This chapter reviews the most recent literature published on the role of biocrusts in infiltration and runoff, soil moisture, evaporation and non-rainfall water inputs (fog, dew, water absorption), in an attempt to elucidate the key factors that explain how biocrusts affect land hydrology. In addition to the crust type and site characteristics, recent studies point to the crucial importance of the type of rainfall and the spatial scale at which biocrust effects are analyzed to understand their role in hydrological processes. Future studies need to consider the temporal and spatial scale investigated to obtain more accurate generalizations on the role of biocrusts in land hydrology.

Book chapter↗
USGS1989

Partition and adsorption on soil and mobility of organic pollutants and pesticides

The mechanism for sorption of organic pollutants and pesticides by soil has long been a subject of profound interest because of its direct impacts on the mobility and activity of the compounds in soil. Although a large volume of laboratory and field data on many aspects of soil behavior had been gathered between the 1950s and 1970s, during which period the use of organic pesticides was increased, no general agreement was reached regarding the sorptive mechanism involved. Since the 1970s, the outgrowth of public concern over environmental contamination further stimulated research in this subject. The development of this field of research has now reached a point that the diverse characteristics of soil sorption can be placed in a much better perspective. This enables researchers to reexamine old and new data for consistency and for assessing the activity of organic pollutants and pesticides in soil.

Book chapter↗
USGS1992

The Mauna Loa environmental matrix: foliar and soil nutrients

The accumulation of total carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in soils, available soil nutrients, and foliar nutrients in the native dominant Metrosideros polymorpha were determined across a wide elevational range on 9 lava flows on Mauna Loa, Hawai'i. The flows included a young (<140 y) and an old (>2800 y) a??a?? (rough surface texture) and pa??hoehoe (smooth) flow on the wet east and dry northwest side of the mountain. Soil element pools and nutrient availability increased with flow age independent of climate. The dry sites accumulated organic matter and nutrients more slowly than comparable wet sites, but relative nutrient availability to plants (as indicated by soil assays and foliar nutrients) was greater in the dry sites. Accumulation of soil organic matter and nutrients occurred most rapidly in lowerelevation sites on the young flows, but the largest accumulations occurred at higher elevations on old flows. The range of sites sampled represents a complete and largely independent matrix of major factors governing ecosystem structure and function. ?? 1992 Springer-Verlag.

Oecologia↗
USGS1989

A comparison of soil climate and biological activity along an elevation gradient in the eastern Mojave Desert

Soil temperature, moisture, and CO2 were monitored at four sites along an elevation transect in the eastern Mojave Desert from January to October, 1987. Climate appeared to be the major factor controlling CO2 partial pressures, primarily through its influence of rates of biological reactions, vegetation densities, and organic matter production. With increasing elevation, and increasing actual evapotranspiration, the organic C, plant density, and the CO2 content of the soils increased. Between January and May, soil CO2 concentrations at a given site were closely related to variations in soil temperature. In July and October, temperatures had little effect on CO2, presumably due to low soil moisture levels. Up to 75% of litter placed in the field in March was lost by October whereas, for the 3 lower elevations, less than 10% of the litter placed in the field in April was lost through decomposition processes. ?? 1989 Springer-Verlag.

Oecologia↗
USGS1986

Vegetation and soil recovery in wilderness campsites closed to visitor use

Recreational use of wilderness results in impacts to vegetation and soil in trails and campsites. Traditionally, campsite impact studies have compared campsites receiving various levels of use with unused control areas. Field studies in Sequoia National Park, California, indicate that the degree of impact to vegetation and soils also varies within campsites. The central areas of campsites, where trampling is concentrated, show lower plant species diversity, differences in relative species cover, more highly compacted soils, and lower soil nutrient concentrations than do peripheral, moderately trampled, and untrampled areas within the same campsite. Three years after closure to visitor use, the central areas show less increase in mean foliar plant cover, and soils remain more highly compacted than in previously moderately trampled areas of the same sites. Changes in relative species cover over time are used to assess both resiliency to trampling and species composition recovery within campsites closed to visitor use.

California↗
USGS2013

Derivation of soil screening thresholds to protect chisel-toothed kangaroo rat from uranium mine waste in northern Arizona

Chemical data from soil and weathered waste material samples collected from five uranium mines north of the Grand Canyon (three reclaimed, one mined but not reclaimed, and one never mined) were used in a screening-level risk analysis for the Arizona chisel-toothed kangaroo rat ( Dipodomys microps leucotis ); risks from radiation exposure were not evaluated. Dietary toxicity reference values were used to estimate soil-screening thresholds presenting risk to kangaroo rats. Sensitivity analyses indicated that body weight critically affected outcomes of exposed-dose calculations; juvenile kangaroo rats were more sensitive to the inorganic constituent toxicities than adult kangaroo rats. Species-specific soil-screening thresholds were derived for arsenic (137 mg/kg), cadmium (16 mg/kg), copper (1,461 mg/kg), lead (1,143 mg/kg), nickel (771 mg/kg), thallium (1.3 mg/kg), uranium (1,513 mg/kg), and zinc (731 mg/kg) using toxicity reference values that incorporate expected chronic field exposures. Inorganic contaminants in soils within and near the mine areas generally posed minimal risk to kangaroo rats. Most exceedances of soil thresholds were for arsenic and thallium and were associated with weathered mine wastes.

Arizona↗
USGS2002

Temporal variation in community composition, pigmentation, and Fv/Fm of desert cyanobacterial soil crusts

Summers on the Colorado Plateau (USA) are typified by harsh conditions such as high temperatures, brief soil hydration periods, and high UV and visible radiation. We investigated whether community composition, physiological status, and pigmentation might vary in biological soil crusts as a result of such conditions. Representative surface cores were sampled at the ENE, WSW, and top microaspects of 20 individual soil crust pedicels at a single site in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, in spring and fall of 1999. Frequency of cyanobacterial taxa, pigment concentrations, and dark adapted quantum yield (Fv/Fm) were measured for each core. The frequency of major cyanobacterial taxa was lower in the fall compared to spring. The less-pigmented cyanobacterium Microcoleus vaginatus showed significant mortality when not in the presence of Nostoc spp. and Scytonema myochrous (Dillw.) Agardh. (both synthesizers of UV radiation-linked pigments) but had little or no mortality when these species were abundant. We hypothesize that the sunscreen pigments produced by Nostoc and Scytonema in the surface of crusts protect other, less-pigmented taxa. When fall and spring samples were compared, overall cyanobacterial frequency was lower in fall, while sunscreen pigment concentrations, chlorophyll a concentration, and Fv/Fm were higher in fall. The ratio of cyanobacterial frequency/chlorophyll a concentrations was 2-3 times lower in fall than spring. Because chlorophyll a is commonly used as a surrogate measure of soil cyanobacterial biomass, these results indicate that seasonality needs to be taken into consideration. In the fall sample, most pigments associated with UV radiation protection or repair were at their highest concentrations on pedicel tops and WSW microaspects, and at their lowest concentrations on ENE microaspects. We suggest that differential pigment concentrations between microaspects are induced by varying UV radiation dosage at the soil surface on these different microaspects.

Microbial Ecology↗
USGS2003

Mercury in soil near a long-term air emission source in southeastern Idaho

At the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in southeastern Idaho, a 500 °C fluidized bed calciner was intermittently operated for 37 years, with measured Hg emission rates of 9–11 g/h. Surface soil was sampled at 57 locations around the facility to determine the spatial distribution of Hg fallout and surface Hg variability, and to predict the total residual Hg mass in the soil from historical emissions. Measured soil concentrations were slightly higher ( p <0.05) within 5 km of the source but were overall very low (15–20 ng/g) compared to background Hg levels published for similar soils in the USA (50–70 ng/g). Concentrations decreased 4%/cm with depth and were found to be twice as high under shrubs and in depressions. Mass balance calculations accounted for only 2.5–20% of the estimated total Hg emitted over the 37-year calciner operating history. These results suggest that much of the Hg deposited from calciner operations may have been reduced in the soil and re-emitted as Hg(0) to the global atmospheric pool.

Idaho↗
USGS2012

Warming and the dependence of limber pine ( Pinus flexilis ) establishment on summer soil moisture within and above its current elevation range

Continued changes in climate are projected to alter the geographic distributions of plant species, in part by affecting where individuals can establish from seed. We tested the hypothesis that warming promotes uphill redistribution of subalpine tree populations by reducing cold limitation at high elevation and enhancing drought stress at low elevation. We seeded limber pine (Pinus flexilis) into plots with combinations of infrared heating and water addition treatments, at sites positioned in lower subalpine forest, the treeline ecotone, and alpine tundra. In 2010, first-year seedlings were assessed for physiological performance and survival over the snow-free growing season. Seedlings emerged in midsummer, about 5–8 weeks after snowmelt. Low temperature was not observed to limit seedling photosynthesis or respiration between emergence and October, and thus experimental warming did not appear to reduce cold limitation at high elevation. Instead, gas exchange and water potential from all sites indicated a prevailing effect of summer moisture stress on photosynthesis and carbon balance. Infrared heaters raised soil growing degree days (base 5 °C, p < 0.001) and August–September mean soil temperature ( p < 0.001). Despite marked differences in vegetation cover and meteorological conditions across sites, volumetric soil moisture content (θ) at 5–10 cm below 0.16 and 0.08 m 3 m -3 consistently corresponded with moderate and severe indications of drought stress in midday stem water potential, stomatal conductance, photosynthesis, and respiration. Seedling survival was greater in watered plots than in heated plots ( p = 0.01), and negatively related to soil growing degree days and duration of exposure to θ < 0.08 m 3 m -3 in a stepwise linear regression model ( p < 0.0001). We concluded that seasonal moisture stress and high soil surface temperature imposed a strong limitation to limber pine seedling establishment across a broad elevation gradient, including at treeline, and that these limitations are likely to be enhanced by further climate warming.

Colorado↗