Articles | Volume 23, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2751-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2751-2019
© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
28 Jun 2019
Research article |
| 28 Jun 2019
Mechanisms of consistently disjunct soil water pools over (pore) space and time
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Calle Jordi Girona, 18–26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina
State University, 2720 Faucette Dr, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA
Pilar Llorens
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Calle Jordi Girona, 18–26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Carles Cayuela
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Calle Jordi Girona, 18–26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Francesc Gallart
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Calle Jordi Girona, 18–26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Jérôme Latron
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Calle Jordi Girona, 18–26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Related authors
Shiqin Wang, Zhixiong Zhang, Shoucai Wei, Wenbo Zheng, Binbin Liu, Matthias Sprenger, Yanjun Shen, and Yizhang Zhang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-391, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-391, 2023
Preprint under review for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
By seasonal isotopic signatures of precipitation and groundwater, we obtained the mechanism of groundwater recharge dominated by preferential soil flow and the cause of nitrate variation. Large pores in soils accelerate the infiltration of water and contamination, increasing groundwater recharge while increasing the risk of contamination.Groundwater recharge shows different hysteresis characteristics due to the combination of geological and anthropogenic factors.
Matthias Sprenger, Pilar Llorens, Francesc Gallart, Paolo Benettin, Scott T. Allen, and Jérôme Latron
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4093–4107, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4093-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4093-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Our catchment-scale transit time modeling study shows that including stable isotope data on evapotranspiration in addition to the commonly used stream water isotopes helps constrain the model parametrization and reveals that the water taken up by plants has resided longer in the catchment storage than the water leaving the catchment as stream discharge. This finding is important for our understanding of how water is stored and released, which impacts the water availability for plants and humans.
Matthias Sprenger, Doerthe Tetzlaff, Jim Buttle, Hjalmar Laudon, and Chris Soulsby
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3965–3981, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3965-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3965-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We estimated water ages in the upper critical zone with a soil physical model (SWIS) and found that the age of water stored in the soil, as well as of water leaving the soil via evaporation, transpiration, or recharge, was younger the higher soil water storage (inverse storage effect). Travel times of transpiration and evaporation were different. We conceptualized the subsurface into fast and slow flow domains and the water was usually half as young in the fast as in the slow flow domain.
Matthias Sprenger, Doerthe Tetzlaff, and Chris Soulsby
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3839–3858, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3839-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3839-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We sampled the isotopic composition in the top 20 cm at four different sites in the Scottish Highlands at 5 cm intervals over 1 year. The relationship between the soil water isotopic fractionation and evapotranspiration showed a hysteresis pattern due to a lag response to onset and offset of the evaporative losses. The isotope data revealed that vegetation had a significant influence on the soil evaporation with evaporation being double from soils beneath Scots pine compared to heather.
Lisa Angermann, Conrad Jackisch, Niklas Allroggen, Matthias Sprenger, Erwin Zehe, Jens Tronicke, Markus Weiler, and Theresa Blume
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3727–3748, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3727-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3727-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the temporal dynamics and response velocities of lateral preferential flow at the hillslope. The results are compared to catchment response behavior to infer the large-scale implications of the observed processes. A large portion of mobile water flows through preferential flow paths in the structured soils, causing an immediate discharge response. The study presents a methodological approach to cover the spatial and temporal domain of these highly heterogeneous processes.
Conrad Jackisch, Lisa Angermann, Niklas Allroggen, Matthias Sprenger, Theresa Blume, Jens Tronicke, and Erwin Zehe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3749–3775, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3749-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3749-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Rapid subsurface flow in structured soils facilitates fast vertical and lateral redistribution of event water. We present its in situ exploration through local measurements and irrigation experiments. Special emphasis is given to a coherent combination of hydrological and geophysical methods. The study highlights that form and function operate as conjugated pairs. Dynamic imaging through time-lapse GPR was key to observing both and to identifying hydrologically relevant structures.
Francesc Gallart, Sebastián González-Fuentes, and Pilar Llorens
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-427, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-427, 2023
Preprint under review for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
Normally the lighter Oxygen and Hydrogen isotopes are preferably evaporated from a water body, which becomes enriched in heavy isotopes. But we observed that, in a water body subject to prolonged evaporation, some periods of heavy isotope depletion instead of enrichment happened. Furthermore, the usual models that describe the isotopy of evaporating waters may be in error if the atmospheric conditions of temperature and relative humidity are time-averaged instead of evaporation flux-weighted.
Shiqin Wang, Zhixiong Zhang, Shoucai Wei, Wenbo Zheng, Binbin Liu, Matthias Sprenger, Yanjun Shen, and Yizhang Zhang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-391, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-391, 2023
Preprint under review for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
By seasonal isotopic signatures of precipitation and groundwater, we obtained the mechanism of groundwater recharge dominated by preferential soil flow and the cause of nitrate variation. Large pores in soils accelerate the infiltration of water and contamination, increasing groundwater recharge while increasing the risk of contamination.Groundwater recharge shows different hysteresis characteristics due to the combination of geological and anthropogenic factors.
Juan Pinos, Markus Flury, Jérôme Latron, and Pilar Llorens
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-382, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-382, 2022
Revised manuscript under review for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated how stemflow (intercepted rainwater by the tree crown that travels down the stem) infiltrates within the soil. We simulated stemflow, applying coloured water along a tree trunk. Coloured patterns, observed when we excavated the soil after the experiment, were used to view and quantify preferential flow in the soil. We found that stemflow was mainly funnelled belowground along tree roots and macropores. Soil moisture near the trunk was affected both vertically and horizontally.
Matthias Sprenger, Pilar Llorens, Francesc Gallart, Paolo Benettin, Scott T. Allen, and Jérôme Latron
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 4093–4107, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4093-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-4093-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Our catchment-scale transit time modeling study shows that including stable isotope data on evapotranspiration in addition to the commonly used stream water isotopes helps constrain the model parametrization and reveals that the water taken up by plants has resided longer in the catchment storage than the water leaving the catchment as stream discharge. This finding is important for our understanding of how water is stored and released, which impacts the water availability for plants and humans.
Rafael Poyatos, Víctor Granda, Víctor Flo, Mark A. Adams, Balázs Adorján, David Aguadé, Marcos P. M. Aidar, Scott Allen, M. Susana Alvarado-Barrientos, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Luiza Maria Aparecido, M. Altaf Arain, Ismael Aranda, Heidi Asbjornsen, Robert Baxter, Eric Beamesderfer, Z. Carter Berry, Daniel Berveiller, Bethany Blakely, Johnny Boggs, Gil Bohrer, Paul V. Bolstad, Damien Bonal, Rosvel Bracho, Patricia Brito, Jason Brodeur, Fernando Casanoves, Jérôme Chave, Hui Chen, Cesar Cisneros, Kenneth Clark, Edoardo Cremonese, Hongzhong Dang, Jorge S. David, Teresa S. David, Nicolas Delpierre, Ankur R. Desai, Frederic C. Do, Michal Dohnal, Jean-Christophe Domec, Sebinasi Dzikiti, Colin Edgar, Rebekka Eichstaedt, Tarek S. El-Madany, Jan Elbers, Cleiton B. Eller, Eugénie S. Euskirchen, Brent Ewers, Patrick Fonti, Alicia Forner, David I. Forrester, Helber C. Freitas, Marta Galvagno, Omar Garcia-Tejera, Chandra Prasad Ghimire, Teresa E. Gimeno, John Grace, André Granier, Anne Griebel, Yan Guangyu, Mark B. Gush, Paul J. Hanson, Niles J. Hasselquist, Ingo Heinrich, Virginia Hernandez-Santana, Valentine Herrmann, Teemu Hölttä, Friso Holwerda, James Irvine, Supat Isarangkool Na Ayutthaya, Paul G. Jarvis, Hubert Jochheim, Carlos A. Joly, Julia Kaplick, Hyun Seok Kim, Leif Klemedtsson, Heather Kropp, Fredrik Lagergren, Patrick Lane, Petra Lang, Andrei Lapenas, Víctor Lechuga, Minsu Lee, Christoph Leuschner, Jean-Marc Limousin, Juan Carlos Linares, Maj-Lena Linderson, Anders Lindroth, Pilar Llorens, Álvaro López-Bernal, Michael M. Loranty, Dietmar Lüttschwager, Cate Macinnis-Ng, Isabelle Maréchaux, Timothy A. Martin, Ashley Matheny, Nate McDowell, Sean McMahon, Patrick Meir, Ilona Mészáros, Mirco Migliavacca, Patrick Mitchell, Meelis Mölder, Leonardo Montagnani, Georgianne W. Moore, Ryogo Nakada, Furong Niu, Rachael H. Nolan, Richard Norby, Kimberly Novick, Walter Oberhuber, Nikolaus Obojes, A. Christopher Oishi, Rafael S. Oliveira, Ram Oren, Jean-Marc Ourcival, Teemu Paljakka, Oscar Perez-Priego, Pablo L. Peri, Richard L. Peters, Sebastian Pfautsch, William T. Pockman, Yakir Preisler, Katherine Rascher, George Robinson, Humberto Rocha, Alain Rocheteau, Alexander Röll, Bruno H. P. Rosado, Lucy Rowland, Alexey V. Rubtsov, Santiago Sabaté, Yann Salmon, Roberto L. Salomón, Elisenda Sánchez-Costa, Karina V. R. Schäfer, Bernhard Schuldt, Alexandr Shashkin, Clément Stahl, Marko Stojanović, Juan Carlos Suárez, Ge Sun, Justyna Szatniewska, Fyodor Tatarinov, Miroslav Tesař, Frank M. Thomas, Pantana Tor-ngern, Josef Urban, Fernando Valladares, Christiaan van der Tol, Ilja van Meerveld, Andrej Varlagin, Holm Voigt, Jeffrey Warren, Christiane Werner, Willy Werner, Gerhard Wieser, Lisa Wingate, Stan Wullschleger, Koong Yi, Roman Zweifel, Kathy Steppe, Maurizio Mencuccini, and Jordi Martínez-Vilalta
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2607–2649, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2607-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2607-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Transpiration is a key component of global water balance, but it is poorly constrained from available observations. We present SAPFLUXNET, the first global database of tree-level transpiration from sap flow measurements, containing 202 datasets and covering a wide range of ecological conditions. SAPFLUXNET and its accompanying R software package
sapfluxnetrwill facilitate new data syntheses on the ecological factors driving water use and drought responses of trees and forests.
Juan Pinos, Jérôme Latron, Kazuki Nanko, Delphis F. Levia, and Pilar Llorens
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4675–4690, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4675-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4675-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Water that drips or splashes from a canopy or passes through it is termed throughfall. This is the first known study to examine interrelationships between throughfall isotopic fractionation and throughfall drop size. Working in a mountainous Scots pine forest, we found that throughfall splash droplets were more prevalent at the onset of rain when vapour pressure deficits were larger. This finding has important implications for water mixing in the canopy and for theories of canopy interception.
Mariano Moreno-de-las-Heras, Luis Merino-Martín, Patricia M. Saco, Tíscar Espigares, Francesc Gallart, and José M. Nicolau
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2855–2872, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2855-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2855-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This study shifts from present discussions of the connectivity theory to the practical application of the connectivity concept for the analysis of runoff and sediment dynamics in Mediterranean dry slope systems. Overall, our results provide evidence for the feasibility of using the connectivity concept to understand how the spatial distribution of vegetation and micro-topography (including rills) interact with rainfall dynamics to generate spatially continuous runoff and sediment fluxes.
Francesc Gallart, Jana von Freyberg, María Valiente, James W. Kirchner, Pilar Llorens, and Jérôme Latron
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1101–1107, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1101-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1101-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
How catchments store and release rain or melting water is still not well known. Now, it is broadly accepted that most of the water in streams is older than several months, and a relevant part may be many years old. But the age of water depends on the stream regime, being usually younger during high flows. This paper tries to provide tools for better analysing how the age of waters varies with flow in a catchment and for comparing the behaviour of catchments diverging in climate, size and regime.
Daniele Penna, Luisa Hopp, Francesca Scandellari, Scott T. Allen, Paolo Benettin, Matthias Beyer, Josie Geris, Julian Klaus, John D. Marshall, Luitgard Schwendenmann, Till H. M. Volkmann, Jana von Freyberg, Anam Amin, Natalie Ceperley, Michael Engel, Jay Frentress, Yamuna Giambastiani, Jeff J. McDonnell, Giulia Zuecco, Pilar Llorens, Rolf T. W. Siegwolf, Todd E. Dawson, and James W. Kirchner
Biogeosciences, 15, 6399–6415, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6399-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6399-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding how water flows through ecosystems is needed to provide society and policymakers with the scientific background to manage water resources sustainably. Stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen in water are a powerful tool for tracking water fluxes, although the heterogeneity of natural systems and practical methodological issues still limit their full application. Here, we examine the challenges in this research field and highlight new perspectives based on interdisciplinary research.
Matthias Sprenger, Doerthe Tetzlaff, Jim Buttle, Hjalmar Laudon, and Chris Soulsby
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3965–3981, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3965-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3965-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We estimated water ages in the upper critical zone with a soil physical model (SWIS) and found that the age of water stored in the soil, as well as of water leaving the soil via evaporation, transpiration, or recharge, was younger the higher soil water storage (inverse storage effect). Travel times of transpiration and evaporation were different. We conceptualized the subsurface into fast and slow flow domains and the water was usually half as young in the fast as in the slow flow domain.
Matthias Sprenger, Doerthe Tetzlaff, and Chris Soulsby
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3839–3858, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3839-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3839-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We sampled the isotopic composition in the top 20 cm at four different sites in the Scottish Highlands at 5 cm intervals over 1 year. The relationship between the soil water isotopic fractionation and evapotranspiration showed a hysteresis pattern due to a lag response to onset and offset of the evaporative losses. The isotope data revealed that vegetation had a significant influence on the soil evaporation with evaporation being double from soils beneath Scots pine compared to heather.
Lisa Angermann, Conrad Jackisch, Niklas Allroggen, Matthias Sprenger, Erwin Zehe, Jens Tronicke, Markus Weiler, and Theresa Blume
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3727–3748, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3727-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3727-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the temporal dynamics and response velocities of lateral preferential flow at the hillslope. The results are compared to catchment response behavior to infer the large-scale implications of the observed processes. A large portion of mobile water flows through preferential flow paths in the structured soils, causing an immediate discharge response. The study presents a methodological approach to cover the spatial and temporal domain of these highly heterogeneous processes.
Conrad Jackisch, Lisa Angermann, Niklas Allroggen, Matthias Sprenger, Theresa Blume, Jens Tronicke, and Erwin Zehe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3749–3775, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3749-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3749-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
Rapid subsurface flow in structured soils facilitates fast vertical and lateral redistribution of event water. We present its in situ exploration through local measurements and irrigation experiments. Special emphasis is given to a coherent combination of hydrological and geophysical methods. The study highlights that form and function operate as conjugated pairs. Dynamic imaging through time-lapse GPR was key to observing both and to identifying hydrologically relevant structures.
Related subject area
Subject: Vadose Zone Hydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Theory development
Mixed formulation for an easy and robust numerical computation of sorptivity
Signal contribution of distant areas to cosmic-ray neutron sensors – implications for footprint and sensitivity
Prediction of the absolute hydraulic conductivity function from soil water retention data
Technical note: A sigmoidal soil water retention curve without asymptote that is robust when dry-range data are unreliable
Compaction effects on evaporation and salt precipitation in drying porous media
Evaporation front and its motion
Hysteresis in soil hydraulic conductivity as driven by salinity and sodicity – a modeling framework
HESS Opinions: Unsaturated infiltration – the need for a reconsideration of historical misconceptions
Sigmoidal water retention function with improved behaviour in dry and wet soils
The challenges of an in situ validation of a nonequilibrium model of soil heat and moisture dynamics during fires
Anatomy of the 2018 agricultural drought in the Netherlands using in situ soil moisture and satellite vegetation indices
Beyond Perrault's experiments: repeatability, didactics and complexity
Energy states of soil water – a thermodynamic perspective on soil water dynamics and storage-controlled streamflow generation in different landscapes
Hydrological characterization of cave drip waters in a porous limestone: Golgotha Cave, Western Australia
Soil water stable isotopes reveal evaporation dynamics at the soil–plant–atmosphere interface of the critical zone
Soil water migration in the unsaturated zone of semiarid region in China from isotope evidence
Governing equations of transient soil water flow and soil water flux in multi-dimensional fractional anisotropic media and fractional time
A thermodynamic formulation of root water uptake
Soil–aquifer phenomena affecting groundwater under vertisols: a review
How effective is river restoration in re-establishing groundwater–surface water interactions? – A case study
Recharge estimation and soil moisture dynamics in a Mediterranean, semi-arid karst region
Relations between macropore network characteristics and the degree of preferential solute transport
Impacts of conservation tillage on the hydrological and agronomic performance of Fanya juus in the upper Blue Nile (Abbay) river basin
Averaged water potentials in soil water and groundwater, and their connection to menisci in soil pores, field-scale flow phenomena, and simple groundwater flows
Laurent Lassabatere, Pierre-Emmanuel Peyneau, Deniz Yilmaz, Joseph Pollacco, Jesús Fernández-Gálvez, Borja Latorre, David Moret-Fernández, Simone Di Prima, Mehdi Rahmati, Ryan D. Stewart, Majdi Abou Najm, Claude Hammecker, and Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 895–915, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-895-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-895-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Sorptivity is one of the most important parameters for quantifying water infiltration into soils. In this study, we propose a mixed formulation that avoids numerical issues and allows for the computation of sorptivity for all types of models chosen for describing the soil hydraulic functions and all initial and final conditions. We show the benefits of using the mixed formulation with regard to modeling water infiltration into soils.
Martin Schrön, Markus Köhli, and Steffen Zacharias
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 723–738, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-723-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-723-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a new analytical concept to answer long-lasting questions of the cosmic-ray neutron sensing community, such as
what is the influence of a distant area or patches of different land use on the measurement signal?or
is the detector sensitive enough to detect a change of soil moisture (e.g. due to irrigation) in a remote field at a certain distance?The concept may support signal interpretation and sensor calibration, particularly in heterogeneous terrain.
Andre Peters, Tobias L. Hohenbrink, Sascha C. Iden, Martinus Th. van Genuchten, and Wolfgang Durner
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-431, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2022-431, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for HESS
Short summary
Short summary
The soil hydraulic conductivity function is usually predicted from the water retention curve (WRC) with the requirement of at least one measured conductivity data point for scaling the function. We propose a new scheme of absolute hydraulic conductivity prediction from the WRC without the need of measured conductivity data. Testing the new prediction with independent data shows good results. This scheme can be used when insufficient or no conductivity data are available.
Gerrit Huibert de Rooij
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5849–5858, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5849-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5849-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The way soils capture infiltrating water affects crops and natural vegetation as well as groundwater recharge. This retention of soil water is captured by a mathematical function that covers all water contents from very dry to water-saturated. Unfortunately, data in the dry range are often absent or unreliable. I modified an earlier function to be more robust in the absence of dry-range data, and present a computer program to estimate the parameters of the new function.
Nurit Goldberg-Yehuda, Shmuel Assouline, Yair Mau, and Uri Nachshon
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2499–2517, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2499-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2499-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In this work the interactions between soil compaction, evaporation, and salt accumulation at the vadose zone are discussed. Changes at the micro and macro scales of the soil physical and hydraulic properties were studied using high-resolution imagining techniques, alongside column experiments, aiming to characterize water flow and evaporation processes at natural, compacted, and tilled soil conditions. In addition, salt accumulation at the soil profile was examined for these setups.
Jiří Mls
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 397–406, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-397-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-397-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In the paper the evaporation front is considered the interface that separates the wet part of a porous medium from its dry surroundings, and its exact definition in time and space is given. Subsequently, the law of the front's motion is derived. The general problem governing completely the front's motion is formulated and, for a special case, solved numerically. It is shown that the solution makes it possible to locate the rate of vaporization in time and space.
Isaac Kramer, Yuval Bayer, Taiwo Adeyemo, and Yair Mau
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1993–2008, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1993-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1993-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Salinity and sodicity can cause irreversible degradation to soil, threatening agricultural production and food security. To date, very little is known about the degree to which soil degradation can be reversible. We introduce a model for describing this partial reversibility (hysteresis) and lay out the experimental procedures necessary for characterizing the soil in this regard. We must shift our focus from degradation measurements to reversal measurements so that we can maintain healthy soils.
Peter F. Germann
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1097–1101, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1097-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1097-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This is the last paper submitted by Peter Germann before he died in December 2020. Peter reviews the development of capillary flow theory since the work of Briggs (1897) and Richards (1931), who raised capillary flow to a soil hydrological dogma. Attempts to correct the dogma led to concepts of non-equilibrium flow, macropore flow, and preferential flow during infiltration. Viscous film flow is proposed as an alternative approach to capillarity-driven flow during unsaturated infiltration.
Gerrit Huibert de Rooij, Juliane Mai, and Raneem Madi
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 983–1007, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-983-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-983-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The way soils capture infiltrating water affects crops and natural vegetation and groundwater recharge. This retention of soil water is described by a mathematical function that covers all water contents from very dry to water saturated. We combined two existing lines of research to improve the behaviour of a popular function for very dry and very wet conditions. Our new function could handle a wider range of conditions than earlier curves. We provide fits to a wide range of soils.
William J. Massman
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 685–709, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-685-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-685-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Increasing fire frequency and severity now poses a threat to most of the world's wildlands and forested ecosystems and their benefits. The HMV (Heat–Moisture–Vapor) model is a tool to manage fuels to help mitigate the consequences of fire and promote soil and vegetation recovery after fire. The model's performance is surprisingly good, but it also provides insights into the existence of previously unobserved feedbacks and other physical processes that occur during fire.
Joost Buitink, Anne M. Swank, Martine van der Ploeg, Naomi E. Smith, Harm-Jan F. Benninga, Frank van der Bolt, Coleen D. U. Carranza, Gerbrand Koren, Rogier van der Velde, and Adriaan J. Teuling
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 6021–6031, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-6021-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-6021-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The amount of water stored in the soil is critical for the productivity of plants. Plant productivity is either limited by the available water or by the available energy. In this study, we infer this transition point by comparing local observations of water stored in the soil with satellite observations of vegetation productivity. We show that the transition point is not constant with soil depth, indicating that plants use water from deeper layers when the soil gets drier.
Stefano Barontini and Matteo Settura
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1907–1926, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1907-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1907-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
More than 300 years after its first appearance, Perrault's De l'origine des fontaines provokes intriguing stimuli and suggestions. We discuss its epistemological relevance through the lens of the repeatability of the experiments, of the didactic aspects which arise for modern teaching of hydrology, and of the author's attitude in facing the complexity of the hydrological processes. The analysis shows that the birth of modern hydrology and the scientific revolution were closely entwined.
Erwin Zehe, Ralf Loritz, Conrad Jackisch, Martijn Westhoff, Axel Kleidon, Theresa Blume, Sibylle K. Hassler, and Hubert H. Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 971–987, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-971-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-971-2019, 2019
Kashif Mahmud, Gregoire Mariethoz, Andy Baker, and Pauline C. Treble
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 977–988, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-977-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-977-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores the relationship between drip water and rainfall in a SW Australian karst, where both intra- and interannual hydrological variations are strongly controlled by seasonal variations in recharge. The hydrological behavior of cave drips is examined at daily resolution with respect to mean discharge and the flow variation. We demonstrate that the analysis of the time series produced by cave drip loggers generates useful hydrogeological information that can be applied generally.
Matthias Sprenger, Doerthe Tetzlaff, and Chris Soulsby
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3839–3858, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3839-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3839-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We sampled the isotopic composition in the top 20 cm at four different sites in the Scottish Highlands at 5 cm intervals over 1 year. The relationship between the soil water isotopic fractionation and evapotranspiration showed a hysteresis pattern due to a lag response to onset and offset of the evaporative losses. The isotope data revealed that vegetation had a significant influence on the soil evaporation with evaporation being double from soils beneath Scots pine compared to heather.
Yonggang Yang and Bojie Fu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1757–1767, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1757-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1757-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
This paper investigates soil water migration processes in the Loess Plateau using isotopes. The soil water migration is dominated by piston-type flow, but rarely preferential flow. Soil water from the soil lay (20–40 cm) contributed to 6–12% of plant xylem water, while soil water at the depth of 40–60 cm is the largest component (range from 60 to 66 %), soil water below 60 cm depth contributed 8–14 % to plant xylem water, and only 5–8 % is derived from precipitation.
M. Levent Kavvas, Ali Ercan, and James Polsinelli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 1547–1557, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1547-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1547-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
In this study dimensionally consistent governing equations of continuity and motion for transient soil water flow and water flux in fractional time and in fractional multiple space dimensions in anisotropic media are developed. By the introduction of the Brooks–Corey constitutive relationships, an explicit form of the equations is obtained. The developed governing equations, in their fractional time but integer space forms, show behavior consistent with the previous experimental observations.
Anke Hildebrandt, Axel Kleidon, and Marcel Bechmann
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3441–3454, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3441-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3441-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
This theoretical paper describes the energy fluxes and dissipation along the flow paths involved in root water uptake, an approach that is rarely taken. We show that this provides useful additional insights for understanding the biotic and abiotic impediments to root water uptake. This approach shall be applied to explore efficient water uptake strategies and help locate the limiting processes in the complex soil–plant–atmosphere system.
D. Kurtzman, S. Baram, and O. Dahan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 1–12, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-1-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-1-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Vertisols are cracking clayey, arable soils that often overlay groundwater reservoirs. The soil cracks enable flow that bypasses soil blocks, which results in both relatively fresh recharge of the underlying groundwater and contamination with reactive contaminants. These special phenomena, as well as unique mechanism of salinization after cultivation and relative resilience to contamination by nitrate typical to groundwater under vertisols, are reviewed in this study.
A.-M. Kurth, C. Weber, and M. Schirmer
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2663–2672, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2663-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2663-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
This study investigates the effects of river restoration on groundwater–surface water interactions in a losing urban stream. Investigations were performed using Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS). The results indicate that the highest surface water downwelling occurred at the tip of a gravel island newly installed during river restoration, leading to the conclusion that in this specific setting, river restoration was effective in locally enhancing groundwater–surface water interactions.
F. Ries, J. Lange, S. Schmidt, H. Puhlmann, and M. Sauter
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 1439–1456, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1439-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-1439-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
Soil moisture was observed along a strong semi-arid climatic gradient in a Mediterranean karst area. Soil moisture data and soil hydraulic modelling with Hydrus-1D revealed a strong dependency of percolation fluxes with rainfall amounts and intensity during heavy rainfall events. Spatial and temporal extrapolation of the model illustrated the high variability of seasonal percolation amounts among single years and showed strong correlations between soil depth and potential groundwater recharge.
M. Larsbo, J. Koestel, and N. Jarvis
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 5255–5269, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-5255-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-5255-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
The characteristics of the macropore network determine the potential for fast transport of solutes through soil. Such characteristics computed from 3-dimensional X-ray tomography images were combined with measured solute breakthrough curves and near-saturated hydraulic conductivities. At a given flow rate, smaller macroporosities, poorer local connectivity of the macropore network and smaller near-saturated hydraulic conductivities resulted in a greater degree of preferential transport.
M. Temesgen, S. Uhlenbrook, B. Simane, P. van der Zaag, Y. Mohamed, J. Wenninger, and H. H. G. Savenije
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 4725–4735, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-4725-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-4725-2012, 2012
G. H. de Rooij
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 1601–1614, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1601-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1601-2011, 2011
Cited articles
Allen, S. T., Kirchner, J. W., Braun, S., Siegwolf, R. T. W., and Goldsmith,
G. R.: Seasonal origins of soil water used by trees, Hydrol. Earth Syst.
Sci., 23, 1199–1210, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1199-2019, 2019.
Asano, Y., Compton, J. E., and Church, M. R.: Hydrologic flowpaths influence
inorganic and organic nutrient leaching in a forest soil, Biogeochemistry,
81, 191–204, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-006-9036-4, 2006.
Benettin, P., Queloz, P., Bensimon, M., McDonnell, J. J., and Rinaldo, A.:
Velocities, residence times, tracer breakthroughs in a vegetated lysimeter:
a multitracer experiment, Water Resour. Res., 55, 21–33,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR023894, 2019.
Berry, Z. C., Evaristo, J., Moore, G., Poca, M., Steppe, K., Verrot, L.,
Asbjornsen, H., Borma, L. S., Bretfeld, M., Hervé-Fernández, P.,
Seyfried, M., Schwendenmann, L., Sinacore, K., de Wispelaere, L., and
McDonnell, J.: The two water worlds hypothesis: Addressing multiple working
hypotheses and proposing a way forward, Ecohydrology, 11, e1843,
https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1843, 2017.
Beven, K. and Germann, P.: Macropores and water flow in soils, Water Resour.
Res., 18, 1311–1325, https://doi.org/10.1029/WR018i005p01311, 1982.
Beven, K. and Germann, P.: Macropores and water flow in soils revisited,
Water Resour. Res., 49, 3071–3092, https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20156, 2013.
Brantley, S. L., Eissenstat, D. M., Marshall, J. A., Godsey, S. E.,
Balogh-Brunstad, Z., Karwan, D. L., Papuga, S. A., Roering, J., Dawson, T.
E., Evaristo, J., Chadwick, O., McDonnell, J. J., and Weathers, K. C.:
Reviews and syntheses: On the roles trees play in building and plumbing the
critical zone, Biogeosciences, 14, 5115–5142, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5115-2017,
2017.
Brooks, J. R., Barnard, H. R., Coulombe, R., and McDonnell, J. J.:
Ecohydrologic separation of water between trees and streams in a
Mediterranean climate, Nat. Geosci., 3, 100–104, https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO722, 2010.
Cain, M. R., Ward, A. S., and Hrachowitz, M.: Ecohydrologic separation
alters interpreted hydrologic stores and fluxes in a headwater mountain
catchment, Hydrol. Process., https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13518, in press, 2019.
Casellas, E., Latron, J., Cayuela, C., Bech, J., Udina, M., Sola, Y., Lee, K.-O., and Llorens, P.: Moisture origin and characteristics of the isotopic signature of rainfall in a Mediterranean mountain catchment (Vallcebre, eastern Pyrenees), J. Hydrol., 575, 767–779, 2019.
Cayuela, C., Llorens, P., Sánchez-Costa, E., and Latron, J.:
Modification of the isotopic composition of rainfall by throughfall and
stemflow: The case of Scots pine and downy oak forests under Mediterranean
conditions, Ecohydrology, 7, e2025, https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2025, 2018a.
Cayuela, C., Llorens, P., Sánchez-Costa, E., Levia, D. F., and Latron,
J.: Effect of biotic and abiotic factors on inter and intra-event
variability in stemflow rates in oak and pine stands in a Mediterranean
mountain area, J. Hydrol., 560, 396–406, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.03.050, 2018b.
Coplen, T. B.: Guidelines and recommended terms for expression of
stable-isotope-ratio and gas-ratio measurement results, Rapid Commun. Mass
Spectrom., 25, 2538–2560, https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.5129, 2011.
Craig, H.: Isotopic variations in meteoric waters, Science, 133, 1702–1703,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.133.3465.1702, 1961.
Dubbert, M. and Werner, C.: Water fluxes mediated by vegetation: emerging
isotopic insights at the soil and atmosphere interfaces, New Phytol., 221,
1754–1763, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15547, 2019.
Dubbert, M., Caldeira, M. C., Dubbert, D., and Werner, C.: A pool-weighted
perspective on the two-water-worlds hypothesis, New Phytol., 222,
1271–1283, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15670, 2019.
Evaristo, J., Kim, M., Haren, J., Pangle, L. A., Harman, C. J., Troch, P.
A., and McDonnell, J. J.: Characterizing the fluxes and age distribution of
soil water, plant water, and deep percolation in a model tropical ecosystem,
Water Resour. Res., 55, 3307–3327, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR023265, 2019.
Fenicia, F., Wrede, S., Kavetski, D., Pfister, L., Hoffmann, L., Savenije,
H. H. G., and McDonnell, J. J.: Assessing the impact of mixing assumptions
on the estimation of streamwater mean residence time, Hydrol. Process., 24,
1730–1741, https://doi.org/10.1002/Hyp.7595, 2010.
Gallart, F., Llorens, P., Latron, J., and Regüés, D.: Hydrological
processes and their seasonal controls in a small Mediterranean mountain
catchment in the Pyrenees, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 6, 527–537,
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-6-527-2002, 2002.
Geris, J., Tetzlaff, D., McDonnell, J., Anderson, J., Paton, G., and
Soulsby, C.: Ecohydrological separation in wet, low energy northern
environments? A preliminary assessment using different soil water extraction
techniques, Hydrol. Process., 29, 5139–5152, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10603, 2015.
Gerke, H. H. and van Genuchten, M. T.: A dual-porosity model for simulating
the preferential movement of water and solutes in structured porous media,
Water Resour. Res., 29, 305–319, https://doi.org/10.1029/92WR02339, 1993.
Gessler, A., Ferrio, J. P., Hommel, R., Treydte, K., Werner, R. A., and
Monson, R. K.: Stable isotopes in tree rings: Towards a mechanistic
understanding of isotope fractionation and mixing processes from the leaves
to the wood, Tree Physiol., 34, 796–818, https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpu040, 2014.
Gierke, C., Newton, B. T., and Phillips, F. M.: Soil-water dynamics and tree
water uptake in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico (USA): A stable
isotope study, Hydrogeol. J., 24, 805–818, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-016-1403-1,
2016.
Goldsmith, G. R., Muñoz-Villers, L. E., Holwerda, F., McDonnell, J. J.,
Asbjornsen, H., and Dawson, T. E.: Stable isotopes reveal linkages among
ecohydrological processes in a seasonally dry tropical montane cloud forest,
Ecohydrology, 5, 779–790, https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.268, 2012.
Good, S. P., Noone, D., and Bowen, G.: Hydrologic connectivity constrains
partitioning of global terrestrial water fluxes, Science, 349, 175–177,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa5931, 2015.
Haese, B., Werner, M., and Lohmann, G.: Stable water isotopes in the coupled
atmosphere–land surface model ECHAM5-JSBACH, Geosci. Model Dev., 6,
1463–1480, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-6-1463-2013, 2013.
Hervé-Fernández, P., Oyarzún, C., Brumbt, C., Huygens, D.,
Bodé, S., Verhoest, N. E. C., and Boeckx, P.: Assessing the “two water
worlds” hypothesis and water sources for native and exotic evergreen
species in south-central Chile, Hydrol. Process., 30, 4227–4241,
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10984, 2016.
Hewlett, J. D. and Hibbert, A. R.: Factors affecting the response of small
watersheds to precipitation in humid areas, Forest Hydrol., 275–290, 1967.
Hrachowitz, M., Savenije, H., Bogaard, T. A., Tetzlaff, D., and Soulsby, C.:
What can flux tracking teach us about water age distribution patterns and
their temporal dynamics?, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 533–564,
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-533-2013, 2013.
IAEA/WMO: Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation: The GNIP Database, available at: https://www.iaea.org/services/networks/gnip, last access: 8 February 2019.
Klaus, J. and McDonnell, J. J.: Hydrograph separation using stable isotopes:
Review and evaluation, J. Hydrol., 505, 47–64,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.09.006, 2013.
Knighton, J., Saia, S. M., Morris, C. K., Archiblad, J. A., and Walter, M.
T.: Ecohydrologic Considerations for Modeling of Stable Water Isotopes in a
Small Intermittent Watershed, Hydrol. Process., 31, 2438–2452,
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11194, 2017.
Koeniger, P., Gaj, M., Beyer, M., and Himmelsbach, T.: Review on soil water
isotope based groundwater recharge estimations, Hydrol. Process., 30,
2817–2834, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10775, 2016.
Landwehr, J. M. and Coplen, T. B.: Line-conditioned excess: a new method for
characterizing stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios in hydrologic
systems, in: International Conference on Isotopes in Environmental Studies,
Aquatic Forum, Monte-Carlo, Monaco, 25–29 October 2004, IAEA, Vienna,
132–135, 2006.
Latron, J., Llorens, P., and Gallart, F.: The Hydrology of Mediterranean
Mountain Areas, Geogr. Compass, 3, 2045–2064,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-8198.2009.00287.x, 2009.
Li, Z., Jasechko, S., and Si, B.: Uncertainties in tritium mass balance
models for groundwater recharge estimation, J. Hydrol., 571, 150–158,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.01.030, 2019.
Llorens, P., Gallart, F., Cayuela, C., Roig-Planasdemunt, M., Casellas, E.,
Molina, A. J., Moreno de las Heras, M., Bertran, G., Sánchez-Costa, E.,
and Latron, J.: What have we learnt about mediterranean catchment hydrology?
30 years observing hydrological processes in the Vallcebre research
catchments, Geogr. Res. Lett., 44, 475–502, https://doi.org/10.18172/cig.3432, 2018.
Martín-Gómez, P., Barbeta, A., Voltas, J., Peñuelas, J.,
Dennis, K., Palacio, S., Dawson, T. E., and Ferrio, J. P.: Isotope-ratio
infrared spectroscopy: a reliable tool for the investigation of plant-water
sources?, New Phytol., 207, 914–927, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13376, 2015.
McDonnell, J. J.: The two water worlds hypothesis: ecohydrological
separation of water between streams and trees?, WIREs Water, 1, 323–329,
https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1027, 2014.
McMillan, H., Tetzlaff, D., Clark, M., and Soulsby, C.: Do time-variable
tracers aid the evaluation of hydrological model structure? A multimodel
approach, Water Resour. Res., 48, W05501, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011WR011688, 2012.
Molina, A. J., Llorens, P., Garcia-Estringana, P., Moreno de las Heras, M.,
Cayuela, C., Gallart, F., and Latron, J.: Contributions of throughfall,
forest and soil characteristics to near-surface soil water-content
variability at the plot scale in a mountainous Mediterranean area, Sci.
Total Environ., 647, 1421–1432, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.020, 2019.
Oerter, E. and Bowen, G.: In situ monitoring of H and O stable isotopes in
soil water reveals ecohydrologic dynamics in managed soil systems,
Ecohydrology, 10, e1841, https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1841, 2017.
Orlowski, N., Pratt, D. L., and McDonnell, J. J.: Intercomparison of soil
pore water extraction methods for stable isotope analysis, Hydrol. Process.,
30, 3434–3449, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10870, 2016.
Schaap, M. G., Leij, F. J., and van Genuchten, M. T.: ROSETTA: a computer
program for estimating soil hydraulic parameters with hierarchical
pedotransfer functions, J. Hydrol., 251, 163–176,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(01)00466-8, 2001.
Schjonning, P.: Size Distribution of Dispersed and Aggregated Particles and
of Soil Pores in 12 Danish Soils, Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B
– Soil & Plant Science, 42, 26–33, https://doi.org/10.1080/09064719209410196, 1992.
Sprenger, M., Herbstritt, B., and Weiler, M.: Established methods and new
opportunities for pore water stable isotope analysis, Hydrol. Process., 29,
5174–5192, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10643, 2015.
Sprenger, M., Erhardt, M., Riedel, M., and Weiler, M.: Historical tracking
of nitrate in contrasting vineyards using water isotopes and nitrate depth
profiles, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 222, 185–192,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.02.014, 2016a.
Sprenger, M., Leistert, H., Gimbel, K., and Weiler, M.: Illuminating
hydrological processes at the soil-vegetation-atmosphere interface with
water stable isotopes, Rev. Geophys., 54, 674–704,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2015RG000515, 2016b.
Sprenger, M., Tetzlaff, D., Buttle, J., Laudon, H., and Soulsby, C.: Water
ages in the critical zone of long-term experimental sites in northern
latitudes, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3965–3981,
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3965-2018, 2018a.
Sprenger, M., Tetzlaff, D., Buttle, J. M., Laudon, H., Leistert, H.,
Mitchell, C. P. J., Snelgrove, J., Weiler, M., and Soulsby, C.: Measuring
and modelling stable isotopes of mobile and bulk soil water, Vadose Zone J.,
17, 170149, https://doi.org/10.2136/VZJ2017.08.0149, 2018b.
Sprenger, M., Stumpp, C., Weiler, M., Aeschbach, W., Allen, S. T., Benettin,
P., Dubbert, M., Hartmann, A., Hrachowitz, M., Kirchner, J. W., McDonnell,
J. J., Orlowski, N., Penna, D., Pfahl, S., Rinderer, M., Rodriguez, N. B.,
Schmidt, M., and Werner, C.: The demographics of water: A review of water
ages in the critical zone, Rev. Geophys., https://doi.org/10.1029/2018RG000633, in press, 2019.
Stumpp, C. and Maloszewski, P.: Quantification of preferential flow and flow
heterogeneities in an unsaturated soil planted with different crops using
the environmental isotope δ18O, J. Hydrol., 394, 407–415,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.09.014, 2010.
Stumpp, C., Maloszewski, P., Stichler, W., and Maciejewski, S.:
Quantification of the heterogeneity of the unsaturated zone based on
environmental deuterium observed in lysimeter experiments, Hydrolog. Sci. J., 52, 748–762, https://doi.org/10.1623/hysj.52.4.748, 2007.
Tsuruta, K., Yamamoto, H., Katsuyama, M., Kosugi, Y., Okumura, M., and
Matsuo, N.: Effects of cryogenic vacuum distillation on the stable isotope
ratios of soil water, Hydrol. Res. Lett., 13, 1–6, https://doi.org/10.3178/hrl.13.1,
2019.
van Genuchten, M. T.: A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic
conductivity of unsaturated soils, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 44, 892–898,
1980.
Wang, L., Caylor, K. K., Villegas, J. C., Barron-Gafford, G. A., Breshears,
D. D., and Huxman, T. E.: Partitioning evapotranspiration across gradients
of woody plant cover: Assessment of a stable isotope technique, Geophys.
Res. Lett., 37, L09401, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL043228, 2010.
Short summary
We find that the stable isotopic compositions of mobile and matrix bound soil water are continuously different over 8 months. Long-term data further show that these isotopic differences result from the refilling of small soil pores by isotopically depleted rains during low soil moisture conditions. Thus, subsurface water is not well mixed, but flow velocities and storage in soils are highly variable; this has important implications for ecohydrological studies and soil hydrological modeling.
We find that the stable isotopic compositions of mobile and matrix bound soil water are...
