Articles | Volume 27, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4247-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4247-2023
Research article
 | 
01 Dec 2023
Research article |  | 01 Dec 2023

Biocrust-reduced soil water retention and soil infiltration in an alpine Kobresia meadow

Licong Dai, Ruiyu Fu, Xiaowei Guo, Yangong Du, Guangmin Cao, Huakun Zhou, and Zhongmin Hu

Related authors

China's annual forest age dataset at 30 m spatial resolution from 1986 to 2022
Rong Shang, Xudong Lin, Jing M. Chen, Yunjian Liang, Keyan Fang, Mingzhu Xu, Yulin Yan, Weimin Ju, Guirui Yu, Nianpeng He, Li Xu, Liangyun Liu, Jing Li, Wang Li, Jun Zhai, and Zhongmin Hu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-574,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-574, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Predicting parameters of degradation succession processes of Tibetan Kobresia grasslands
L. Lin, Y. K. Li, X. L. Xu, F. W. Zhang, Y. G. Du, S. L. Liu, X. W. Guo, and G. M. Cao
Solid Earth, 6, 1237–1246, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-1237-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-1237-2015, 2015
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Ecohydrology | Techniques and Approaches: Theory development
Canopy structure modulates the sensitivity of subalpine forest stands to interannual snowpack and precipitation variability
Max Berkelhammer, Gerald F. M. Page, Frank Zurek, Christopher Still, Mariah S. Carbone, William Talavera, Laura Hildebrand, James Byron, Kyle Inthabandith, Angellica Kucinski, Melissa Carlson, Kelsey Foss, Wendy Brown, Rosemary W. H. Carroll, Austin Simonpietri, Marshall Worsham, Ian Breckheimer, Anna Ryken, Reed Maxwell, David Gochis, Mark S. Raleigh, Eric Small, and Kenneth H. Williams
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 701–718, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-701-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-701-2025, 2025
Short summary
Assessing recovery time of ecosystems in China: insights into flash drought impacts on gross primary productivity
Mengge Lu, Huaiwei Sun, Yong Yang, Jie Xue, Hongbo Ling, Hong Zhang, and Wenxin Zhang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 613–625, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-613-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-613-2025, 2025
Short summary
Combined impacts of climate change and human activities on blue and green water resources in a high-intensity development watershed
Xuejin Tan, Bingjun Liu, Xuezhi Tan, Zeqin Huang, and Jianyu Fu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 427–445, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-427-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-427-2025, 2025
Short summary
Future response of ecosystem water use efficiency to CO2 effects in the Yellow River Basin, China
Siwei Chen, Yuxue Guo, Yue-Ping Xu, and Lu Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4989–5009, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4989-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4989-2024, 2024
Short summary
Temporal shift in groundwater fauna in southwestern Germany
Fabien Koch, Philipp Blum, Heide Stein, Andreas Fuchs, Hans Jürgen Hahn, and Kathrin Menberg
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4927–4946, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4927-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4927-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Belnap, J., Phillips, S. L., and Miller, M. E.: Response of desert biological soil crusts to alterations in precipitation frequency, Oecologia, 141, 306–316, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1438-6, 2004. 
Belnap, J.: The potential roles of biological soil crusts in dryland hydrologic cycles, Hydrol. Process., 20, 3159–3178, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.6325, 2006. 
Belnap, J., Weber, B., and Büdel, B.: Biological Soil Crusts as an Organizing Principle in Drylands, in: Biological Soil Crusts: An Organizing Principle in Drylands, edited by: Weber, B., Büdel, B., and Belnap, J., Springer International Publishing, Cham, 3–13, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30214-0_1, 2016. 
Chamizo, S., Cantón, Y., Miralles, I., and Domingo, F.: Biological soil crust development affects physicochemical characteristics of soil surface in semiarid ecosystems, Soil Biol. Biochem., 49, 96–105, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2012.02.017, 2012a. 
Chamizo, S., Cantón, Y., Lázaro, R., Solé-Benet, A., and Domingo, F.: Crust Composition and Disturbance Drive Infiltration Through Biological Soil Crusts in Semiarid Ecosystems, Ecosystems, 15, 148–161, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-011-9499-6, 2012b. 
Download
Short summary
We found that, in the 0–30 cm soil layer, soil water retention and soil water content in normal Kobresia meadow (NM) were higher than those in biocrust meadow (BM), whereas the 30–40 cm layer's soil water retention and soil water content in NM were lower than those in BM. The topsoil infiltration rate in BM was lower than that in NM. Our findings revealed that the establishment of biocrust did not improve soil water retention and infiltration.
Share