1.Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment,Chinese Academy of Sciences and;Ministry of Education,Yangling,Shaanxi 712100,China
2.Institute of Soil and Water Conservation,Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources,Yangling,Shaanxi 712100,China
3.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China
4.State Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Control,College of;Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering (Institute of Soil and Water Conservation),Northwest A&F University,Yangling,Shaanxi 712100,China
Objective Soil moisture is a vital source for plant water use and groundwater recharge in the loess tableland region. Clarifying the response processes and characteristics of soil moisture to rainfall under different land use types is crucial for efficient utilization of limited water resources and sustainable development of regional ecosystems. Methods Three typical land use types (tableland farmland, grassland, and terraced fields) in the loess tableland region were selected. Based on 30-minute soil moisture monitoring data from 2020 to 2023, the response differences of soil moisture in the 0-300 cm soil layer to rainfall events and the variations in rainfall infiltration characteristics along the soil profile were analyzed for the three land use types. Results 1) Soil moisture response rate (infiltration depth/response time) and maximum infiltration depth differed significantly among land use types, following the order: tableland farmland [(6.82±0.95) cm/h] > grassland [(3.70±0.38) cm/h] > terraced fields [(3.24±0.32) cm/h]. Maximum infiltration depth was: tableland farmland (300 cm) > grassland (200 cm) > terraced fields (160 cm). Tableland farmland exhibited the greatest infiltration depth and response rate, with the response rate reaching up to 35.29 cm/h during heavy rainstorm events. 2) Grassland had the highest rainfall storage efficiency (RSE) [(81.8±11.3)%] and the largest increase in soil water storage (ΔSWS) [(111.7±36.8) mm]. Terraced fields had the lowest RSE [(46.1±11.7)%] during heavy rainstorm events. 3) Soil moisture response was significantly influenced by rainfall amount and duration (p<0.01), and the response degree decreased while the response time increased with soil depth. Conclusion This study reveals the differential response characteristics of soil moisture to rainfall under typical land use types in the loess tableland region. The findings provide a scientific basis for differentiated management of regional water and soil resources, optimization of land use structure, and sustainable development of ecosystems.
ZHANGJ E, LUC Y, QIND Y, et al. Regional "four-water" transformation based on distributed hydrological model[J].Advances in Water Science,2011,22(5):595-604.
[3]
HUANGL M, SHAOM A. Advances and perspectives on soil water research in China′s Loess Plateau[J].Earth-Science Reviews,2019,199:e102962.
[4]
WANGY Q, SHAOM A, SUNH, et al. Response of deep soil drought to precipitation, land use and topography across a semiarid watershed[J].Agricultural and Forest Meteorology,2020,282:e107866.
[5]
DONATM G, LOWRYA L, ALEXANDERL V, et al. More extreme precipitation in the world′s dry and wet regions[J].Nature Climate Change,2016,6(5):508-513.
[6]
CUIJ P, LIANX, HUNTINGFORDC, et al. Global water availability boosted by vegetation-driven changes in atmospheric moisture transport[J].Nature Geoscience,2022,15(12):982-988.
[7]
FELDMANAF, FENGX, FELTONAJ, et al. Plant responses to changing rainfall frequency and intensity[J].Nature Reviews Earth and Environment,2024,5(4):276-294.
[8]
张中彬,彭新华.土壤裂隙及其优先流研究进展[J].土壤学报,2015,52(3):477-488.
[9]
ZHANGZ B, PENGX H. A review of researches on soil cracks and their impacts on preferential flow[J].Acta Pedologica Sinica,2015,52(3):477-488.
CHENGL P, LIUW Z, LIZ, et al. Land use change affects groundwater recharge in the Changwu Loess tableland of China[J].Advances in Water Science,2016,27(5):670-678.
WANGZ Q, TANGX D, DUK, et al. Annual-seasonal dynamics of soil water content in 10 m soil profiles under different land use types in the loess tableland region[J].Acta Ecologica Sinica,2024,44(20):9329-9341.
[14]
CHENJ S, CHENY P, WANGK B, et al. Differences in soil water storage, consumption, and use efficiency of typical vegetation types and their responses to precipitation in the Loess Plateau, China[J].Science of the Total Environment,2023,869:e161710.
[15]
DUY N, WEIY J, WANGY D, et al. Impact of land use conversion patterns on vertical hydrological connectivity in intensive orchards[J].Soil and Tillage Research,2025,253:e106631.
[16]
YUY, WEIW, CHENL D, et al. Responses of vertical soil moisture to rainfall pulses and land uses in a typical loess hilly area, China[J].Solid Earth,2015,6(2):595-608.
[17]
JINZ, GUOL, LINH, et al. Soil moisture response to rainfall on the Chinese Loess Plateau after a long-term vegetation rehabilitation[J].Hydrological Processes,2018,32(12):1738-1754.
LIR X, FANB H, LINK, et al. Effects of different vegetation restoration on rainfall infiltration in the Loess Plateau gully region[J].Journal of Soil and Water Conservation,2025,39(4):60-70.
[20]
王佩佩.黄土高原典型草本植物根系对土壤入渗的影响及空间差异[D].西安:陕西师范大学,2021.
[21]
WANGP P. The effect and spatial variability of typical herbaceous plant roots on soil infiltration in the Loess Plateau[D].Xi'an: Shaanxi Normal University,2021.
[22]
GEF C, XUM X, GONGC, et al. Land cover changes the soil moisture response to rainfall on the Loess Plateau[J].Hydrological Processes,2022,36(11):ee14714.
MAY, MENGC, YUEJ M, et al. Study on preferential flow of soil of artificially planted caragana korshinskii shrubland in different years of desert grassland in Ningxia[J].Acta Ecologica Sinica,2022,42(3):895-903.
ZHENGS K, SIB C, ZHANGZ Q, et al. Mechanism of rainfall infiltration in apple orchards on loess tableland, China[J].Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology,2017,28(9):2870-2878.
HANX Y, LIUW Z, CHENGL P. Vertical distribution characteristics and temporal stability of soil water in deep profile on the loess tableland, northwest China[J].Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology,2017,28(2):430-438.
CHENGL P, LIUW Z, LIZ. Soil water in deep layers under different land use patterns on the loess tableland[J].Acta Ecologica Sinica,2014,34(8):1975-1983.
LUR, ZHANGM J, ZHANGY, et al. Soil water infiltration of artificial platycladus orientalis of Nanshan Mountain in Lanzhou under different rainfall and rainfall intensity[J].Journal of Soil and Water Conservation,2024,38(2):364-376.
LIH, ZHOUS W, LUE, et al. Changes in the structure of summertime precipitation in south China during 1961—2010[J].Climate Change Research,2018,14(3):247-256.
ZHANGX M. Study on the response of soil moisture to rainfall under typical land use in mountain watershed of three gorges reservoir area[D].Wuhan:Huazhong Agricultural University,2023.
[37]
NIMMOJ R, WIEKENKAMPI, ARAKIR, et al. Identifying preferential flow from soil moisture time series: Review of methodologies[J].Vadose Zone Journal,2025,24(2):e70017.
[38]
BAIX, SHAOM A, JIAX X, et al. Prediction of the van Genuchten model soil hydraulic parameters for the 5-m soil profile in China′s Loess Plateau[J].Catena,2022,210:e105889.
[39]
BETTONIM, MAERKERM, BOSINOA, et al. Land use effects on surface runoff and soil erosion in a southern alpine valley[J].Geoderma,2023,435:e116505.
[40]
HIRMASD R, GIMÉNEZD, NEMESA, et al. Climate-induced changes in continental-scale soil macroporosity may intensify water cycle[J].Nature,2018,561(7721):100-103.
[41]
COLL K AMC, ALEMOHAMMADS H, AKBARR, et al. The global distribution and dynamics of surface soil moisture[J].Nature Geoscience,2017,10(2):100-104.
ZHANGZ Y, AIN, LIUG Q, et al. Soil quality characteristics of forests and grasslands returned from farmland and their responses to precipitation in the loess region of northern Shaanxi, China[J].Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering,2020,36(24):73-80.
WANGP, RENZ P, MAX N, et al. Characteristics of dissolved carbon loss on loess slopes and its response to soil and water conservation measures[J].Journal of Soil and Water Conservation,2025,39(2):48-56.
MAL, JINGX X, LIT C, et al. Influence of earthworm activity on soil water infiltration characteristics of soils under different land uses[J].Chinese Journal of Soil Science,2024,55(3):644-650.
YUJ J, FUZ Y, FANGR J, et al. Soil infiltration characteristics of citrus orchards in the cluster depression of karst peaks in northern Guangxi[J].Research of Agricultural Modernization,2023,44(1):161-172.
[50]
LÜH S, ZHUY H, SKAGGST H, et al. Comparison of measured and simulated water storage in dryland terraces of the Loess Plateau, China[J].Agricultural Water Management,2009,96(2):299-306.
[51]
CHEND, WEIW, CHENL D. How can terracing impact on soil moisture variation in China: A meta-analysis[J].Agricultural Water Management,2020,227:e105849.