Specifications

9.
Accession number: 20130115869518
Title: Impact of alpine meadow degradation on soil hydraulic properties over the
Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Zeng, Chen1, 2, 3 ; Zhang, Fan1, 2 ; Wang, Quanjiu3, 4 ; Chen, Yingying1 ; Joswiak,
Daniel R.1/曾晨;;王全九;;;
Author affiliation:
1 Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institutes of
Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10085, China
2 Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology and Biodiversity, Institutes of Tibetan Plateau Research,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10085, China
3 State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of
Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yangling 712100, China
4 Institute of Water Resources, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China
Corresponding author: Zeng, C. ([e-mail])
Source title: Journal of Hydrology
Abbreviated source title: J. Hydrol.
Volume: 478
Issue date: January 25, 2013
Publication year: 2013
Pages: 148-156
Language: English
ISSN: 00221694
CODEN: JHYDA7
Document type: Journal article (JA)
Publisher: Elsevier, P.O. Box 211, Amsterdam, 1000 AE, Netherlands
Abstract: Alpine meadow soil is an important ecosystem component of the Qinghai-Tibetan
Plateau. However, the alpine meadow soil is undergoing serious degradation mainly due to global
climate change, overgrazing, human activities and rodents. In this paper, spatial sequencing was
chosen over time succession sequencing to study the changes of soil hydraulic properties under
different degrees of alpine meadow degradation. Soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and
Gardner α both at the surface and at 40-50. cm depth were investigated in the field using tension
infiltrometers. Soil physical and chemical properties, together with the root index at 0-10. cm and
40-50. cm soil layer depths were also analyzed. Pearson correlations were adopted to study the
relationships among the investigated factors and principal component analysis was performed to
identify the dominant factor. Results show that with increasing degree of degradation, soil sand
content increased while soil Ks and Gardner α as well as soil clay content, soil porosity decreased
in the 0-10. cm soil layers, and organic matter and root gravimetric density decreased in both the
0-10. cm and 40-50. cm soil layers. However, soil moisture showed no significant changes with
increasing degradation. With decreasing pressure head, soil unsaturated hydraulic conductivity
reduced more slowly under degraded conditions than non-degraded conditions. Soil Ks and
Gardner α were significantly correlated (P=0.01) with bulk density, soil porosity, soil organic
matter and root gravimetric density. Among these, soil porosity is the dominant factor explaining
about 90% of the variability in total infiltration flow. Under non-degraded conditions, the