Dynamic monitoring of soil bulk density and infiltration rate during coal mining in sandy land with different vegetation

To investigate the effects of coal mining on soil physical properties,sandy lands with three major vegetation types(Salix psammophila,Populus simonii,and Artemisia ordosica)were investigated by the ring knife method and double-ring infiltrometer.Specifically,variations in soil bulk density and water infiltration rate and the influences of coal mining and vegetation type on the properties during different subsidence stages were studied at the Shendong Bulianta mine.The results showed that,in the period before mining,soil bulk density occurred in the order A.ordosica>P.simonii>S.psammophila,with a negative correlation between the initial infiltration rate and steady infiltration rate being observed.In the period during mining and 3 months after mining,there were no significant differences in soil bulk density and water infiltration rate among vegetation types.At 1 year after mining,the soil bulk density occurred in the order A.ordosica>S.psammophila>P.simonii,having a negative correlation with the steady infiltration rate.The water infiltration depths of the S.psammophila,P.simonii and A.ordosica were 50,60,and 30 cm,respectively.The infiltration characters were simulated by the Kostiakov equations,and the simulated and experimental results were consistent.Linear regression revealed that vegetation types and soil bulk density had significant effects on soil initial infiltration rate during the four study periods,and the infiltration rate of the period 1 year after mining was mainly influenced by the soil bulk density of the period before mining.The results indicated that vegetation types had significant effects on soil bulk density,and that the tree-shrub-grass mode was better than one single plantation for water conversation and vegetation recovery in sandy land subjected to mining.

Estimation and inter-comparison of infiltration models in the agricultural area of the Mitidja Plain, Algeria

Infiltration is an important part of the hydrological cycle, and it is one of the main abstractions accounted for in the rainfall-runoff modeling. The main purpose of this study is to compare the infiltration models that were used to assess the infiltration rate of the Mitidja Plain in Algeria. Field infiltration tests were conducted at 40 different sites using a double ring infiltrometer. Five statistical comparison criteria including root mean squared error(RMSE), normalized root mean squared error(NRMSE), coefficient of correlation(CC), Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency(NSE), and Kling-Gupta efficiency(KGE) were used to determine the best performing infiltration model and to confirm anomalies between predicted and observed values. Then we evaluated performance of five models(i.e., the Philip model, Kostiakov model, Modified Kostiakov model, Novel model, and Horton model) in simulating the infiltration process based on the adjusted performance parameters cited above. Results indicated that the Novel model had the best simulated water infiltration process in the Mitidja Plain in Algeria. However, the Philip model was the weakest to simulate the infiltration process. The conclusion of this study can be useful for estimating infiltration rate at various sites using a Novel model when measured infiltration data are not available and are useful for planning and managing water resources in the study area.

Clogging Process Caused by Organic Particle Accumulation and Biofilm Growth in Subsurface Wastewater Infiltration System

Substrate clogging is the worst operational problem for subsurface wastewater infiltration system (SWIS), nevertheless quantitative understanding of the clogging process is currently very limited. In this study, the developing process of clogging caused by organic particle accumulation and biofilm growth was investigated in two groups of lab-scale SWIS, which were fed with glucose (dissolved organic matter) and starch (particulate organic matter) influent and filled with the same substrate made of 50% brown soil and cinder at a weight of 50%. Results showed that in glucose-fed systems the growth of biofilm in the substrate pores certainly caused remarkable reduction of effective porosity, especially for the high concentration organic wastewater, whereas its influence on infiltration rate was negligible. In comparison with biofilm growth, organic particles accumulation could rapidly reduce infiltration rate and the clogging occurred in the upper layer in starch-fed systems and the most important contribution of biofilm growth to clogging was accelerating the occurrence of clogging.

Effects of Organic Compound Fertilizers on Soil Water Infiltration Characteristics

In order to study the effects of organic compound fertilizers on soil water infiltration characteristics,an indoor one-dimensional soil column water infiltration test was carried out.Six soil sample treatment groups were set,namely marshy solonchak(control check,CK for short),bamboo charcoal-mixed marshy solonchak,Difuyuan-mixed marshy solonchak,salined flavo-aquic soil(CK),bamboo charcoal-mixed salined flavo-aquic soil and Difuyuan-mixed salined flavo-aquic soil.After 120 min of infiltration,compared with the CK groups of marshy solonchak and salined flavo-aquic soil,the cumulative infiltration volumes of the bamboo charcoal and difuyuan treatment groups increased by -18.78%,-3.93% and 25.77%,6.53%,respectively;and the displacement increased by -18.93%,1.64% and 22.6%,12.5%,respectively.The relationship between the wetting front displacement and time conformed to a linear function.The effects of organic compound fertilizers on the initial infiltration rates of marshy solonchak and salined flavo-aquic soil were significant,and the relationship between infiltration rate and time conformed to a power function.The vertical distribution of soil moisture under the application of organic compound fertilizers showed that the moisture content changed relatively small within 5 cm of the surface soil layer,then decreased slowly within 5-10 cm of the soil layer,and decreased drastically below 10 cm of soil layer;and relative to the CK group,the application of organic compound fertilizers was beneficial to increase the moisture content of salined flavo-aquic soil.The organic compound fertilizers reduced the water infiltration capacity of marshy solonchak and improved the water infiltration capacity of salined flavo-aquic soil.Compared with Difuyuan,bamboo charcoal reduced the water infiltration capacity of marshy solonchak better and improved the water permeability of salined flavo-aquic soil more significantly.

Double-Ring Infiltrometer for <i>In-Situ</i>Permeability Determination of Dam Material

Three types of natural soils are studied in this paper: 1) a postglacial silt, 2) a glacial till, and 3) a postglacial sand. The former two are soils from embankment dam sites in Sweden, and the latter is a soil from a natural deposit situated in the Swedish east coastal region. In situ Double-ring infiltrometer (DRI) tests are compared with laboratory constant-head permeability determinations. This study shows that the DRI tests conducted on sandy-silty soils are within sufficient range to the laboratory results, to suggest that in situ near-saturated infiltration capacity may be used as a field estimate of hydraulic conductivity (permeability) for this range of soils. In situ infiltrometer testing may be the better alternative when there is difficulty in achieving representative field conditions in a laboratory setting, e.g., for widely graded soils such as glacial tills.

Exploring the factors influencing the hydrological response of soil after low and high-severity fires with post-fire mulching in Mediterranean forests

Despite ample literature,the influence of the individual soil properties and covers on the hydrological response of burned soils of forests has not clearly identified.A clear understanding of the surface runoff and erosion rates altered by wildfires and prescribed fires is beneficial to identify the most suitable post-fire treatment This study has carried out a combined analysis of the hydrological response of soil and its driving factors in burned forests of Central-Eastern Spain.The pine stands of these forests were subjected to both prescribed fire and wildfire,and,in the latter case,to post-fire treatment with mulching.Moreover,simple multi-regression models are proposed to predict runoff and erosion in the experi-mental conditions.In the case of the prescribed burning,the fire had a limited impact on runoff and erosion compared to the unburned areas,due to the limited changes in soil parameters.In contrast,the wildfire increased many-fold the runoff and erosion rates,but the mulching reduced the hydrological response of the burned soils,particularly for the first two-three rainfalls after the fire.The increase in runoff and erosion after the wildfire was associated to the removal of the vegetation cover,soil water repellency,and ash left by fire;the changes in water infiltration played a minor role on runoff and erosion.The multi-regression models developed for the prescribed fire were accurate to predict the post-fire runoff coefficients.However,these models were less reliable for predictions of the mean erosion rates.The predictions of erosion after wildfire and mulching were excellent,while those of runoff were not satisfactory(except for the mean values).These results are useful to better understand the relations among the hydrological effects of fire on one side and the main soil properties and covers on the other side.Moreover,the proposed prediction models are useful to support the planning activities of forest managers and hydrologists towards a more effective conservation of forest soils.