Variation of Soil Water over Slopes and Retained Lands in Loess Region: Investigated Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography

Abstract

【Objective】 Crop growth and ecological functions in arid and semi-arid loess regions in northwestern China are limited not only by topsoil water directly available to crop but by deep soil water which functions as a reservoir. Slopes and lands formed by artificial retaining are two typical geographical units in small watersheds in the loess plateau. This paper presents a method to estimate soil water distribution in them up to 12.5 m deep. 【Method】 The method was based on electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). We measured electrical resistivity of the soil in typical slope and retained land in the small Liudaogou watershed in northern Shaanxi province. Using the measured soil volumetric water content, a power function relating the resistivity to soil water content was established, from which we calculated water distribution and water storage in the 0~12.5 m profile in both the slope and the retained land. 【Result】 The distribution of electrical resistivity over the slope was significantly affected by slope position, with the resistivity decreasing gradually from the slope top to the slope toe. Such changes were associated with vegetation consumption of the topsoil water and redistribution of the infiltrated precipitation over the slope. The vertical distribution of the resistivity in the retained land showed a high-low-high variation; this was also related to root water uptake from the topsoil and precipitation recharge to the subsoil. ERT inversion showed co-existence of a saturated zone and an unsaturated zone in the retained land, while the slope was partly saturated. In a 1.8×104 m2 of retained land, there was 1.49×104 m3 of water in the 0~6.5 m unsaturated layer, and 5.10×104 m3 of water in the saturated layer. In a same area but on the slope, there was only 2.59×104 m3 of water in the 0~12.5 m soil layer. 【Conclusion】 Retained land contains more water than slope, and the deep soil in it functions as a reservoir banking infiltration water in wet seasons. ERT is suitable for measuring spatiotemporal variation in soil moisture in both slopes and flatten plains in the loess plateau.

Keywords

• loess plateau
• electrical resistivity tomography (ert)
• soil resistivity
• slope land
• dam land
• soil water content