The role of pit-mound microrelief in the redistribution of rainwater in forest soils: a natural legacy facilitating groundwater recharge?
2022
Juřička, David | Valtera, Martin | Deutscher, Jan | Vichta, Tomáš | Pecina, Václav | Patočka, Zdeněk | Chalupová, Naděžda | Tomášová, Gabriela | Jačka, Lukáš | Pařílková, Jana
In commercial forest plantations dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst), the typically densely rooted forest floor and a poor understory contribute to the formation of surface or shallow hypodermic runoff, which limits the redistribution of infiltrated water to deeper soil layers. Pit-mound microrelief is a natural legacy in forest soils that originate from historical tree uprootings. This paper analyses the hydrological processes associated within the pit-mound microrelief based on the monitoring of soil electrical resistance (Rx). In two forested slopes, paired-tube profile probes were used to monitor the dynamics of Rx along four transects through pit-mound pairs at different soil depths. Cross-corelation analysis was used to detect the time-lag responses of deeper soil layers as compared to surface horizons within 15 pre-selected precipitation periods per site. Unlike other microsites, the Rx of deeper soil layers at pit microsites were mostly correlated to the Rx of surface horizons with a time lag of 0–6 h, demonstrating a fast redistribution of infiltrated water throughout the soil profile. Our results indicate that the pit-mound microrelief on forested slopes can positively contribute to the retention and redistribution of infiltrated water to the subsoil, not only through direct infiltration from the soil surface but also likely by the disruption and redirection of shallow lateral flow. Thereby, the pit-mound microrelief may facilitate groundwater recharge similarly as the technical measures that are currently used in arid and semiarid regions.
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