Source: PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
SOIL, WATER, AND ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSICS ACROSS SCALES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1004661
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
W-3188
Project Start Date
Jan 12, 2015
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2019
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Project Director
Lin, HA.
Recipient Organization
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
208 MUELLER LABORATORY
UNIVERSITY PARK,PA 16802
Performing Department
Ecosystem Science & Management
Non Technical Summary
Preferential flow (PF) is a fundamentally important hydrologic process that influences a variety of earth surficial processes. However, PF quantification and prediction remain notoriously elusive.This project seeks to utilize extensive real-time soil moisture monitroing data that have been collected over many years to extract critical information about PF occurence in various soils and landscapes. The controls of PF occurrencewill be grouped into site factors (including landform unit and soil type) and temporal factors (including initial soil moisture, precipitation characteristics, and plant growth stage). A framework for classifying these key controlswill then be developed asa means of estimating the frequency of PF occurrence in diverse soil-landscapes. This effort will address a grand challenge in soil hydrology, i.e., to develop basic hydrologic principles and tools to further understand flow and transport processes through an irregular and interconnected real-world soils and landscapes. Since hydrology often triggers "hot spots" and "hot moments" of biogeochemical reactions and ecological functions, improved detection and quantification of PF also have considerable implications for enhanced determination of chemical fluxes and ecosystem functions.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1020110205050%
1010199206150%
Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 101 - Appraisal of Soil Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0110 - Soil; 0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
2050 - Hydrology; 2061 - Pedology;
Goals / Objectives
To improve our fundamental understanding of soil physical properties and processes, and how they interact with other environmental and biogeochemical processes across various spatial and temporal scales. To develop and evaluate new instruments and analytical methods to connect our understanding of mass and energy transport in soil at different scales to environmental transformations. To extend our knowledge of scale-appropriate methodologies to improve stakeholder-management of soil and water resources that benefit agricultural, natural resource and environmental sustainability.
Project Methods
We will use extensive real-time soil moisture monitoring databases collected from several landscapes in central Pennsylvania to investigate the condition, timing, frequency, and mechanism of preferential flow (PF) occurrence. High-density and multiple depth soil moisture monitoring datasets will be systematically analyzed to identify soil moisture response signatures to precipitation events and to identify various flow scenarios and related mechanisms, following the protocol developed in our previous study (Graham and Lin, 2011). A set of MATLAB tools has been developed from our previous work that can be used for efficient and consistent analysis of soil moisture time series profiles, including the determination and visualization of PF and related controls. This toolbox will be further enhanced to provide batch processing of spatially-distributed sites across a landscape and to facilitate site comparisons. Frequency and timing of PF occurrence and related controls will be summarized for all monitoring sites to reveal subsurface flow networks and their relationships withvarious controls. These relationships will then be synthesized into a framework for estimating PF occurrence in various soil-landscapes.Graham, C., and H.S. Lin. 2011. Controls and frequency of preferential flow occurrence: A 175-event analysis. Vadose Zone Journal 10:816-831.

Progress 01/12/15 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers, educators, students, and practitioners who are interested in the interface between soil science and hydrology and other related bio- and geo-sciences. Changes/Problems:Lead PI Henry Lin deceased on September 26, 2019 What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have continued to use the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory and two other landscapes near Penn State campus in classroom teaching and training of visiting scholars from China and Germany How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results have been disseminated thru numerous presentations given both domestic and international locations. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Sustainable food and water security has increased demand on the understanding and management of soil health as a central theme in soil-water management. The goal of promoting soil health is to maintain or enhance soil functions with respect to biological productivity, environmental quality, and plant and animal health within ecosystem boundaries. A holistic perspective is needed to manage soil health sustainably, where soil hydrology is an integral key control. We have been invited to contribute a book chapter on the role of soil hydrology in soil health, which has been published by Burleigh-Dodds Scientific Publishing, with the book titled "Managing Soil Health for Sustainable Agriculture" (Don Reicosky editor). This book was put together by a group of well-established experts, and its publication is expected to have significant impacts in both scientific community and stakeholders. In terms of our accomplishments and related impacts through this book chapter, we have clearly articulated that soil hydrology stands at the forefront of soil health because of its critical importance in regulating soil physical, chemical, and biological processes. Soil hydrology determines how water enters a soil, how water is partitioned within a soil or landscape, and how nutrients or contaminants are transported in an ecosystem. The magnitude of numerous fluxes and storage components in a soil or an ecosystem is strongly dictated by the hydrological condition of a soil. The vital interaction between soil and water allows for life to exist and thrive in diverse soils and ecosystems, which in turn alters physical, chemical, and biological processes and properties in the soil. These processes/properties and the manner in which the soil-landscape itself is managed can either promote positive soil water functions, through practices like minimizing structural degradation and providing adequate organic matter, or result in net losses of soil productivity via mechanisms including compaction and erosion. We have also been invited to contribute a book chapter on "The Soil Nexus and Sustainable Development Goals," which has been published by Catena Soil Sciences in collaboration with The International Union of Soil Sciences to celebrate the 21st World Congress of Soil Sciences held in Brazil in summer 2018. In addition, we have identified and comprehensively addressed two bottlenecks (i.e., theoretical and technical bottlenecks) that constrained the advancement of non-uniform flow in soils. A framework of major controls of preferential flow (soil type, landform unit, initial moisture, precipitation, and plant growth) had also been refined and published. In addition, we have enhanced different geophysical techniques (such as GPR, EMI, ERT, and thermal imaging) to detect water flow in various soils under various field settings. We have 27 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters published that are related to the topic of soil physics with 12 of them acknowledging the NIFA Support on the publication. Moreover, 12 additional related manuscripts are under review or in preparation.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Guo L, Mount G, Hudson S, Lin H, Levia D (2019). Pairing geophysical techniques improves understanding of the near-surface Critical Zone: visualization and confirmation of preferential routing of stemflow along coarse roots. Geoderma, online published. doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.113953
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Zhang S, Hopkins I, Guo L, Lin H (2019). Dynamics of infiltration rate and field-saturated soil hydraulic. Water, 11: 1632. doi:10.3390/w11081632
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Guo L, Lin H, Fan B, Nyquist J, Toran L, Mount G (2019). Preferential flow through shallow fractured bedrock and a 3D fill-and-spill model of hillslope subsurface hydrology. Journal of Hydrology, 576:430-442. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.06.070
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Guo L, Fan B, Zhang J, Lin H (2018). Occurrence of subsurface lateral flow in the Shale Hills Catchment indicated by a soil water mass balance method. European Journal of Soil Science, 69:771-786. doi:10.1111/ejss.12701
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Nyquist J, Toran L, Pitman L, Guo L, Lin H (2018). Testing the Fill-and-Spill Model of Subsurface Flow Using GPR and Dye Tracing. Vadose Zone Journal, 16:1-12. doi:10.2136/vzj2017.07.0142
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Zhang J, He H, Fan B, Zheng X, Wang Z, Li W, Lin H, Guo L (2019). Effect of cotton stalks returning to fields on residual film distribution under long-term film mulching and drip irrigation in an oasis agroecosystem. Soil Science Society of America Journal, online published, doi:10.2136/sssaj2019.04.0128
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jin Z, Guo L, Wang Y, Yu Y, Lin H, Chen Y, Chu G, Zhang J (2019). Effects of dams and reservoirs on soil salinization in the reshaped creek valley on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Geoderma, 339: 115-125. doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.12.048
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Liu X, Cui X, Guo L, Chen J, Li W, Yang D, Cao X, Chen X, Liu Q (2019). Estimating soil water content from coarse root reflections on ground-penetrating radar radargrams. Plant and Soil, 436:623-639. doi: 10.1007/s11104-018-03919-5
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Jin Z, Guo L, Fan B, Lin H, Yu Y, Zheng H, Chu G, Zhang J (2019). Effects of afforestation on land surface temperature in a pair of catchments on Chinese Loess Plateau. Catena, 175: 356-366. doi:10.1016/j.catena.2018.12.036
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Cui X, Liu X, Cao X, Fan B, Zhang Z, Chen J, Chen X, Lin H, Guo L (2019). Pairing dual frequency GPR in summer and winter enhances the detection and mapping of lateral coarse roots in the semi-arid shrubland in north China. European Journal of Soil Science, in press. doi:10.1111/ejss.12858
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Wang Z, Wu Q, Fan B, Zhang J, Li W, Zheng X, Lin H, Guo L (2019). Testing biodegradable films as alternatives to plastic films in enhancing cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) yield under mulched drip irrigation. Soil & Tillage Research, 192:196-205. doi: 10.1016/j.still.2019.05.004
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Wang Z, Wu Q, Fan B, Zheng X, Zhang, J, Li W, Guo L (2019). Effects of drip irrigation mulching with biodegradable film on soil hydrothermal conditions and cotton yield. Agricultural Water Management, 213:477-485. doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2018.10.036
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Yu Y, Jin Z, Lin H, Wang Y, Zhao Y, Chu G, Zhang J, Song Y, Zheng H (2019). Spatial variation and soil nitrogen potential hotspots in a mixed land cover catchment on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Journal of Mountain Science, 16:1353-1366. doi: 10.1007/s11629-018-5175-z
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Liao R, Yu H, Yang P, Lin H (2019). Quantitative evaluation of pore characteristics of sodic soils reclaimed by flue gas desulphurization gypsum using X?ray computed tomography. Land Degradation and Development, online published. doi:10.1002/ldr.3446
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Liu M, Guo L, Yi J, Lin H, Lou S, Zhang H, Li T (2018). Dye tracer experiments to characterize preferential flow and its interaction with the soil matrix in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area of China. Soil Research, 56:588-600. doi:10.1071/SR17238
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Jin Z, Guo L, Lin H, Wang Y, Yu Y, Chu G, Zhang J (2018). Soil moisture response to rainfall on the Chinese Loess Plateau after a long-term vegetation rehabilitation. Hydrological Processes, 32:1738-1754. doi:10.1002/hyp.13143


Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers, educators, students, and practitioners who are interested in the interface between soil science and hydrology and other related bio- and geo-sciences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have continued to use the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory and two other landscapes near Penn State campus in classroom teaching and training of visiting scholars from China and Germany. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Five papers are to be presented at the upcoming AGU fall meeting in Washington DC What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to revise the following manuscripts and get them published: Lin, H.S., L. Guo, X. Li, H. Bogena, P. Groffman, H. Gerke, K. McGuire, A. O'Geen, M. Sommer, K. Vaughan, and H.J. Vogel. 2018. Advances in hydropedology - A decadal review. Advances in Agronomy (in review) Guo L, Fan B, H.S. Lin*, Nyquist J, Toran L, Mount G. 2018. Preferential flow through shallow fractured bedrock in the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory. Water Resource Research (in review) Guo L., Mount G., Hudson, S., D. Levia*, H.S. Lin*. 2018. Linking stemflow and subsurface preferential flow by geophysical investigation. Geophysical Research Letter (in review) Zheng H., H.S. Lin*, W. Zhou, H. Bao, X. Zhu. 2018. Spatial and temporal variation in terrestrial water use efficiency during 2000-2014 in China's Loess Plateau: Evidence from satellite data. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (in review) Jin, Z.*, H.S. Lin*, L. Feng, L. Guo, Y. Wang. 2018. The evolution of loess tablelandsin the Chinese Loess Plateau: A fragmentation process accelerated by human activities. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (in review)

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We have identified and comprehensively addressed two bottlenecks (i.e., theoretical and technical bottlenecks) that constrained the advancement of non-uniform flow in soils. A framework of major controls of preferential flow (soil type, landform unit, initial moisture, precipitation, and plant growth) had also been refined and published. In addition, we have enhanced different geophysical techniques (such as GPR, EMI, ERT, and thermal imaging) to detect water flow in various soils under various field settings. We have also been invited to contribute a book chapter on "The Soil Nexus and Sustainable Development Goals," which has been published by Catena Soil Sciences in collaboration with The International Union of Soil Sciences to celebrate the 21st World Congress of Soil Sciences held in Brazil in summer 2018.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Guo L, H.S. Lin. 2018. Addressing Two Bottlenecks to Advance the Understanding of Preferential Flow in Soils. Advances in Agronomy, 147:61-117
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: van der Meij, W.M., A.J.A.M Temme, H.S. Lin, H.H. Gerke, M. Sommer. 2018. On the role of hydrological processes in soil and landscape evolution modeling: Concepts and complications for structured soils. Earth-Science Reviews 185:10881106.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Zhang, S.Y., X.Y. Li, Z.Y. Jiang, D.Q. Li, and H.S. Lin. 2018. Modelling of rainfall partitioning by a deciduous shrub using a variable parameters Gash model. Ecohydrology https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2011
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Tao, W.H., Q.J. Wang, H.S. Lin. 2018. Approximated analytical solutions for describing surface runoff and sediment transport over hillslope. Journal of Hydrology 558:496508.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Zhang, Z.B., K. Liu, H. Zhou, H.S. Lin, D. Li, and X. Peng. 2018. Three dimensional characteristics of biopores and non-biopores in the subsoil respond differently to land use and fertilization. Plant and Soil. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3689-3.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Lin, H.S. 2018. The Soil Nexus and Sustainable Development Goals. p. 38-51. Chapter 3. In R.Lal, R. Horn, T. Kosaki (eds.): Soil and Sustainable Development Goals. Catena Soil Sciences in collaboration with The International Union of Soil Sciences. Schweizerbart Scientific Publishers, Stuggart, Germany.


Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers, educators, students, and practitioners who are interested in the interface between soil science and hydrology and other related bio- and geo-sciences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have used the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory and two other landscapes near Penn State in classroom teaching and meeting field trips. We have also offered training and professional development opportunity for several graduate and undergraduate students at Penn State as well as five visiting scholars from China. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results have been disseminated in the following invited presentations: Lin, H.S. 2017. Critical Zone Science and Three Principles of Water Flow in Soils. Invited seminar at Chang'an University, Oct. 10, 2017, Xi'an, China. Lin, H.S. 2017. Green water: Essential in combating looming global freshwater crisis. Invited talk at the 2017 Chinese Soil Physics Biannual Conference, Shengyang, China Aug. 3-5, 2017. Lin, H.S. 2017. Soil Moisture: Green Water: Essential in Combating Global Freshwater Crisis. The 2017 Workshop at MOISST: Integrating Diverse Sources of Soil Moisture Information. May 23-25, 2017. Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to revise the following manuscripts and get them published: Nyquist, J.E., L. Toran, L. Pitman, L Guo, and H.S. Lin. 2018. Testing the Fill-and-Spill Model of Subsurface Flow Using GPR and Dye Tracing. Vadose Zone Journal (in revision) Jin, Z., Li Guo, H.S. Lin, Yunqiang Wang, Yulong Yu, Guangcheng Chu, Jing Zhang. 2017. Effects of afforestation and natural revegetation on soil moisture dynamics in paired watersheds in the Loess Plateau of China. Hydrological Processes (in review) Zhao, Y, Y. Wang, L. Wang, X.Zhang, Y. Yu, Z. Jin, H.S. Lin, Y. Chen, W. Zhou, Z. An. 2018. Effects of land restoration on soil water in the hilly-gully region of the Chinese Loess Plateau. Ecological Engineering (in revision) Lin, H.S., L. Guo, X. Li, H. Bogena, P. Groffman, H. Gerke, K. McGuire, A. O'Geen, M. Sommer, K. Vaughan, and H.J. Vogel. 2018. Advances in hydropedology - A decadal review. Advances in Agronomy (in review)

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Sustainable food and water security has increased demand on the understanding and management of soil health as a central theme in soil-water management. The goal of promoting soil health is to maintain or enhance soil functions with respect to biological productivity, environmental quality, and plant and animal health within ecosystem boundaries. A holistic perspective is needed to manage soil health sustainably, where soil hydrology is an integral key control. We have been invited to contribute a book chapter on the role of soil hydrology in soil health, which has been published by Burleigh-Dodds Scientific Publishing, with the book titled "Managing Soil Health for Sustainable Agriculture" (Don Reicosky editor). This book was put together by a group of well-established experts, and its publication is expected to have significant impacts in both scientific community and stakeholders. In terms of our accomplishments and related impacts through this book chapter, we have clearly articulated that soil hydrology stands at the forefront of soil health because of its critical importance in regulating soil physical, chemical, and biological processes. Soil hydrology determines how water enters into a soil, how water is partitioned within a soil or landscape, and how nutrients or contaminants are transported in an ecosystem. The magnitude of numerous fluxes and storage components in a soil or an ecosystem is strongly dictated by the hydrological condition of a soil. The vital interaction between soil and water allows for life to exist and thrive in diverse soils and ecosystems, which in turn alters physical, chemical, and biological processes and properties in the soil. These processes/properties and the manner in which the soil-landscape itself is managed can either promote positive soil water functions, through practices like minimizing structural degradation and providing adequate organic matter, or result in net losses of soil productivity via mechanisms including compaction and erosion.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Tie, Q., H. Hu, F. Tian, H. Guan, H.S. Lin. 2017. Environmental and physiological controls on sap flow in a subhumid mountainous catchment in North China. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 240:4657.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2017 Citation: Li, X., H. Gerke, and H.S. Lin (Editors). 2017. Frontier of Hydropedology Research in the Vadose Zone. Vadose Zone Journal (In progress)
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Miller, M., and H.S. Lin. 2017. The Role of Soil Hydrology in Soil Health. Chapter 12. In Don Reicosky (ed.) Managing Soil Health for Sustainable Agriculture. Burleigh-Dodds Scientific Publishing.


Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers, educators, students, and practitioners who are interested in the interface between soil science and hydrology and other related bio- and geo-sciences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have used the Penn State's Living Filter in Soils 405 (Hydropedology) class field trips and have enriched the experience of several visiting scholars from China involved in wastewater recycling. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results have been disseminated in the following presentations at professional scientific meetings: Lin, H.S. 2016. Green Water: Essential in Combating Global Freshwater Crisis. Invited seminar at Univ. of Texas -Austin, April 1, 2016, Austin, TX. Lin, H.S. 2016. Green water - Essential in Food-Energy-Water Nexus. Invited presentation at World Café (WC) - 20, Soil: The Invisible Link between Food, Water, and Everything Else, at the 16th National Conference and Global Forum on Science, Policy, and the Environment, "The Food-Energy Water Nexus", Washington, DC. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will synthesize the spatial-temporal pattern of preferential flow occurrence in multiple landscapes based on extensive datasets collected in several watersheds.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? One journal article. We quantified natural and anthropogenic controls on the frequency of preferential flow occurrence in a wastewater spray irrigation field, and investigated the interactions of soils and irrigation on water flow dynamics using soil moisture monitoring data. Activation of preferential flow pathways was determined from the sequences of soil moisture responses at various depths to a total of 633 events, including 82 irrigation events. The results showed that the overall averaged frequencies of PF at the non-irrigated sites were 24.9% at the cropped site and 24.7% at the forested site. By contrast, the averaged frequencies at the irrigated sites were 47.1% at the cropped site and 45.0% at the forested site. Preferential flow was not only more likely to occur during irrigation events, but also during natural events at the irrigated sites, suggesting that the irrigated soils have physically adapted to accommodate large volumes of water, after decades of spray irrigation. The results of this study have implications for understanding hydrology and contaminant fate in anthropogenically-altered landscapes as well as implementing sustainable management practices.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Hopkins, I., H. E. Gall, and H.S. Lin. 2016. Natural and anthropogenic controls on the frequency of preferential flow occurrence in a wastewater spray irrigation field. Agricultural Water Management 178:248257.


Progress 01/12/15 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers, educators, students, and practitioners who are interested in the interface between soil science and hydrology, and other related bio- and geo-sciences. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have used the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory and two other landscapes near Penn State (the Penn State's Kepler Farm and Living Filter) as platforms to enrich the experience of three visiting scholars from China as well as the training for four graduate students and three undergraduate students at Penn State. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results have been disseminated in a number of presentations, including the following 13 invited presentations at various international meetings: Lin, H.S. 2015. Soil Change and The Nature's Method. July 21, 2015, Beijing Normal Univ., Beijing, China. Lin, H.S. 2015. Mesoscopes for Hydropedology in the Critical Zone. July 21, 2015, Beijing Normal Univ., Beijing, China. Lin, H.S. 2015. Frontiers of hydropedology and Critical Zone science. July 27-31, 2015, Tsinghua Univ., Beijing, China. Lin, H.S. 2015. Hydropedology and Critical Zone science. Progress in Soil Physics and Soil and Water Resources Protection, Soil Physics Division of the Chinese Soil Science Society. Aug. 2-3, 2015. Qingdao, China. Lin, H.S. 2015. Critical Zone science and hydropedology. Sino-Germany CZ Symposium on Coupled Hydrological and Nutrients Transport across Scales in Earth's Critical Zone: Monitoring and Modeling, Sept. 10-14, 2015, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China. Lin, H.S. 2015. Towards an International Network of Critical Zone Observatories (CZOs). 20th International Soil & Tillage Research Organization (ISTRO) Conference, Sept. 14-18, 2015, Nanjing, China. Lin, H.S. 2015. Hydropedology and Critical Zone Science: Exciting New Opportunities for Soil Science. The 12th International Conference of the East and Southeast Asia Federation of Soil Science Societies (ESAFS). Sept. 18-20, 2015, Nanjing, China. Lin, H.S. 2015. A New Kind of Physics for Understanding Soil Architecture and Preferential Flow across Scales: A Preliminary Exploration. Keynote at SUSTAIN - IUSS Conference on the International Year of Soils, Sept. 23-26, 2015, Kiel, Germany. Lin, H.S. 2015. Ecosystem Evolution and Preferential Flow. Keynote at the Symposium of Observing Ecosystem Transition: 10 Years Hühnerwasser/Chicken Creek Catchment, Sept. 28-29, 2015, Cottbus, Germany. Lin, H.S. 2015. Critical Zone Services: Complement and Enrich Ecosystem Services. Sino-U.S. CZO Workshop, Oct. 5-10, 2015, Guiyang, China. Richter, D., Lou Derry, Suzanne Anderson, Praveen Kumar, William McDowell, Tim Filley, and H.S. Lin. 2015. What makes a CZO a CZO? A U.S. Perspective. Sino-U.S. CZO Workshop, Oct. 5-10, 2015, Guiyang, China. Lin, H.S. 2015. Frontiers of Soil Science: Hydropedology, Critical Zone Science, and Food-Water-Soil Nexus. Invited seminar at China Agriculture University, Oct. 17, 2015, Beijing, China. Lin, H.S. 2015. Update on the Sino-U.S. CZO Workshop and its outcomes. Conference and Workshop Critical Zone Science, Sustainability and Services in a Changing World, Organic Matter Flux and Stabilization in the Critical Zone, and Joint Annual Conferences of the US-China EcoPartnership for Environmental Sustainability (USCEES) and the China-US Joint Research Center for Ecosystem and Environmental Change (JRCEEC). Oct. 22-24, 2015, Purdue Univ., IN. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to refine the Hydropedograph toolbox for detecting and quantifying preferential flow occurrence using real-time soil moisture monitoring datasets and will investigate the underlying controls of preferential flow processes. We will synthesize the spatial-temporal pattern of preferential flow occurrence in multiple landscapes based on extensive datasets already collected in several watersheds across the U.S. and in Germany and China through collaborations.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? A total of 5 journal articles, 1 book chapter, and 3 special issues (Soil Science Society of America Journal, Hydrological Processes, and Ecological Modelling) have been published. We investigated the spatial variability and temporal stability of soil matric potential at multiple depths (10-100 cm) across a 7.9-ha forested catchment and their relationships with soil type, terrain, and season. The results from a 5.5-yr database consisting of 62 sites clearly showed a downward parabolic trend in the spatial variability of soil matric potential with decreasing spatial mean value of soil matric potential (i.e., becoming drier) across all depths. The catchment's overall spatial variability of soil matric potential generally increased with soil depth and was relatively high during summer and fall. Sand and silt contents were significant factors (p<0.05) influencing soil matric potential in surface layers (0 to 20 cm), while soil matric potential at the subsurface (40 to 100 cm) were highly correlated with elevation. The temporal stability of ? spatial pattern was generally higher in surface soil than that in the subsurface, but weaker in the spring as compared to other seasons. Moreover, relative dry areas tended to have less evident ? temporal stability at each depth that is attributable to higher sensitivity of soil matric potential to changes in moisture content when soil is dry. The results from this study have implications for upscaling soil water from point-based observations to the hillslope and catchment scales.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Lin, H.S., H.J. Vogel, J. Phillips, and B. Fath. 2015. Complexity of soils and hydrology in ecosystems. Ecological Modelling 298:13.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Lai, J., H. Yu, and H.S. Lin. 2015. Role of Soil-specific Farming in Converting Blue Water into Green Water. Chapter 15. p. 373390. In R. Lal and B. Steward (eds.) Soil-Specific Farming Precision Agriculture. CRC. DOI: 10.1201/b18759-16.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Lin, H.S., P. Drohan, and T.R. Green. 2015. Hydropedology  The Last Decade and the Next Decade. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 79:357-361. doi:10.2136/sssaj2015.02.0069.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Lin, H.S., J. McDonnell, J. Nimmo, and Y. Pachepsky. 2015. Hydropedology: Synergistic Integration of Soil Science and Hydrology in the Critical Zone. Hydrological Processes. 29:45594561. DOI: 10.1002/hyp.10686.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Liu, H., and H.S. Lin. 2015. Temporal and spatial patterns of preferential flow occurrence in the Shale Hills catchment: From pedon to catchment scales. Soil Science Society of America Journal 79:362-377. doi:10.2136/sssaj2014.08.0330.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Yu, H., P. Yang, and H.S. Lin. 2015. Spatiotemporal patterns of soil matric potential in the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory. Vadose Zone J. doi:10.2136/vzj2014.11.0167.