Soil infiltration rates in mediterranean mountain areas: relationship with soil properties and different land-use

Una de nuestras últimas publicaciones:

Mongil-Manso, J.; Jiménez-Ballesta, R.; Navarro-Hevia, J.; San Martín, R.; 2025. Soil infiltration rates in mediterranean mountain areas: relationship with soil properties and different land-use. European Journal of Forest Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-025-01757-6

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We determined the soil properties and infiltration rates in 11 plots, including four soil types (Leptosol, Cambisol, Umbrisol and Regosol, according to the FAO criteria), under three different land uses (pine forest, oak forest and scrubland). The study was conducted in a Spanish Central System Mountain under a Mediterranean climate. We tried to quantify the effect of land use (native and reforested forest and scrubland) and soil properties on the steady-state soil infiltration rate because of the limited evidence about soil infiltration in Mediterranean mountains with sandy and acid soils developed on granite rocks. We employed a simple-ring methacrylate infiltrometer method to determine soil infiltration rates. We used correlation and principal component analysis to examine the relationships between soil properties, land uses, and water infiltration. Additionally, a one-way ANOVA model was applied to identify differences between vegetation types. Soil infiltration rates in the pine forest (891.9 mm·h-1) and the oak forest (509.0 mm·h-1) were better than those in the scrubland (178.4 mm·h-1). Our results are in agree with the main results in the scientific literature. Factors such as sand content (R = 0.71, p-value = 0.02) or electrical conductivity (salt content indicator; R = 0.81, p-value = 0.00) were positively related to soil infiltration, while clay was negatively related (R = -0.69, p-value = 0.02). Results show forest cover improves soil infiltration. This effect is strongly related to hydrological ecosystem services, which may be of interest for decision-making in natural environment management, especially for soil and water conservation.

Infiltration and Hydrophobicity in Burnt Forest Soils on Mediterranean Mountains

 Our last publication:

Mongil-Manso, J.; Ruíz-Pérez, V.; López-Sánchez, A.; 2024. Infiltration and hydrophobicity in burnt forest soils on Mediterranean mountains. Forests, 15, 2033. https://doi.org/10.3390/f15112033

Abstract

Forest fires are a major global environmental problem, especially for forest ecosystems and specifically in Mediterranean climate zones. These fires can seriously impact hydrologic processes and soil erosion, which can cause water pollution and flooding. The aim of this work is to assess the effect of forest fire on the hydrologic processes in the soil, depending on soil properties. For this purpose, the infiltration rate has been measured by ring infiltration tester, and the hydrophobicity has been quantified by the “water drop penetration time” method in several soils of burnt and unburnt forest areas in the Mediterranean mountains. The infiltration rates obtained are higher in burnt than in unburnt soils (1130 and 891 mm·h−1, respectively), which contradicts most of the research in Mediterranean climates in southeast Spain with calcareous soils. Burnt soils show no hydrophobicity on the surface, but it is there when the soil is excavated by 1 cm. Additionally, burnt soils reveal a low frequency of hydrophobicity (in less than 30% of the samples) but more severe hydrophobicity (above 300 s); whereas, in unburnt soils, the frequency is higher (50%) but the values of hydrophobicity are lower. The results obtained clearly show the infiltration processes modified by fire, and these results may be useful for land managers, hydrologists, and those responsible for decision-making regarding the forest restoration of burnt land.

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Enhanced infiltration by trees in floodable cattle ranches in Paraguay

Gracias al gran trabajo de campo y de conceptualización de Verónica Cruz, os podemos presentar nuestro último trabajo publicado, en este caso en la revista Agroforestry Systems.

Periodic flooding limits livestock farming on cattle ranches in floodable areas. In order to propose recommendations for sustainable management of these ranches, we examined the relationships between surface water hydrological processes (infiltration and evaporation) and vegetation cover in the Paraguayan Humid Chaco. A total of 24 evaporation and infiltration measurements were made in a gradient of woody vegetation density between the forest and the adjacent grassland, and at different distances from reference trees (from the trunk to outside the tree crown). Soil texture and moisture were also characterized. There was a positive effect of woody vegetation density on infiltration although final infiltration rates in forests (94.5 mm h-1) were not significantly higher than in grasslands (22.0 mm h-1) or forest-grassland transition (11.5 mm h-1). Evaporation was significantly lower in forests (0.0338 mm h-1) than in grassland (0.1361 mm h-1) or at the transition zone (0.0868 mm h-1), reflecting the effects of tree cover on microhabitat features. Infiltration rates decreased with the distance to the tree trunk. These results support our hypothesis that subtropical forests, specifically Schinopsis balansae and Psidium guajava, have a positive effect on infiltration, and these forests have a negative effect on surface water evaporation. Introduction of trees at relative low densities in deforested rangelands may help improve hydrological services (i.e., enhance soil infiltrability) and facilitate cattle raising, while promoting local biodiversity.

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Aprobación de la patente del infiltrómetro Infiltest

El pasado 20 de mayo de 2016 la Oficina Española de Patentes aprobó la patente del infiltrómetro inundador (Infiltest), desarrollado por el Grupo de Hidrología y Conservación, con investigadores de la Universidad Católica de Ávila y de la Universidad de Valladolid.

Un infiltrómetro es un instrumento destinado a la medición de la tasa de infiltración de un suelo. En este caso se trata de un infiltrómetro inundador de metacrilato, con una serie de elementos que facilitan su uso en campo y la realización de las mediciones. Por otra parte, el gasto de agua es reducido, así como el coste del propio aparato. Consta de un cilindro de metacrilato que se introduce varios centímetros en el terreno, sujeto mediante un cilindro de acero. El cilindro de metacrilato lleva una escala milimetrada para realizar las lecturas. Así mismo, una rejilla sujeta por unas pinzas regulables impide que se levanten restos vegetales durante el ensayo, y evitan la degradación de la superficie edáfica por el impacto del agua al rellenarse el cilindro.

El infiltrómetro está diseñado para realizar mediciones de infiltración en terrenos forestales, agrícolas, pastizales, jardines y campos deportivos de césped (fútbol, golf, etc.). Esto hace posible un mejor conocimiento de la infiltración con fines científicos, técnicos y pedagógicos, así como el mejor diseño de los equipos de riego, de las técnicas o medios de drenaje, transformaciones de secano a regadío y en la valoración de la degradación de los suelos de uso ganadero o agroforestal. Igualmente permite caracterizar de forma económica la capacidad de los suelos para generar escorrentía y, por ello, una mejor predicción de los modelos hidrológicos para la estimación de los recursos hídricos, las crecidas e inundaciones y, por tanto, para el manejo del agua y la planificación del territorio.

El infiltrómetro Infiltest ha sido desarrollado dentro del Laboratorio de Hidrología de Conservación de Aguas del Grupo de Hidrología y Conservación. La patente aprobada tiene el número ES2533927B1, y los titulares ofrecen la posibilidad de la cesión de su uso a empresas interesadas.