Investigating Soil Water Retention and Water Content in Retrogressive Thaw Slumps in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China
Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTSs) are becoming more common on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as permafrost thaws, but the hydraulic properties of thaw slumps have not been extensively studied. To fill this knowledge gap, we used the “space-for-time substitution method” to differentiate three stages of RTS...
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2024
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3d87a1e7f009432889feee42c7986c70 2024-09-15T18:30:14+00:00 Investigating Soil Water Retention and Water Content in Retrogressive Thaw Slumps in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China Haitao Sun Pei Wang Yuhua Xing Dapeng Zhang Siying Li 2024-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/w16040571 https://doaj.org/article/3d87a1e7f009432889feee42c7986c70 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/16/4/571 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4441 doi:10.3390/w16040571 2073-4441 https://doaj.org/article/3d87a1e7f009432889feee42c7986c70 Water, Vol 16, Iss 4, p 571 (2024) retrogressive thaw slumps thaw slump stages soil water retention soil organic carbon soil hydraulic properties Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/w16040571 2024-08-05T17:49:58Z Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTSs) are becoming more common on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as permafrost thaws, but the hydraulic properties of thaw slumps have not been extensively studied. To fill this knowledge gap, we used the “space-for-time substitution method” to differentiate three stages of RTSs: original grassland, collapsing, and collapsed. Our study included on-site investigations, measurements in the laboratory, and measured and simulated analyses of soil water retention curves and estimated hydrological properties. Our findings show that the measurements and simulated analyses of soil water retention were highly consistent across RTSs, indicating the accuracy of the Van Genuchten model in reproducing soil hydraulic parameters for different stages of RTSs. The original grassland stage had the highest soil water retention and content due to its high soil organic carbon (SOC) content and fine-textured micropores. In contrast, the collapsed stage had higher soil water retention and content compared to the collapsing stage, primarily due to increased proportions of soil micropores, SOC content, and lower bulk density (BD). From original grassland stage to collapsed stage, there were significant changes on the structure of each RTS site, which resulted in a decrease in SOC content and an increase in BD in general. However, the absence of soil structure and compaction led to the subsequent accumulation of organic matter, increasing SOC content. Changes in field capacity, permanent wilting point, and soil micropore distribution aligned with variations in SOC content and water content. These findings highlight the importance of managing SOC content and water content to mitigate the adverse effects of freeze-thaw cycles on soil structure and stability at different thaw collapse stages of RTSs. Effective management strategies may include incorporating organic matter, reducing soil compaction, and maintaining optimal water content. Further research is needed to determine the most suitable management practices for ... Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Water 16 4 571 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
retrogressive thaw slumps thaw slump stages soil water retention soil organic carbon soil hydraulic properties Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 |
spellingShingle |
retrogressive thaw slumps thaw slump stages soil water retention soil organic carbon soil hydraulic properties Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 Haitao Sun Pei Wang Yuhua Xing Dapeng Zhang Siying Li Investigating Soil Water Retention and Water Content in Retrogressive Thaw Slumps in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China |
topic_facet |
retrogressive thaw slumps thaw slump stages soil water retention soil organic carbon soil hydraulic properties Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Hydraulic engineering TC1-978 Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes TD201-500 |
description |
Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTSs) are becoming more common on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as permafrost thaws, but the hydraulic properties of thaw slumps have not been extensively studied. To fill this knowledge gap, we used the “space-for-time substitution method” to differentiate three stages of RTSs: original grassland, collapsing, and collapsed. Our study included on-site investigations, measurements in the laboratory, and measured and simulated analyses of soil water retention curves and estimated hydrological properties. Our findings show that the measurements and simulated analyses of soil water retention were highly consistent across RTSs, indicating the accuracy of the Van Genuchten model in reproducing soil hydraulic parameters for different stages of RTSs. The original grassland stage had the highest soil water retention and content due to its high soil organic carbon (SOC) content and fine-textured micropores. In contrast, the collapsed stage had higher soil water retention and content compared to the collapsing stage, primarily due to increased proportions of soil micropores, SOC content, and lower bulk density (BD). From original grassland stage to collapsed stage, there were significant changes on the structure of each RTS site, which resulted in a decrease in SOC content and an increase in BD in general. However, the absence of soil structure and compaction led to the subsequent accumulation of organic matter, increasing SOC content. Changes in field capacity, permanent wilting point, and soil micropore distribution aligned with variations in SOC content and water content. These findings highlight the importance of managing SOC content and water content to mitigate the adverse effects of freeze-thaw cycles on soil structure and stability at different thaw collapse stages of RTSs. Effective management strategies may include incorporating organic matter, reducing soil compaction, and maintaining optimal water content. Further research is needed to determine the most suitable management practices for ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Haitao Sun Pei Wang Yuhua Xing Dapeng Zhang Siying Li |
author_facet |
Haitao Sun Pei Wang Yuhua Xing Dapeng Zhang Siying Li |
author_sort |
Haitao Sun |
title |
Investigating Soil Water Retention and Water Content in Retrogressive Thaw Slumps in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China |
title_short |
Investigating Soil Water Retention and Water Content in Retrogressive Thaw Slumps in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China |
title_full |
Investigating Soil Water Retention and Water Content in Retrogressive Thaw Slumps in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China |
title_fullStr |
Investigating Soil Water Retention and Water Content in Retrogressive Thaw Slumps in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China |
title_full_unstemmed |
Investigating Soil Water Retention and Water Content in Retrogressive Thaw Slumps in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China |
title_sort |
investigating soil water retention and water content in retrogressive thaw slumps in the qinghai-tibet plateau, china |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/w16040571 https://doaj.org/article/3d87a1e7f009432889feee42c7986c70 |
genre |
permafrost |
genre_facet |
permafrost |
op_source |
Water, Vol 16, Iss 4, p 571 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/16/4/571 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4441 doi:10.3390/w16040571 2073-4441 https://doaj.org/article/3d87a1e7f009432889feee42c7986c70 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/w16040571 |
container_title |
Water |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
571 |
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1810471700578435072 |