Influence of different land use on water infiltration in sandy loam soils

Abstract

Human activity can significantly alter land cover characteristics and subsequently hydrological and other processes in river basin. The aim of this study was to determine infiltration of surface (0-30 cm) sandy loamy Fluvisol under natural meadow vegetation and adjacent Fluvisol which is used more than 10 years as the arable soil, with similar conditions of pedogenesis in the Nišava River Valley, in the vicinity of Pirot (Serbia). The other conditions of pedogenes were similar. Measurement of infiltration was performed by double cylindrical infiltrometer. Three infiltration runs were carried out for each location. The results showed that the in the arable soil compared with meadow, constant (steady state) infiltration rate and cumulative infiltration were about 699% and 447% higher, respectively. The change in soil structure caused by loosening of the plowing layer because of tillage is the main factor causing the increase in infiltration of water into the soil after conversion of natural grassland to arable soil. These results can be used in predicting surface runoff, saturated hydraulic conductivity of the surface layers and groundwater recharge, and also in the development or selection of the most efficient methods of irrigation sandy loam soils.

Delatnost ljudi može znatno izmeniti osobine zemljišnog pokrivača, a zatim hidrološke i druge procese u rečnom slivu. U vezi s tim, obavljena su uporedna terenska istraživanja u cilju utvrđivanja infiltracije vode u površinskom horizontu (0-30 cm) bestrukturnog, peskovito-ilovastog, slabo humoznog distričnog fluvisola pod prirodnom livadskom vegetacijom i sličnog fluvisola koji se koristi više od 10 godina kao njivsko zemljište, u dolini reke Nišave, u okolini Pirota (Srbija). Ostali uslovi pedogeneze bili su im slični. Merenje infiltracije vršeno je pomoću duplih cilindričnih infiltrometara. Na svakoj lokaciji obavljena su po tri merenja infiltracionih karakteristika istraženih zemljišta. Rezultati su pokazali da su u obrađivanom zemljištu konstantna (ustaljena) brzina infiltracije i kumulativna infiltracija veće za oko 699%, odnosno 447% u poređenju sa prirodnom livadom. Promena građe zemljišta uzrokovana rastresanjem oraničnog horizonta pri obavljanju agrotehničkih operacija glavni je faktor koji je uzrokovao povećanje brzine infiltracije vode nakon prevođenja prirodnih livada u oranice. Rezultati ovog istraživanja mogu se koristiti u predviđanju površinskog oticanja, zasićene hidrauličke provodljivosti površinskh slojeva zemljišta i popunjavanja zaliha podzemnih voda, a takođe i u razvoju ili odabiru najefikasnijih metoda za navodnjavanje peskovito ilovastih zemljišta.