CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Biswas, A.; and Si, B,C,
Date : 2008.
Title : Scaling properties of depth controlled spatial pattern of soil water storage.
Publication : Canadian Society of Soil Science 2008 Annual Meeting: Frontiers of Soil Science. July 6 - 10, 2008. University of Northern British Columbia Prince George, British Columbia.
Issue : Program and Abstracts Volume:
Page(s) : 39.
Abstract
Knowledge about the spatial pattern of soil water storage is very important in monitoring soil water balance and validating different models. The scaling properties of this spatial pattern help in transferring information from one scale to another. The objective of this paper is to characterize if the variability of soil water storage exhibits simple scaling or multiscaling at different depths. The soil water content was measured at the depth of 20 cm through 140 cm at 20 cm interval along a transect at St Denis National Wildlife Area, Saskatchewan, Canada using neutron probe during the fall season of 2007 (12 October). The transect had 128 points with 4.5 m sampling interval. The water content showed localized trend and non-stationarity in their distribution which is a great challenge in scaling analysis of soil water storage. Multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis was used in characterizing the spatial pattern of soil water storage. The first order of detrending was selected from different orders of detrending as the best detrended polynomial function to obtain a stationary series for scaling analysis based on the significance test between different orders of polynomial. The linear fit of double log plot series (r=0.99 to 1.00) indicate the presence of scaling laws. The plot of mass exponents derived from fluctuation function, q values from -20 to 20 and q values indicate the increases in linearity of the curve with the increase of depth of soil water storage. The degree of non-linearity of the curve indicates the degree of heterogeneity of their scaling behaviour. The widest multifractal spectrum [f (q)vsa (q)]at surface indicates the need of hierarchy of scaling exponent (multiscaling) to represent the scaling property accurately. The network of grass roots at the surface soil and the various degree of extraction of water by them make the spatial distribution of soil water storage highly variable. The variability in the soil water storage gradually decreases with depth indicating the presence of simple scaling relationship and can be explained by monofractal behaviour. The information about the scaling nature of soil water storage as controlled by depth will help in assessing land atmosphere interaction, infiltration, drainage, recharge and various engineering performance.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology