Soil–Water–Atmosphere Effects on Soil Crack Characteristics under Field Conditions in a Semiarid Climate
Soil’s physical and hydrological properties influence the proper modeling, planning, and management of water resources and soil conservation. In areas of vertic soils subjected to wetting and drying cycles, the soil–water–atmosphere interaction is complex and understudied at the field scale, especia...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Hydrology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/10/4/83 |
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| author | Jacques Carvalho Ribeiro Filho Eunice Maia de Andrade Maria Simas Guerreiro Helba Araújo de Queiroz Palácio José Bandeira Brasil |
| author_facet | Jacques Carvalho Ribeiro Filho Eunice Maia de Andrade Maria Simas Guerreiro Helba Araújo de Queiroz Palácio José Bandeira Brasil |
| author_sort | Jacques Carvalho Ribeiro Filho |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil’s physical and hydrological properties influence the proper modeling, planning, and management of water resources and soil conservation. In areas of vertic soils subjected to wetting and drying cycles, the soil–water–atmosphere interaction is complex and understudied at the field scale, especially in dry tropical regions. This work quantifies and analyzes crack development under field conditions in an expansive soil in a semiarid region for both the dry and rainy seasons. Six 1 m<sup>2</sup> plots in an experimental 2.8 ha watershed were photographed and direct measurements were taken of the soil moisture and crack area, depth and volume once a week and after a rainfall event from July 2019 to June 2020. The rainfall was monitored for the entire period and showed a unimodal distribution from December to May after five months without precipitation. The cracks were first sealed in the plots with a predominance of sand and when the soil moisture was above 23% and had an accumulated precipitation of 102 mm. The other plots sealed their cracks when the soil moisture was above 32% and with an accumulated precipitation in the rainy season above 222 mm. The cracks redeveloped after sealing upon a reduction of 4% in the soil moisture. The depth of the cracks showed a better response to climatic variations (total precipitation, soil moisture and continuous dry and wet days). The higher clay content and the higher plasticity index plots developed more cracks with greater depth and volume. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:57:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4204a395822445d39a0f8a6512011ebe |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2306-5338 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T04:57:57Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hydrology |
| spelling | doaj.art-4204a395822445d39a0f8a6512011ebe2023-11-17T19:30:18ZengMDPI AGHydrology2306-53382023-04-011048310.3390/hydrology10040083Soil–Water–Atmosphere Effects on Soil Crack Characteristics under Field Conditions in a Semiarid ClimateJacques Carvalho Ribeiro Filho0Eunice Maia de Andrade1Maria Simas Guerreiro2Helba Araújo de Queiroz Palácio3José Bandeira Brasil4Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Campus do Pici, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza CEP 60455-760, BrazilDepartamento de Conservação de Solo e Água, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Arido, Rua Francisco Mota, 572, Mossoró CEP 59625-900, BrazilI3ID, Universidade Fernando Pessoa, Praça 9 de Abril, 349, 4249-004 Porto, PortugalInstituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Ceará, Rodovia Iguatu-Várzea Alegre km, 5, Iguatu CEP 63503-790, BrazilDepartamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Campus do Pici, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza CEP 60455-760, BrazilSoil’s physical and hydrological properties influence the proper modeling, planning, and management of water resources and soil conservation. In areas of vertic soils subjected to wetting and drying cycles, the soil–water–atmosphere interaction is complex and understudied at the field scale, especially in dry tropical regions. This work quantifies and analyzes crack development under field conditions in an expansive soil in a semiarid region for both the dry and rainy seasons. Six 1 m<sup>2</sup> plots in an experimental 2.8 ha watershed were photographed and direct measurements were taken of the soil moisture and crack area, depth and volume once a week and after a rainfall event from July 2019 to June 2020. The rainfall was monitored for the entire period and showed a unimodal distribution from December to May after five months without precipitation. The cracks were first sealed in the plots with a predominance of sand and when the soil moisture was above 23% and had an accumulated precipitation of 102 mm. The other plots sealed their cracks when the soil moisture was above 32% and with an accumulated precipitation in the rainy season above 222 mm. The cracks redeveloped after sealing upon a reduction of 4% in the soil moisture. The depth of the cracks showed a better response to climatic variations (total precipitation, soil moisture and continuous dry and wet days). The higher clay content and the higher plasticity index plots developed more cracks with greater depth and volume.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/10/4/83vertic soilscrack dynamicstropical dry regionssemiarid |
| spellingShingle | Jacques Carvalho Ribeiro Filho Eunice Maia de Andrade Maria Simas Guerreiro Helba Araújo de Queiroz Palácio José Bandeira Brasil Soil–Water–Atmosphere Effects on Soil Crack Characteristics under Field Conditions in a Semiarid Climate Hydrology vertic soils crack dynamics tropical dry regions semiarid |
| title | Soil–Water–Atmosphere Effects on Soil Crack Characteristics under Field Conditions in a Semiarid Climate |
| title_full | Soil–Water–Atmosphere Effects on Soil Crack Characteristics under Field Conditions in a Semiarid Climate |
| title_fullStr | Soil–Water–Atmosphere Effects on Soil Crack Characteristics under Field Conditions in a Semiarid Climate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soil–Water–Atmosphere Effects on Soil Crack Characteristics under Field Conditions in a Semiarid Climate |
| title_short | Soil–Water–Atmosphere Effects on Soil Crack Characteristics under Field Conditions in a Semiarid Climate |
| title_sort | soil water atmosphere effects on soil crack characteristics under field conditions in a semiarid climate |
| topic | vertic soils crack dynamics tropical dry regions semiarid |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5338/10/4/83 |
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