Contrasts in Top Soil Infiltration Processes for Degraded vs. Restored Lands. A Case Study at the Perijá Range in Colombia
Governments are increasingly committing to significant ecological restoration. However, the impacts of forest restoration on local hydrological services are surprisingly poorly understood. Particularly, limited information is available about the impacts of tree planting on soil infiltration processe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/12/1716 |
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| author | Sergio Esteban Lozano-Baez Yamileth Domínguez-Haydar Bob W. Zwartendijk Miguel Cooper Conrado Tobón Simone Di Prima |
| author_facet | Sergio Esteban Lozano-Baez Yamileth Domínguez-Haydar Bob W. Zwartendijk Miguel Cooper Conrado Tobón Simone Di Prima |
| author_sort | Sergio Esteban Lozano-Baez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Governments are increasingly committing to significant ecological restoration. However, the impacts of forest restoration on local hydrological services are surprisingly poorly understood. Particularly, limited information is available about the impacts of tree planting on soil infiltration processes and runoff pathways. Thus, we investigated the saturated hydraulic conductivity (<i>K<sub>s</sub></i>) and preferential flow pathways in three land-cover types: (i) Active Restoration, (ii) Degraded Land, and (iii) Reference Forest, with contrasting differences in soil profile and land use history in the municipality of La Jagua de Ibirico, César department, Colombia. We conducted soil sampling, using the Beerkan method to determine <i>K<sub>s</sub></i> values. We also measured vegetation attributes (i.e., canopy cover, vegetation height, diameter at breast height, and total number of trees) and carried out three dye tracer experiments for each study site. The blue dye experiments revealed that near surface matrix infiltration was dominant for Degraded Land, while at the Active Restoration and Reference Forest, this only occurred at local surface depressions. The general infiltration pattern at the three land uses is indicated as being macropore flow with mixed interaction with the matrix and highly affected by the presence of rock fragments. The deeper infiltration patterns occur by preferential flow due to the presence of roots and rock fragments. The mean <i>K<sub>s</sub></i> for the Active Restoration (240 mm h<sup>−1</sup>) was much higher than the <i>K<sub>s</sub></i> at Degraded Land (40 mm h<sup>−1</sup>) but still considerably lower than the Reference Forest (324 mm h<sup>−1</sup>). These results indicate that top soil infiltration capacity and soil physical parameters not only directly regulate the amount of infiltration but also infiltration patterns and runoff processes, leading to lower infiltration and increased excess overland flow for Degraded Land than for other land uses. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:06:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5fd1ff0d755d4059bca4e3b4d63df5c8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:06:11Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-5fd1ff0d755d4059bca4e3b4d63df5c82023-11-23T08:21:24ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072021-12-011212171610.3390/f12121716Contrasts in Top Soil Infiltration Processes for Degraded vs. Restored Lands. A Case Study at the Perijá Range in ColombiaSergio Esteban Lozano-Baez0Yamileth Domínguez-Haydar1Bob W. Zwartendijk2Miguel Cooper3Conrado Tobón4Simone Di Prima5Department of Biology, Universidad del Atlántico, Carrera 30 Número 8-49, Puerto Colombia 081001, ColombiaDepartment of Biology, Universidad del Atlántico, Carrera 30 Número 8-49, Puerto Colombia 081001, ColombiaResearch and Innovation Centre Techniek, Ontwerpen en Informatica, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Bergerweg 200, 1817 MN Alkmaar, The NetherlandsLuiz de Queiroz School of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias 11, Piracicaba 13418-900, BrazilDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Carrera 65 59A-110, Medellín 050023, ColombiaAgricultural Department, University of Sassari, Viale Italia, 39, 07100 Sassari, ItalyGovernments are increasingly committing to significant ecological restoration. However, the impacts of forest restoration on local hydrological services are surprisingly poorly understood. Particularly, limited information is available about the impacts of tree planting on soil infiltration processes and runoff pathways. Thus, we investigated the saturated hydraulic conductivity (<i>K<sub>s</sub></i>) and preferential flow pathways in three land-cover types: (i) Active Restoration, (ii) Degraded Land, and (iii) Reference Forest, with contrasting differences in soil profile and land use history in the municipality of La Jagua de Ibirico, César department, Colombia. We conducted soil sampling, using the Beerkan method to determine <i>K<sub>s</sub></i> values. We also measured vegetation attributes (i.e., canopy cover, vegetation height, diameter at breast height, and total number of trees) and carried out three dye tracer experiments for each study site. The blue dye experiments revealed that near surface matrix infiltration was dominant for Degraded Land, while at the Active Restoration and Reference Forest, this only occurred at local surface depressions. The general infiltration pattern at the three land uses is indicated as being macropore flow with mixed interaction with the matrix and highly affected by the presence of rock fragments. The deeper infiltration patterns occur by preferential flow due to the presence of roots and rock fragments. The mean <i>K<sub>s</sub></i> for the Active Restoration (240 mm h<sup>−1</sup>) was much higher than the <i>K<sub>s</sub></i> at Degraded Land (40 mm h<sup>−1</sup>) but still considerably lower than the Reference Forest (324 mm h<sup>−1</sup>). These results indicate that top soil infiltration capacity and soil physical parameters not only directly regulate the amount of infiltration but also infiltration patterns and runoff processes, leading to lower infiltration and increased excess overland flow for Degraded Land than for other land uses.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/12/1716forest restorationinfiltration capacityinfiltration processespreferential flow pathwaysrunoff implications |
| spellingShingle | Sergio Esteban Lozano-Baez Yamileth Domínguez-Haydar Bob W. Zwartendijk Miguel Cooper Conrado Tobón Simone Di Prima Contrasts in Top Soil Infiltration Processes for Degraded vs. Restored Lands. A Case Study at the Perijá Range in Colombia Forests forest restoration infiltration capacity infiltration processes preferential flow pathways runoff implications |
| title | Contrasts in Top Soil Infiltration Processes for Degraded vs. Restored Lands. A Case Study at the Perijá Range in Colombia |
| title_full | Contrasts in Top Soil Infiltration Processes for Degraded vs. Restored Lands. A Case Study at the Perijá Range in Colombia |
| title_fullStr | Contrasts in Top Soil Infiltration Processes for Degraded vs. Restored Lands. A Case Study at the Perijá Range in Colombia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contrasts in Top Soil Infiltration Processes for Degraded vs. Restored Lands. A Case Study at the Perijá Range in Colombia |
| title_short | Contrasts in Top Soil Infiltration Processes for Degraded vs. Restored Lands. A Case Study at the Perijá Range in Colombia |
| title_sort | contrasts in top soil infiltration processes for degraded vs restored lands a case study at the perija range in colombia |
| topic | forest restoration infiltration capacity infiltration processes preferential flow pathways runoff implications |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/12/12/1716 |
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