Changing soil and surface conditions during rainfall: Single rainstorm/subsequent rainstorms

During rainstorms, physical properties of the soil surface change significantly. As a result of surface sealing, variations in infiltration rate, water content, water suction, bulk density and surface roughness can be observed and quantified. Dynamic processes taking place on the soil surface were investigated in laboratory and field experiments on a typical loess-derived soil in Germany. This study focused on the effects of continuous and subsequent rainfall treatments. Furthermore, all laboratory experiments were carried out in two different initial moisture regimes. In the laboratory experiments, a capillary rainfall simulator was used. Water suction was measured with microtensiometers 2 cm below the sealed surface in a 30 s time interval. The water content was determined with TDR probes in a variable time step, depending on the movement of the infiltration front. Compared to the continuous rainfall treatment, the decline of infiltration rate was much steeper in the subsequent rainfall events. After 2 h of continuous rainfall, a `drying effectʹ could be observed underneath the surface sealing at a depth of 2 cm. This was not the case in the intermittent treatment. Saturated conditions 10 cm below the surface sealing were reached in none of the treatments. The variation of bulk density within the first centimeter of the soil was determined via computed tomography and also with two simple methods using micro soil cores [Fohrer, N., 1995. Auswirkungen von Bodenfeuchte, Bodenart und Oberflächenbeschaffenheit auf Prozesse der Flächenerosion durch Wasser. PhD Thesis, Technical University Berlin, Bodenökologie und Bodengenese, No. 19, 183 pp.] and immersion as described by Roth [Roth, C.H., 1997. Bulk density of surface crusts: depth functions and relationships to texture. Catena 29 (3–4) 223–237.]. Under continuous rainfall conditions, the initially dry plots showed a higher compaction than the initially moist treatments. In the case of subsequent rainstorms, it was shown that the bulk density–depth function is not constant with time. The alteration of surface roughness was measured using a laser relief meter. The levelling effect of the intermittent rainfall regime proved to be much stronger in comparison to the continuous event.