Massimo Iovino

Isoerosivity and erosion risk map for Sicily

This paper reviews simplified methods for evaluating the rainfall erosivity index and proposes two relationships for estimating the annual value of Wischmeiers rainfall erosivity index at sites equipped with recording and non-recording raingauges. For the Sicilian region, the FAO index was also found to represent the erosion risk. A regional relationship to estimate the standard deviation of the annual erosivity index is proposed. The isoerosivity map is plotted by using 41 values of the rainfall erosivity index calculated by Wischmeiers procedure and 128 values estimated according to a relationship proposed by the authors. Finally, for each of 169 sites, an erosion risk index is calculated and an erosion risk map is plotted.

Estimating the USLE Soil Erodibility Factor in Sicily, South Italy

The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is used by professionals and technicians to predict soil loss by water erosion and to establish soil conservation measures. One of the key elements of the USLE is the K factor, which is a measure of the soil erodibility. Given the difficulty in collecting sufficient data to adequately measure K, early in the USLEs history the soil erodibility nomograph method was developed to allow estimation of K based on standard soil properties. Since the nomograph approach was developed based on a small number of soils in the United States, it is necessary for other contexts to check the nomographs ability to predict the soils true erodibility. Considering that soil organic matter data are difficult to obtain, an estimation procedure of the soil erodibility factor, K, based only on soil textural data is desirable. In this investigation, the soil erodibility factor was first experimentally determined for the clay soil at the Sparacia (Sicily) experimental station. A relatively low value (0.039 t ha h ha-1MJ-1mm-1) was determined, and summer erodibility was found to be more than twice the value of winter erodibility. This measured K value was 1.85 times the nomograph K, which for many practical applications is not a large difference. Finally, using 1813 data points, a procedure for estimating K using only soil textural data was developed for Sicily. The errors of the predictions did not exceed a factor of two and three for 94.4% and 99.2% of the data points, respectively, suggesting a satisfactory ability of the developed procedure to yield an estimate of K with a reduced input dataset.

INFLUENCE OF THE PRESSURE HEAD SEQUENCE ON THE SOIL HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY DETERMINED WITH TENSION INFILTROMETER

An increasing and a decreasing sequence of pressure head, h0, values were applied with the tension infiltrometer (TI) to determine the corresponding hydraulic conductivity, K0. The pressure head sequence is expected to influence the K0 results given the hysteretic nature of the hydraulic conductivity relationship. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the selected pressure head sequence on the hydraulic conductivity of a sandy loam soil measured by a multipotential TI experiment. Twenty experiments were carried out by applying h0 values varying between -150 and +5 mm (site A). The h0 values ranged from -150 to -10 mm in another 20 spots (site B). Both wetting and drying values of K0 corresponding to h0 = -150, -75, and -30 mm were calculated for each experiment using the measured steady-state flow rates. At both sites, higher K0 results were obtained with the descending h0 sequence than with the ascending one. The deviations between the two sequences were more noticeable in site A (deviations by a factor ranging from 2.1 to 3.3, depending on h0) than in site B (deviations by a factor ranging from 1.0 to 2.2), and the values decreased as h0 increased. For most of the considered type of site/pressure head combinations, the differences between the K0 results were statistically significant (P = 0.05). In all cases, the coefficients of variation of the K0 data obtained with the two sequences differed at most by a factor of 1.2, suggesting that the applied h0 sequence did not affect appreciably the relative variability of the K0 results. It was concluded that the dependence of the K0 estimates on both the pressure head sequence (ascending or descending) and the highest value of h0 used within a descending sequence experiment may be neglected for a rough hydraulic characterization of the selected area. However, both factors should be maintained constant in order to obtain truly comparable K0 data from different experiments.

Parameter estimation by inverse method based on one-step and multi-step outflow experiments

Abstract The applicability of the inverse method for determining the soil water characteristic θ(h) and the hydraulic conductivity/water content K(θ) functions was investigated on two Typic Haploxererts characteristic of the Sicilian environment. Shrinkage behaviour of the two soils was analysed in order to verify if significant changes in soil volume occurred during the outflow process. One-step outflow experiments were performed, with comparisons between different procedures analysed not only in terms of estimated average functions, but also from the point of view of the uncertainty in the predictions, evaluated by a first-order analysis. Multi-step outflow experiments were then performed and compared to results obtained by the one-step method. The results showed that the θ(h) and K(θ) functions deduced by performing optimization on the outflow volume V vs. time t obtained from multi-step experiments supplemented with three equilibrium θ(h) values were more reliable than the θ(h) and K(θ) functions determined by performing optimization on the V(t) obtained from one-step experiments supplemented with independently determined θ(h) values.

Field and Numerical Tests of the Two-Ponding Depth Procedure for Analysis of Single-Ring Pressure Infiltrometer Data

Abstract The two-ponding depth (TPD) analysis procedure of single-ring infiltrometer data can yield invalid results, i.e., negative values of the field-saturated soil hydraulic conductivity or the matric flux potential, denoting failure of the two-level run. The objective of this study was to test the performance of the TPD procedure in analyzing the single-ring infiltrometer data of different types of soils. A field investigation carried out in western Sicily, Italy, yielded higher failure rates (40%) in two clay loam soils than in a sandy loam soil (25%). A similar result, i.e., fine-textured soils yielding higher failure rates than the coarse-textured one, was obtained using numerically simulated infiltration rates. Soil heterogeneity and reading errors were suggested to be factors determining invalid results in the field. With the numerical data, allowing a less generic definition of soil heterogeneity, invalid TPD results were occasionally obtained with the simultaneous occurrence of a high random variation (standard deviation = 0.5) and a well developed structural correlation for saturated hydraulic conductivity (correlation length = 20 cm). It was concluded that a larger number of replicated runs should be planned to characterize fine-textured soils, where the risk to obtain invalid results is relatively high. Large rings should be used since they appeared more appropriate than the small ones to capture and average soil heterogeneity. Numerical simulation appeared suitable for developing improved strategies of soil characterization for an area of interest, which should also take into account macropore effects.

Effects of vegetation at different succession stages on soil properties and water flow in sandy soil

Abstract The effects of vegetation at different succession stages on soil properties and water flow were assessed in sandy soil at 3 experimental sites near Sekule village (southwest Slovakia). Site S1 was a pioneer site dominated by mosses, site S2 was an early successional stage with a thin stand of grasses, and site S3 was an early successional stage (more advanced compared to the previous), richer in species, with a denser stand of grasses. It was found that vegetation at different succession stages affected soil properties and water flow in sandy soil, but the order of changes in some soil properties and water penetration depths were different from the order of succession stages.

Subsurface flow and large-scale lateral saturated soil hydraulic conductivity in a Mediterranean hillslope with contrasting land uses

Abstract The lateral saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ks,l, is the soil property that mostly governs subsurface flow in hillslopes. Determinations of Ks,l at the hillslope scale are expected to yield valuable information for interpreting and modeling hydrological processes since soil heterogeneities are functionally averaged in this case. However, these data are rare since the experiments are quite difficult and costly. In this investigation, that was carried out in Sardinia (Italy), large-scale determinations of Ks,l were done in two adjacent hillslopes covered by a Mediterranean maquis and grass, respectively, with the following objectives: i) to evaluate the effect of land use change on Ks,l, and ii) to compare estimates of Ks,l obtained under natural and artificial rainfall conditions. Higher Ks,l values were obtained under the maquis than in the grassed soil since the soil macropore network was better connected in the maquis soil. The lateral conductivity increased sharply close to the soil surface. The sharp increase of Ks,l started at a larger depth for the maquis soil than the grassed one. The Ks,l values estimated during artificial rainfall experiments agreed with those obtained during the natural rainfall periods. For the grassed site, it was possible to detect a stabilization of Ks,l in the upper soil layer, suggesting that flow transport capacity of the soil pore system did not increase indefinitely. This study highlighted the importance of the experimental determination of Ks,l at the hillslope scale for subsurface modeling, and also as a benchmark for developing appropriate sampling methodologies based on near-point estimation of Ks,l.

Impacts of thinning of a Mediterranean oak forest on soil properties influencing water infiltration

Abstract In Mediterranean ecosystems, special attention needs to be paid to forest–water relationships due to water scarcity. In this context, Adaptive Forest Management (AFM) has the objective to establish how forest resources have to be managed with regards to the efficient use of water, which needs maintaining healthy soil properties even after disturbance. The main objective of this investigation was to understand the effect of one of the AFM methods, namely forest thinning, on soil hydraulic properties. At this aim, soil hydraulic characterization was performed on two contiguous Mediterranean oak forest plots, one of them thinned to reduce the forest density from 861 to 414 tree per ha. Three years after the intervention, thinning had not affected soil water permeability of the studied plots. Both ponding and tension infiltration runs yielded not significantly different saturated, Ks, and unsaturated, K−20, hydraulic conductivity values at the thinned and control plots. Therefore, thinning had no an adverse effect on vertical water fluxes at the soil surface. Mean Ks values estimated with the ponded ring infiltrometer were two orders of magnitude higher than K−20 values estimated with the minidisk infiltrometer, revealing probably soil structure with macropores and fractures. The input of hydrophobic organic matter, as a consequence of the addition of plant residues after the thinning treatment, resulted in slight differences in terms of both water drop penetration time, WDPT, and the index of water repellency, R, between thinned and control plots. Soil water repellency only affected unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity measurements. Moreover, K−20 values showed a negative correlation with both WDPT and R, whereas Ks values did not, revealing that the soil hydrophobic behavior has no impact on saturated hydraulic conductivity.

Application of minidisk infiltrometer to estimate water repellency in Mediterranean pine forest soils

Abstract Assessment of soil water repellency (SWR) was conducted in the decomposed organic floor layer (duff) and in the mineral soil layer of two Mediterranean pine forests, one in Italy and the other in Spain, by the widely-used water drop penetration time (WDPT) test and alternative indices derived from infiltration experiments carried out by the minidisk infiltrometer (MDI). In particular, the repellency index (RI) was calculated as the adjusted ratio between ethanol and water soil sorptivities whereas the water repellency cessation time (WRCT) and the specifically proposed modified repellency index (RIm) were derived from the hydrophobic and wettable stages of a single water infiltration experiment. Time evolution of SWR and vegetation cover influence was also investigated at the Italian site. All indices unanimously detected severe SWR conditions in the duff of the pine forests. The mineral subsoils in the two forests showed different wettability and the clay-loam subsoil at Ciavolo forest was hydrophobic even if characterized by organic matter (OM) content similar to the wettable soil of an adjacent glade. It was therefore assumed that the composition rather than the total amount of OM influenced SWR. The hydraulic conductivity of the duff differed by a factor of 3.8–5.8 between the two forested sites thus influencing the vertical extent of SWR. Indeed, the mineral subsoil of Javea showed wettable or weak hydrophobic conditions probably because leaching of hydrophobic compounds was slowed or prevented at all. Estimations of SWR according to the different indices were in general agreement even if some discrepancies were observed. In particular, at low hydrophobicity levels the SWR indices gathered from the MDI tests were able to signal sub-critical SWR conditions that were not detected by the traditional WDPT index. The WRCT and modified repellency index RIm yielded SWR estimates in reasonable agreement with those obtained with the more cumbersome RI test and, therefore, can be proposed as alternative procedures for SWR assessment.

Height of water pouring effects on infiltration runs carried out in an initially wet sandy-loam soil

Height of Water Pouring Effects on Infiltration Runs Carried Out in an Initially Wet Sandy-loam Soil Vincenzo Bagarello*, Noemi Cecere, Simone Di Prima, Giuseppe Giordano, Massimo Iovino Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Viale Italia, 39, 07100 Sassari, Italy vincenzo.bagarello@unipa.it