Temperate Soils Exposed to Drought—Key Processes, Impacts, Indicators, and Unknowns
The summer drought in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2022 produced significant speculation concerning how its termination may impact and interact with the soil resource. Whilst knowledge regarding soils and droughts exists in the scientific literature, a coherent understanding of the wider range of impa...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-10-01
|
| Series: | Land |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1759 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850068427573559296 |
|---|---|
| author | Sabine Reinsch David A. Robinson Maud A. J. van Soest Aidan M. Keith Simon Parry Andrew M. Tye |
| author_facet | Sabine Reinsch David A. Robinson Maud A. J. van Soest Aidan M. Keith Simon Parry Andrew M. Tye |
| author_sort | Sabine Reinsch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The summer drought in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2022 produced significant speculation concerning how its termination may impact and interact with the soil resource. Whilst knowledge regarding soils and droughts exists in the scientific literature, a coherent understanding of the wider range of impacts on soil properties and functions has not been compiled for temperate soils. Here, we draw together knowledge from studies in the UK and other temperate countries to understand how soils respond to drought, and importantly what and where our knowledge gaps are. First, we define the different types of droughts and their frequency in the UK and provide a brief overview on the likely societal impacts that droughts place on the soil and related ecosystems. Our focus is on ‘agricultural and ecosystem drought’, as this is when soils experience dry periods affecting crops and ecosystem function, followed by rewetting. The behaviour of moisture in soils and the key processes that contribute to its storage and transport are examined. The principal changes in the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils resulting from drought, and rewetting (i.e., drought termination) are discussed and their extensive interactions are demonstrated. Processes that are involved in the rewetting of soils are explored for soil and catchment-scale soil responses. Lastly, soils’ recovery after drought is considered, knowledge gaps are identified, and areas to improve understanding are highlighted. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7ac7c131baad4826ab6d071a2caf4871 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj-art-7ac7c131baad4826ab6d071a2caf48712025-08-20T02:48:03ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2024-10-011311175910.3390/land13111759Temperate Soils Exposed to Drought—Key Processes, Impacts, Indicators, and UnknownsSabine Reinsch0David A. Robinson1Maud A. J. van Soest2Aidan M. Keith3Simon Parry4Andrew M. Tye5UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UKUK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UKUK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Environment Centre Wales, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UKUK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UKUK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Bldg, Benson Ln, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UKBritish Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UKThe summer drought in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2022 produced significant speculation concerning how its termination may impact and interact with the soil resource. Whilst knowledge regarding soils and droughts exists in the scientific literature, a coherent understanding of the wider range of impacts on soil properties and functions has not been compiled for temperate soils. Here, we draw together knowledge from studies in the UK and other temperate countries to understand how soils respond to drought, and importantly what and where our knowledge gaps are. First, we define the different types of droughts and their frequency in the UK and provide a brief overview on the likely societal impacts that droughts place on the soil and related ecosystems. Our focus is on ‘agricultural and ecosystem drought’, as this is when soils experience dry periods affecting crops and ecosystem function, followed by rewetting. The behaviour of moisture in soils and the key processes that contribute to its storage and transport are examined. The principal changes in the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils resulting from drought, and rewetting (i.e., drought termination) are discussed and their extensive interactions are demonstrated. Processes that are involved in the rewetting of soils are explored for soil and catchment-scale soil responses. Lastly, soils’ recovery after drought is considered, knowledge gaps are identified, and areas to improve understanding are highlighted.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1759meteorological droughtsoil moisturesoil water infiltrationrewettingdrought recoverydrought termination |
| spellingShingle | Sabine Reinsch David A. Robinson Maud A. J. van Soest Aidan M. Keith Simon Parry Andrew M. Tye Temperate Soils Exposed to Drought—Key Processes, Impacts, Indicators, and Unknowns Land meteorological drought soil moisture soil water infiltration rewetting drought recovery drought termination |
| title | Temperate Soils Exposed to Drought—Key Processes, Impacts, Indicators, and Unknowns |
| title_full | Temperate Soils Exposed to Drought—Key Processes, Impacts, Indicators, and Unknowns |
| title_fullStr | Temperate Soils Exposed to Drought—Key Processes, Impacts, Indicators, and Unknowns |
| title_full_unstemmed | Temperate Soils Exposed to Drought—Key Processes, Impacts, Indicators, and Unknowns |
| title_short | Temperate Soils Exposed to Drought—Key Processes, Impacts, Indicators, and Unknowns |
| title_sort | temperate soils exposed to drought key processes impacts indicators and unknowns |
| topic | meteorological drought soil moisture soil water infiltration rewetting drought recovery drought termination |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1759 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sabinereinsch temperatesoilsexposedtodroughtkeyprocessesimpactsindicatorsandunknowns AT davidarobinson temperatesoilsexposedtodroughtkeyprocessesimpactsindicatorsandunknowns AT maudajvansoest temperatesoilsexposedtodroughtkeyprocessesimpactsindicatorsandunknowns AT aidanmkeith temperatesoilsexposedtodroughtkeyprocessesimpactsindicatorsandunknowns AT simonparry temperatesoilsexposedtodroughtkeyprocessesimpactsindicatorsandunknowns AT andrewmtye temperatesoilsexposedtodroughtkeyprocessesimpactsindicatorsandunknowns |