Deciphering the stratified distribution and evolution of deep soil drought and its environmental controls: New evidence from continuous fiber optic monitoring in 0–30 m profile

Regulating soil drought regime is essential for global ecology and climate security. Indeed, soil drought is largely dependent on rapid climate change, complex soil types, and interaction with vegetations, leading to its spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Previous studies paid less attention on tem...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yongping Tong, Yunqiang Wang, Jingxiong Zhou, Meina He, Ting Wang, Yuting Xu, Xiangyu Guo, Mengya Sun, Zimin Li, Bin Shi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-02-01
Series:Geoderma
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000060
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850195210058858496
author Yongping Tong
Yunqiang Wang
Jingxiong Zhou
Meina He
Ting Wang
Yuting Xu
Xiangyu Guo
Mengya Sun
Zimin Li
Bin Shi
author_facet Yongping Tong
Yunqiang Wang
Jingxiong Zhou
Meina He
Ting Wang
Yuting Xu
Xiangyu Guo
Mengya Sun
Zimin Li
Bin Shi
author_sort Yongping Tong
collection DOAJ
description Regulating soil drought regime is essential for global ecology and climate security. Indeed, soil drought is largely dependent on rapid climate change, complex soil types, and interaction with vegetations, leading to its spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Previous studies paid less attention on temporal-frequently and spatial-deeply investigations, therefore causing information omission when studying soil drought. This study deployed Fiber Bragg Grating sensors in a 0–30 m profile to monitor deep soil drought with daily resolution under a Robinia pseudoacacia forest in the Chinese Loess Plateau. We aimed at deciphering the distribution, evolution, and determinants of soil drought in an extremely deep profile surpassing the region’s deepest root range. Our experiment identified three typical drought characteristic layers within the deep loess profile: 0–0.4 m (L1), 0.4–1.8 m (L2), and 1.8–30 m (L3). Soil desiccation indices in all three layers of L1, L2, and L3 were 3.56, 0.37, and −0.92, respectively. No drought was observed in L1, while L2 exhibited the most frequent drought changes, and L3 showed a stable and severe drought. These results reveal that both distribution and evolution of deep soil drought exhibited the significant stratified characteristics. For the drought in the entire profile, roots, soil organic carbon, and bulk density acted as the primary factors influenced its spatial distribution. The temporal dynamics of drought were more significantly influenced by temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity than by precipitation. Our analytical results also indicated that synergistic impacts existed when the aforementioned factors affected soil drought distribution and evolution. Considering heterogeneous characteristics and determinants in diverse layers, we suggest a ‘Soil Characteristic Layer Identification–Stratified Governance’ strategy during ecological recovery, to strike a water demand balance between vegetation restoration and soil drought regulation. Our findings therefore offer a reference for deep soil drought evaluation and regulation in loess regions worldwide.
format Article
id doaj-art-e173372afdc1417aa9b735c2ee629e71
institution OA Journals
issn 1872-6259
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Geoderma
spelling doaj-art-e173372afdc1417aa9b735c2ee629e712025-08-20T02:13:48ZengElsevierGeoderma1872-62592025-02-0145411716810.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117168Deciphering the stratified distribution and evolution of deep soil drought and its environmental controls: New evidence from continuous fiber optic monitoring in 0–30 m profileYongping Tong0Yunqiang Wang1Jingxiong Zhou2Meina He3Ting Wang4Yuting Xu5Xiangyu Guo6Mengya Sun7Zimin Li8Bin Shi9State Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; National Observation and Research Station of Earth Critical Zone on the Loess Plateau, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710061, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; National Observation and Research Station of Earth Critical Zone on the Loess Plateau, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710061, China; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China; Corresponding author at: No. 97 Yanxiang Road, Xi’an 710061, Shaanxi, China.State Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; National Observation and Research Station of Earth Critical Zone on the Loess Plateau, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710061, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China; National Observation and Research Station of Earth Critical Zone on the Loess Plateau, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710061, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China; National Observation and Research Station of Earth Critical Zone on the Loess Plateau, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710061, China; Xi’an Institute for Innovative Earth Environment Research, Xi’an 710061, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China; National Observation and Research Station of Earth Critical Zone on the Loess Plateau, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710061, China; Xi’an Institute for Innovative Earth Environment Research, Xi’an 710061, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China; National Observation and Research Station of Earth Critical Zone on the Loess Plateau, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710061, China; Xi’an Institute for Innovative Earth Environment Research, Xi’an 710061, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Loess Science, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710061, China; National Observation and Research Station of Earth Critical Zone on the Loess Plateau, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710061, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, ChinaRegulating soil drought regime is essential for global ecology and climate security. Indeed, soil drought is largely dependent on rapid climate change, complex soil types, and interaction with vegetations, leading to its spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Previous studies paid less attention on temporal-frequently and spatial-deeply investigations, therefore causing information omission when studying soil drought. This study deployed Fiber Bragg Grating sensors in a 0–30 m profile to monitor deep soil drought with daily resolution under a Robinia pseudoacacia forest in the Chinese Loess Plateau. We aimed at deciphering the distribution, evolution, and determinants of soil drought in an extremely deep profile surpassing the region’s deepest root range. Our experiment identified three typical drought characteristic layers within the deep loess profile: 0–0.4 m (L1), 0.4–1.8 m (L2), and 1.8–30 m (L3). Soil desiccation indices in all three layers of L1, L2, and L3 were 3.56, 0.37, and −0.92, respectively. No drought was observed in L1, while L2 exhibited the most frequent drought changes, and L3 showed a stable and severe drought. These results reveal that both distribution and evolution of deep soil drought exhibited the significant stratified characteristics. For the drought in the entire profile, roots, soil organic carbon, and bulk density acted as the primary factors influenced its spatial distribution. The temporal dynamics of drought were more significantly influenced by temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity than by precipitation. Our analytical results also indicated that synergistic impacts existed when the aforementioned factors affected soil drought distribution and evolution. Considering heterogeneous characteristics and determinants in diverse layers, we suggest a ‘Soil Characteristic Layer Identification–Stratified Governance’ strategy during ecological recovery, to strike a water demand balance between vegetation restoration and soil drought regulation. Our findings therefore offer a reference for deep soil drought evaluation and regulation in loess regions worldwide.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000060Deep soil droughtStratified evolution characteristicsVegetation restorationSoil drought regulationHigh-frequency Fiber Bragg Grating observation
spellingShingle Yongping Tong
Yunqiang Wang
Jingxiong Zhou
Meina He
Ting Wang
Yuting Xu
Xiangyu Guo
Mengya Sun
Zimin Li
Bin Shi
Deciphering the stratified distribution and evolution of deep soil drought and its environmental controls: New evidence from continuous fiber optic monitoring in 0–30 m profile
Geoderma
Deep soil drought
Stratified evolution characteristics
Vegetation restoration
Soil drought regulation
High-frequency Fiber Bragg Grating observation
title Deciphering the stratified distribution and evolution of deep soil drought and its environmental controls: New evidence from continuous fiber optic monitoring in 0–30 m profile
title_full Deciphering the stratified distribution and evolution of deep soil drought and its environmental controls: New evidence from continuous fiber optic monitoring in 0–30 m profile
title_fullStr Deciphering the stratified distribution and evolution of deep soil drought and its environmental controls: New evidence from continuous fiber optic monitoring in 0–30 m profile
title_full_unstemmed Deciphering the stratified distribution and evolution of deep soil drought and its environmental controls: New evidence from continuous fiber optic monitoring in 0–30 m profile
title_short Deciphering the stratified distribution and evolution of deep soil drought and its environmental controls: New evidence from continuous fiber optic monitoring in 0–30 m profile
title_sort deciphering the stratified distribution and evolution of deep soil drought and its environmental controls new evidence from continuous fiber optic monitoring in 0 30 m profile
topic Deep soil drought
Stratified evolution characteristics
Vegetation restoration
Soil drought regulation
High-frequency Fiber Bragg Grating observation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000060
work_keys_str_mv AT yongpingtong decipheringthestratifieddistributionandevolutionofdeepsoildroughtanditsenvironmentalcontrolsnewevidencefromcontinuousfiberopticmonitoringin030mprofile
AT yunqiangwang decipheringthestratifieddistributionandevolutionofdeepsoildroughtanditsenvironmentalcontrolsnewevidencefromcontinuousfiberopticmonitoringin030mprofile
AT jingxiongzhou decipheringthestratifieddistributionandevolutionofdeepsoildroughtanditsenvironmentalcontrolsnewevidencefromcontinuousfiberopticmonitoringin030mprofile
AT meinahe decipheringthestratifieddistributionandevolutionofdeepsoildroughtanditsenvironmentalcontrolsnewevidencefromcontinuousfiberopticmonitoringin030mprofile
AT tingwang decipheringthestratifieddistributionandevolutionofdeepsoildroughtanditsenvironmentalcontrolsnewevidencefromcontinuousfiberopticmonitoringin030mprofile
AT yutingxu decipheringthestratifieddistributionandevolutionofdeepsoildroughtanditsenvironmentalcontrolsnewevidencefromcontinuousfiberopticmonitoringin030mprofile
AT xiangyuguo decipheringthestratifieddistributionandevolutionofdeepsoildroughtanditsenvironmentalcontrolsnewevidencefromcontinuousfiberopticmonitoringin030mprofile
AT mengyasun decipheringthestratifieddistributionandevolutionofdeepsoildroughtanditsenvironmentalcontrolsnewevidencefromcontinuousfiberopticmonitoringin030mprofile
AT ziminli decipheringthestratifieddistributionandevolutionofdeepsoildroughtanditsenvironmentalcontrolsnewevidencefromcontinuousfiberopticmonitoringin030mprofile
AT binshi decipheringthestratifieddistributionandevolutionofdeepsoildroughtanditsenvironmentalcontrolsnewevidencefromcontinuousfiberopticmonitoringin030mprofile