What is it about?
Water quality problems are frequently influenced by hydrological processes, particularly in landscapes in which land drainage has been modified. We evaluated the influence of rainfall characteristics, antecedent moisture and groundwater on the activation overland flow, tile drainage and groundwater table in tiled and nontiled clayey landscapes. We found rainfall intensity as the main driver in the activation of all runoff pathways. Antecedent moisture also influenced the activation of tile drainage. In addition, installation of tile drainage did not offset the frequent activation of overland flow.
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Why is it important?
In contrast to previous studies, we did not see rapid tile drainage activation in these vertisolic clays despite the presence of desiccation cracks. We have explained our findings with regard to regional climate, nature of vertisols (swelling and shrinking; less prevalence of biopores), tile depth and age of tiles. This may have implications in the phosphorus and nitrogen export by tile drainage in Northern Great Plains.
Perspectives
This is my first article from my PhD study. Collecting data during rain storms and floods with heavy clay soils stuck on your boots was somewhat a quite experience.
Vivekananthan Kokulan
University of Waterloo
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Hydroclimatic controls on runoff activation in an artificially drained, near-level vertisolic clay landscape in a Prairie climate, Hydrological Processes, November 2018, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/hyp.13347.
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