Articles | Volume 8, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-717-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-8-717-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Original research article
| 
07 Dec 2022
Original research article |
| 07 Dec 2022
| 07 Dec 2022
Biocrust-linked changes in soil aggregate stability along a climatic gradient in the Chilean Coastal Range
Nicolás Riveras-Muñoz
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geosciences, Soil Science and Geomorphology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 19–23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
Steffen Seitz
Department of Geosciences, Soil Science and Geomorphology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 19–23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
Kristina Witzgall
Soil Science,Technical University of Munich, Emil-Ramann-Str. 2, 85354 Freising, Germany
Victoria Rodríguez
GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section 5.3 Geomicrobiology, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Peter Kühn
Department of Geosciences, Soil Science and Geomorphology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 19–23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
Carsten W. Mueller
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Rómulo Oses
Centro Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Sustentable de Atacama (CRIDESAT), Universidad de Atacama, Copayapu 485, Copiapó, Chile
Oscar Seguel
Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Universidad de Chile, Av. Santa Rosa #11315, La Pintana, 8820808 Santiago, Chile
Dirk Wagner
GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section 5.3 Geomicrobiology, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24–25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
Thomas Scholten
Department of Geosciences, Soil Science and Geomorphology, University of Tübingen, Rümelinstr. 19–23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany
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Mathias Bellat, Mjahid Zebari, Benjamin Glissmann, Tobias Rentschler, Paola Sconzo, Nafiseh Kakhani, Ruhollah Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, Pegah Kohsravani, Bekas Brifkany, Peter Pfälzner, and Thomas Scholten
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Kay D. Seufferheld, Pedro V. G. Batista, Hadi Shokati, Thomas Scholten, and Peter Fiener
SOIL, 12, 301–319, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-301-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-12-301-2026, 2026
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Hadi Shokati, Kay D. Seufferheld, Peter Fiener, and Thomas Scholten
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Raquel N. R. Falcão, Josef Krása, Martin Neumann, Jan-František Kubát, Corinna Gall, and Steffen Seitz
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Fedor Scholz, Manuel Traub, Christiane Zarfl, Thomas Scholten, and Martin V. Butz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 6257–6283, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6257-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-6257-2025, 2025
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We present a neural network model that estimates river discharge based on gridded elevation, precipitation, and solar radiation. Some instances of our model produce more accurate forecasts than the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) when simulating discharge with lead times of 50 days on the Neckar river network in Germany. It consists of multiple components that are designed to model distinct sub-processes. We show that this makes the model behave in a more physically realistic way.
Kerstin Rau, Katharina Eggensperger, Frank Schneider, Michael Blaschek, Philipp Hennig, and Thomas Scholten
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Corinna Gall, Silvana Oldenburg, Martin Nebel, Thomas Scholten, and Steffen Seitz
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Rainfall input generally controls soil water and plant growth. We focus on rainfall redistribution in succession sequence forests over 22 years. Some changes in rainwater volume and chemistry in the throughfall and stemflow and drivers were investigated. Results show that shifted open rainfall over time and forest factors induced remarkable variability in throughfall and stemflow, which potentially makes forecasting future changes in water resources in the forest ecosystems more difficult.
Violeta Tolorza, Christian H. Mohr, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, Benjamín Sotomayor, Dagoberto Poblete-Caballero, Sebastien Carretier, Mauricio Galleguillos, and Oscar Seguel
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We calculated disturbances and landscape-lowering rates across various timescales in a ~ 406 km2 catchment in the Chilean Coastal Range. Intensive management of exotic tree plantations involves short rotational cycles (planting and harvesting by replanting clear-cuts) lasting 9–25 years, dense forestry road networks (increasing connectivity), and a recent increase in wildfires. Concurrently, persistent drought conditions and the high water demand of fast-growing trees reduce water availability.
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Even under forests, soil is eroded by rainfall. This is particularly true when human impact damages vegetation layers. We found that the erosion risk can be greatly increased by structural drip points at branches forming large drops under the tree canopy in the foliated and non-foliated seasons. Our measurements with sand-filled splash cups in Japanese beech forests showed drop energies up to 50 times greater than under freefall precipitation, indicating locally severe sediment detachment.
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Short summary
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) stabilize the soil surface mainly in arid regions but are also present in Mediterranean and humid climates. We studied this stabilizing effect through wet and dry sieving along a large climatic gradient in Chile and found that the stabilization of soil aggregates persists in all climates, but their role is masked and reserved for a limited number of size fractions under humid conditions by higher vegetation and organic matter contents in the topsoil.
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) stabilize the soil surface mainly in arid regions but are...
