Systematic variation of soil infiltration rates within and between the components of the vegetation mosaic in an Australian desert landscape

Vegetation mosaics have commonly been thought to include two principal zones with distinctly different hydrology: relatively bare and impermeable runoff source zones ( intergroves ) and more strongly absorbing vegetated runon zones ( groves ). However, the data required to verify the internal uniformity of hydrologic response within these components of mosaic landscapes have been lacking, as have data on the nature (abrupt or gradational) of the boundaries between them. This study examines the degree of internal uniformity of key soil properties in the intergroves and groves of an Australian vegetation mosaic. Infiltration rates, soil water content, shear strength, bulk density and texture were determined at intervals of 1·5–2·5 m across several grove–intergrove cycles of an Australian banded shrubland. Results demonstrate that order‐of‐magnitude variability in soil infiltration rates can occur across intergroves, with lesser variation in groves. Patterns of infiltration are systematically related to slope position. Rates are relatively high in the uppermost parts of the intergrove, and fall to low values only in the lowermost intergrove where soils are mechanically strong. Infiltration rates increase rapidly from the lowermost intergrove to reach maxima within the upper to middle grove, from where rates once again decline toward the next intergrove. However, there is only a gradational change in infiltration rates across the pioneer zone–grove boundary, which is the sharpest of the mosaic boundaries when identified using plant cover data. Hydrologic models built on the presumption that mapped plant cover units are equally distinct hydrologically may need to be refined to incorporate the presence of systematic internal variability of infiltration rates and gradational change in soil hydraulic properties. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.