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A Model of Ion Transport During Moisture Flow from a Douglas‐Fir Forest Floor
Author(s) -
McColl J. G.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1934388
Subject(s) - forest floor , lysimeter , environmental science , precipitation , hydrology (agriculture) , soil science , atmospheric sciences , soil water , geology , geography , meteorology , geotechnical engineering
The electrical conductivity and flow—rate of solution in a forest floor were continuously monitored in the field using a tension—lysimeter system coupled with automated recording instruments. Forest floor temperature was also automatically recorded. The field study site was in a uniform second—growth Douglas—fir forest on a glacial outwash soil in western Washington. Total ion amounts released from the forest floor during the movement of individual wetting fronts resulting from natural precipitation were calculated. These field data, together with data obtained in the laboratory, were used to develop a model of the transport process. Over the temperature range experience in the field, I, which is the total ion amount transport by a given total flow of solution, can be described by the algebraic model: I=M/1 + A exp(— BT), (0 degrees C < T < 20 degrees C) where M is the maximum ion amount transported by the given flow, T is the mean temperature of the dry period preceding flow, and A and B are constants. Values of M, A and B are also given for total flows up to 26 mm, so that I can be calculated for any combination of flow and temperature.