Hydrological thresholds of soil surface properties identified using conditional inference tree analysis

Tighe, Matthew; Munoz-Robles, Carlos; Reid, Nick; Wilson, Brian; Briggs, Sue V

doi:10.1002/esp.3191

Author(s)

Tighe, Matthew

Munoz-Robles, Carlos

Reid, Nick

Wilson, Brian

Briggs, Sue V

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

There has been limited success in determining critical thresholds of ground cover or soil characteristics that relate to significant changes in runoff or sediment production at the microscale (<1 m²), particularly in semi-arid systems where management of ground cover is critical. Despite this lack of quantified thresholds, there is an increasing research focus on the two-phase mosaic of vegetation patches and inter-patches in semi-arid systems. In order to quantify ground cover and soil related thresholds for runoff and sediment production, we used a data mining technique known as conditional inference tree analysis to determine statistically significant values of a range of measured variables that predicted average runoff, peak runoff, sediment concentration and sediment production at the microscale. On Chromic Luvisols across a range of vegetation states in semi-arid south-eastern Australia, large changes in runoff and sediment production were related to a hierarchy of different variables and thresholds, but the percentage of bare soil played a primary role in predicting runoff and sediment production in most instances. The identified thresholds match well with previous thresholds found in semi-arid and temperate regions (including the approximate values of 30%, 50% and 70% total ground cover). The analysis presented here identified the critical role of soil surface roughness, particularly where total ground cover is sparse. The analysis also provided evidence that a two-phase mosaic of patches and inter-patches identified via rapid visual assessment could be further delineated into distinct groups of hydrological response, or a multi-phase rather than a two-phase system. The approach used here may aid in assessing scale-dependent responses and address data non-linearity in studies of semi-arid hydrology.

Citation

Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 37(6), p. 620-632

ISSN

1096-9837

0197-9337

Link

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/10433

Language

en

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Title

Hydrological thresholds of soil surface properties identified using conditional inference tree analysis

Type of document

Journal Article

Entity Type

Publication

Author(s)	Tighe, Matthew Munoz-Robles, Carlos Reid, Nick Wilson, Brian Briggs, Sue V
Publication Date	2012
Abstract	There has been limited success in determining critical thresholds of ground cover or soil characteristics that relate to significant changes in runoff or sediment production at the microscale (<1 m²), particularly in semi-arid systems where management of ground cover is critical. Despite this lack of quantified thresholds, there is an increasing research focus on the two-phase mosaic of vegetation patches and inter-patches in semi-arid systems. In order to quantify ground cover and soil related thresholds for runoff and sediment production, we used a data mining technique known as conditional inference tree analysis to determine statistically significant values of a range of measured variables that predicted average runoff, peak runoff, sediment concentration and sediment production at the microscale. On Chromic Luvisols across a range of vegetation states in semi-arid south-eastern Australia, large changes in runoff and sediment production were related to a hierarchy of different variables and thresholds, but the percentage of bare soil played a primary role in predicting runoff and sediment production in most instances. The identified thresholds match well with previous thresholds found in semi-arid and temperate regions (including the approximate values of 30%, 50% and 70% total ground cover). The analysis presented here identified the critical role of soil surface roughness, particularly where total ground cover is sparse. The analysis also provided evidence that a two-phase mosaic of patches and inter-patches identified via rapid visual assessment could be further delineated into distinct groups of hydrological response, or a multi-phase rather than a two-phase system. The approach used here may aid in assessing scale-dependent responses and address data non-linearity in studies of semi-arid hydrology.
Citation	Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 37(6), p. 620-632
ISSN	1096-9837 0197-9337
Link	https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/10433
Language	en
Publisher	John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Title	Hydrological thresholds of soil surface properties identified using conditional inference tree analysis
Type of document	Journal Article
Entity Type	Publication

Hydrological thresholds of soil surface properties identified using conditional inference tree analysis

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