EGU2015-6427.pdf (36.51 kB)
Inter- and intra-field variations in soil compaction levels and subsequent impacts on hydrological extremes
conference contribution
posted on 2017-09-12, 08:57 authored by Ian Pattison, Victoria L. CoatesThe rural landscape in the UK is dominated by pastoral agriculture, with about 40% of land cover classified as
either improved or semi-natural grassland according to the Land Cover Map 2007. Intensification has resulted
in greater levels of compaction associated with higher stocking densities. However, there is likely to be a great
amount of variability in compaction levels within and between fields due to multiple controlling factors. This
research focusses in on two of these factors; firstly animal species, namely sheep, cattle and horses; and secondly
field zonation e.g. feeding areas, field gates, open field.
Field experiments have been conducted in multiple fields in the River Skell catchment, in Yorkshire, UK,
which has an area of 140km2. The effect on physical and hydrologic soil characteristics such as bulk density and
moisture contents have been quantified using a wide range of field and laboratory based experiments. Results
have highlighted statistically different properties between heavily compacted areas where animals congregate and
less-trampled open areas.
Furthermore, soil compaction has been hypothesised to contribute to increased flood risk at larger spatial
scales. Previous research (Pattison, 2011) on a 40km2 catchment (Dacre Beck, Lake District, UK) has shown
that when soil characteristics are homogeneously parameterised in a hydrological model, downstream peak
discharges can be 65% higher for a heavy compacted soil than for a lightly compacted soil. Here we report results
from spatially distributed hydrological modelling using soil parameters gained from the field experimentation.
Results highlight the importance of both the percentage of the catchment which is heavily compacted and also the
spatial distribution of these fields.
History
School
- Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
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EGU 2015Citation
PATTISON, I. and COATES, V., 2015. Inter- and intra-field variations in soil compaction levels and subsequent impacts on hydrological extremes [abstract]. PRESENTED AT: 2015 European Geosciences Union General Assembly (EGU 2015), Vienna, Austria, 15 April 2015.Publisher
European Geosciences Union (© the authors)Version
- VoR (Version of Record)
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This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Publication date
2015Publisher version
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EGU document;EGU2015-6427Language
- en