A new wireless underground network system for continuous monitoring of soil water contents

A new stand-alone wireless embedded network system has been developed recently for continuous monitoring of soil water contents at multiple depths. This paper presents information on the technical aspects of the system, including the applied sensor technology, the wireless communication protocols, the gateway station for data collection, and data transfer to an end user Web page for disseminating results to targeted audiences. Results from the first test of the network system are presented and discussed, including lessons learned so far and actions to be undertaken in the near future to improve and enhance the operability of this innovative measurement approac

Met schuim tot 45% minder beregenen

Er is in Nederland vooral wateroverlast. De drainagecapaciteit op golfbanen is dan ook meestal wel op orde. Maar wat te doen in een droge periode als er strenge regels voor het waterverbruik gelden? Dan is schuim een oplossin

Hydrological response of a small catchment burned by experimental fire

Fire can considerably change hydrological processes, increasing the risk of extreme flooding and erosion events. Although hydrological processes are largely affected by scale, catchment-scale studies on the hydrological impact of fire in Europe are scarce, and nested approaches are rarely used. We performed a catchment-scale experimental fire to improve insight into the drivers of fire impact on hydrology. In north-central Portugal, rainfall, canopy interception, streamflow and soil moisture were monitored in small shrub-covered paired catchments pre- and post-fire. The shrub cover was medium dense to dense (44 to 84 %) and pre-fire canopy interception was on average 48.7% of total rainfall. Fire increased streamflow volumes 1.6 times more than predicted, resulting in increased runoff coefficients and changed rainfall-streamflow relationships - although the increase in streamflow per unit rainfall was only significant at the subcatchment-scale. Fire also fastened the response of topsoil moisture to rainfall from 2.7 to 2.1 h (p = 0.058), and caused more rapid drying of topsoils after rain events. Since soil physical changes due to fire were not apparent, we suggest that changes resulting from vegetation removal played an important role in increasing streamflow after fire. Results stress that fire impact on hydrology is largely affected by scale, highlight the hydrological impact of fire on small scales, and emphasize the risk of overestimating fire impact when upscaling plot-scale studies to the catchment-scale. Finally, they increase understanding of the processes contributing to post-fire flooding and erosion events

Soil erosion modelling: description and data requirements for the LISEM physically based erosion model

Presentation of an EU funded project, An interdisciplinary approach to analyse the dynamics of forest and soil degradation and to develop a sustainable agro-ecological strategy for fragile Himalayan watersheds. 'Himalayan Degradation