Soil moisture and temperature dynamics in juvenile and mature forest as a result of tree growth, hydrometeorological forcings, and drought

• Published in: Hydrological processes Vol. 37; no. 6
• Main Authors: Rabbai, Andrea, Wendt, Doris E., Curioni, Giulio, Quick, Susan E., MacKenzie, A. Robert, Hannah, David M., Kettridge, Nicholas, Ullah, Sami, Hart, Kris M., Krause, Stefan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.06.2023; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Afforestation; Agriculture; Air temperature; BIFoR; Carbon sequestration; Drought; Dry periods; Dynamics; Ecosystem services; Ecosystems; Forest ecosystems; forest hydrology; Forest management; Forests; Hot weather; Hydrologic processes; Hydrology; Hydrometeorology; Juveniles; Land cover; micro‐climate; Moisture content; Moisture effects; Perturbation; Physiology; Plantations; Runoff; Soil; Soil dynamics; Soil moisture; Soil moisture dynamics; Soil temperature; Soil water; Soil water storage; Storage capacity; Storage conditions; Surface runoff; Surface water; Temperature; Temperature patterns; Terrestrial ecosystems; Tree growth; Water demand; Water storage
• DOI: 10.1002/hyp.14919
• ISSN: 0885-6087

Afforestation, as one of the major drivers of land cover change, has the potential to provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Aside from carbon sequestration, afforestation can improve hydrological regulation by increasing soil water storage capacity and reducing surface water runoff. However, afforested areas are rarely studied over time scales appropriate to determine when changes in soil hydrological processes occur as the planted (mixed) forests establish and grow. This study investigates the seasonal soil moisture and temperature dynamics, as well as the event‐based responses to precipitation and dry periods, for a mature and a juvenile forest ecosystem over a 5‐year time period. Generally, soil moisture was higher in the juvenile forest than in the mature forest, suggesting a lower physiological water demand. Following the 2018 drought, soil moisture dynamics in the growing juvenile plantation began to match those of the mature forest, owing to canopy development and possibly also to internal resilience mechanisms of the young forest to these external hot weather perturbations. Soil temperature dynamics in the juvenile plantation followed air temperature patterns closely, indicating lower thermal regulation capacity compared to the mature forest. While our findings show that an aggrading juvenile plantation achieves mature forest shallow soil moisture storage dynamics at an early stage, well before physiological maturity, this was not the case for soil temperature. Our results shed light on long‐term trends of seasonal and event‐based responses of soil moisture and temperatures in different‐aged forest systems, which can be used to inform future assessments of hydrological and ecosystem responses to disturbances and forest management. Long‐term soil moisture and temperature monitoring in juvenile and mature forests revealed significant differences in seasonal patterns and event responses. Soil moisture dynamics in a juvenile mixed forest began match those of a mature forest due to canopy development and possibly internal drought resilience mechanisms. In contrast, soil temperature dynamic in the juvenile mixed forest show lower temperature buffering capacity than the mature forest, indicating that some ecosystem services (ES) can be provided earlier than others.