Tracer methods are commonly used for estimation of soil water and groundwater recharge flux especially in arid and semiarid regions. These tracer methods are based on the solute profile shape (distribution of concentration with depth) and peak position. For soils of semi-arid to sub-humid climates, vertical water movement may seasonally vary in direction due to climate conditions and vegetative demands. The first objective of this thesis was to show that TDR (time domain reflectometry) can be a useful tool for estimation of soil water fluxes using tracer methods. The second objective was to study the effects of repeated cycles of directionally-varying flow upon solute profile shape and position used by tracer methods under controlled laboratory conditions. Three soil columns with a KCl tracer and Beaver Creek sand were used for this study. Rain and evaporative systems were used to cause the downward and upward soil water movements in the column, respectively. Soil moisture content and solute concentration were measured using TDR.<p> The result for the first objective was that the peak migration and the soil water balance methods gave similar average upward and downward soil water fluxes. This result indicates that the TDR method can be recommended for determination of soil water fluxes with tracer methods in fields or in laboratory studies for sufficient time and depth.<p> In the second objective, three different seasonal flow regimes were studied using the sand columns, and each flow regime simulated climatic seasons that might occur in the field. Several apparent and statistical parameters were used to evaluate the change of the solute profile shape and position under cycling conditions of the three different flow regimes. These parameters showed that the solute profile shape and position clearly changed under the three different repeated regimes of downward and upward seasonal flows. It was concluded that climate (seasonality) can have significant impacts on the estimation of soil water fluxes using tracer methods. The result from this investigation shows that the profile shape and position after a number of cycles (years of fluctuations) can provide a description of the previous climatic effects on the concentration profile. Therefore, the profile shape can be used as an indicator of the flow regime that has affected the solute profile shape. Moreover, if a reference of a solute profile is available (a solute profile before a period of time), it is easier to determine the flow regime affected the profile shape and position by determining the change of the profile shape and position using statistical parameters presented in this thesis.

The intensification of land-water management due to agriculture, forestry, and urbanization is a global phenomenon increasing the pressure on worlds water resources and threatening water security in North America. The Prairie Pothole Region of North America covers approximately 775,000 km2 and contains millions of wetlands that serve important hydrological and ecological functions. The unique hummocky topography and the variable effect of different processes contribute to high spatio-temporal variability in soil water, posing major challenges in hydrological studies. The objectives of this study were to a) examine the spatial pattern of soil water storage and its scale and location characteristics; and b) to identify its controls at multiple scales. Soil water content at 20 cm intervals down to 140 cm was measured along a transect extending over several knolldepression cycles in a hummocky landscape. High water storage in depressions and low water storage on the knolls created a spatial pattern that was inversely related to elevation. Spatial patterns were strongly similar within any given season (intra-season rank correlation coefficient as high as 0.99), moreso than between the same season over different years (inter-annual rank correlation coefficient as high as 0.97). Less similar spatial patterns were observed between different seasons (inter-season rank correlation coefficients as high as 0.90). While the intra-season and inter-annual spatial patterns were similar at scales >18 m, the inter-season spatial patterns were similar at much large scales (>72 m). This may be due to the variations in landform elements and micro-topography. The similarity at scales >72 m were present at any time and depth. However, small- and medium-scale spatial patterns changed with depth and with season due to a change in the hydrological processes. The relative dominance of a given set of processes operating both within a season and for the same season over different years yielded strong intra-season and inter-annual similarity at scales >18 m. Moreover, similarity was stronger with increasing depth, and was thought to be due to the dampening effect of overlying soil layers that are more dynamic. Similarity of spatial patterns over time helps to identify the location that best represents the field averaged soil water and improves sampling efficiency. Change in the similarity of scales of spatial pattern helps identify the change in sampling domain as controlled by hydrological processes. The scale information can be used to improve prediction for use in environmental management and modeling of different surface and subsurface hydrological processes. The similarity of spatial pattern between the surface and subsurface layers help make inferences on deep layer hydrological processes as well as groundwater dynamics from surface water measurements.

<p><p>Chlorine is an element commonly found in the environment of our planet, in the atmosphere, the earth crust and the oceans. Chlorine occurs in two forms, inorganic chloride (Cl_in) and organically bound chlorine (Cl_org), also called organochlorine. For a long time, the organic halogens (among them the organic chlorine) had been considered as produced only by human activities. However, the research of the recent decades suggests a considerably amount of naturally produced organic chlorine in soil and water. Through the research, a hypothesis have emerged, suggesting that there occur a formation of organic chlorine in the top soil layer where chloride is consuming, while the organic chlorine is degrading on deeper soil levels, causing a release of chloride. The study in this thesis attempts to explore the transportation of organic chlorine through soil. 49 soil water samples were collected at three transects, S04, S12 and S22, nearby a stream in northern Sweden and analysed for Cl_org, using an AOX-analyser. The results suggest a decrease in concentrations of Cl_org by soil depth for transects S04 and S12. The study also indicates that concentrations of Cl_org are decreasing with increasing distance from the stream, where the highest mean concentration was found in the organic matter-rich riparian transect S04. Further conclusions are that the spring flood and changes in groundwater level may influence the concentrations of Cl_org.</p></p> / <p><p>Ämnet klor är vanligt förekommande på vår planet och finns både i atmosfären, jordskorpan och världens oceaner. Klor uppträder i två olika former: oorganisk klorid (Cl_in) och organiskt bundet klor (Cl_org). De organiska halogenerna (bland vilka organiskt klor ingår) har under lång tid ansetts härstamma från enbart antropogena källor. De senaste decenniernas forskning har dock tytt på en naturlig produktion av organiskt klor i mark och vatten. Genom denna forskning har en hypotes tagit form som föreslår en bildning av organiskt klor i de övre marklagren, där klorid binds, medan det i djupare marklager sker en nedbrytning av det organiska kloret vilket medför ett frigörande av klorid. Denna studie syftar till att studera transporten av organiskt klor genom mark. 49 stycken markvattenprover insamlades vid tre provpunkter (S04, S12 och S22) på ett avrinningsområde i norra Sverige och analyserades med hjälp av ett AOX-instrument. Resultaten tyder på en minskning av Cl_org med ökande markdjup för provpunkterna S04 och S12. Studien visar även en minskning i koncentration av organiskt klor med ökande avstånd till vattendraget, där den högsta medelkoncentrationen återfanns i provpunkten S04 som ligger nära bäcken och är rik på organiskt material. Vidare slutsater är att vattenflödena under vårflod samt variasionen i grundvattennivå har en påverkan på koncentrationerna av Cl_org.</p></p>

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2009. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

<p>Seasonally dry ecosystems cover large areas over the world, have high potential for carbon sequestration, and harbor high levels of biodiversity. They are characterized by high rainfall variability at timescales ranging from the daily to the seasonal to the interannual, and water availability and timing play key roles in primary productivity, biogeochemical cycles, phenology of growth and reproduction, and agricultural production. In addition, a growing demand for food and other natural resources in these regions renders seasonally dry ecosystems increasingly vulnerable to human interventions. Compounded with changes in rainfall regimes due to climate change, there is a need to better understand the role of climate variabilities in these regions to pave the way for better management of existing infrastructure and investment into future adaptations. </p><p>In this dissertation, the ecohydrological responses of seasonally dry ecosystem to climate variabilities are investigated under a comprehensive framework. This is achieved by first developing diagnostic tools to quantify the degree of rainfall seasonality across different types of seasonal climates, including tropical dry, Mediterranean, and monsoon climates. This global measure of seasonality borrows from information theory and captures the essential contributions from both the magnitude and concentration of the rainy season. By decomposing the rainfall signal from seasonality hotspots, increase in the interannual variability of rainfall seasonality is found, accompanied by concurrent changes in the magnitude, timing, and durations of seasonal rainfall, suggesting that increase in the uncertainty of seasonal rainfall may well extend into the next century. Next, changes in the hydrological partitioning, and the temporal responses of vegetation resulting from these climate variabilities, are analyzed using a set of stochastic models that accounts for the unpredictability rainfall as well as its seasonal trajectories. Soil water storage is found to play a pivotal role in regulating seasonal soil water hysteresis, and the balance between seasonal soil water availability and growth duration is found to induce maximum plant growth for a given amount of annual rainfall. Finally, these methods are applied in the context of biodiversity and the interplay of irrigation and soil salinity, which are prevailing management issues in seasonally dry ecosystems.</p> / Dissertation

Canal maintenance, involving mechanical removal of sediments and algal growth from canal basins, is necessary for sustaining the viability of the irrigation water delivery system in the Imperial Valley of California. Maintenance activities, however, disturb canal sediments laden with bacteria and can negatively impact water quality downstream. Our work quantified fecal indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli) and pathogens (Salmonella) in canal water prior to, during, and post-maintenance events. The goal of this study was to construct a post-maintenance time matrix that will allow growers downstream to estimate when canal water once again meets water quality guidelines. In addition, we assessed the water quality impacts of lining canals with concrete, which is a costly endeavor in the short term, but may be beneficial in the long term as lined canals do not require routine dredging to maintain canal integrity. During eight maintenance events from March 2013 through August 2014, 22% of 396 water samples collected exceeded the irrigation water quality guidelines (<126 MPN E. coli 100 mL-1) during canal maintenance. During summer months (July and August 2013-2014), E. coli concentrations in water samples commonly reached maximum values (>2419.6 MPN E. coli 100 mL-1), and these samples were more readily collected from unlined canal sampling sites. During winter and spring months, 80.8% of E. coli exceedances for unlined canals met guideline standards in less than 22 hours, while 19.2% of exceedances took longer (up to 48 hours) to return to acceptable levels; in lined sites, 63.6% and 36.4% met guidelines in less than 22 hours and 48 hours, respectively. Summer months showed a different trend: in unlined canal sites, 56.3% of E. coli exceedances met standards within 22 hours and 43.7% within 48 hours; in lined sites, 100% of water samples met standards in less than 22 hours. Unlined sites averaged higher temperatures overall compared to lined sites, and canal water in July (2013) was extremely warm (averaging 32.8°C) and reached human body temperature (37°C) at several unlined sites, a temperature at which enteric bacteria are known to thrive. Culturable Salmonella were detected in water samples collected in summer, with 22.2% of Salmonella-positive samples within 1°C of human body temperature. E. coli concentrations were significantly correlated with temperature and pH in unlined canals only. Unlined canals showed 15.2% of water samples were Salmonella-positive during summer maintenance whereas 1.7% of lined canals were positive. Salmonella significantly correlated with pH in lined canals. Fecal indicators (E. coli) did not predict pathogen (Salmonella) presence. Molecular methods (qPCR) suggested far higher levels of Salmonella when compared to cultural methods, with molecular markers for Salmonella exceeding culturing by more than 600%. The results of this work suggest that growers should exercise caution when irrigating after canal maintenance events, and to be completely certain of acceptable irrigation water quality, should wait for 48 hours following the onset of maintenance (typically 24 hours following the re-introduction of water to the channels) prior to irrigating crops. Further, irrigation district guidelines may consider: 1) disposing of the“first flush”of canal water following maintenance into nearby open areas, rather than sending poor-quality water into the irrigation canal system; 2) collect sediments and algae deposited on canal banks and transport to a secondary location to prevent precipitation runoff and re-introduction of bacteria-laden sediments to canals, and 3) consider the long-term costs and benefits of canal lining.

The health of natural vegetation communities is of concern due to observed changes in the climatic-hydrological regime and land cover changes particularly in arid and semiarid regions. Monitoring vegetation at multi temporal and spatial scales can be the most informative approach for detecting change and inferring causal agents of change and remediation strategies. Riparian communities are tightly linked to annual stream hydrology, ground water elevations and sediment transport. These processes are subject to varying magnitudes of disturbance overtime and are candidates for multi-scale monitoring. My first research objective focused on the response of vegetation in the Upper San Pedro River, Arizona, to reduced base flows and climate change. I addressed the correlation between riparian vegetation and hydro-climate variables during the last three decades in one of the remaining undammed rivers in the southwestern U.S. Its riparian forest is threatened by the diminishing base flows, attributed by different studies either to increases in evapotranspiration (ET) due to conversion of grasslands to mesquite shrublands in the adjacent uplands, or to increased regional groundwater pumping to serve growing populations in surrounding urban areas and or to some interactions of those causes. Landsat 5 imagery was acquired for pre- monsoon period, when riparian trees had leafed out but before the arrival of summer monsoon rains in July. The result has showed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values from both Landsat and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) had significant decreases which positively correlated to river flows, which decreased over the study period, and negatively correlated with air temperatures, which have increased by about 1.4°C from 1904 to the present. The predictions from other studies that decreased river flows could negatively impact the riparian forest were supported by this study. The pre-monsoon Normalized Different Vegetation Index (NDVI) average values in the adjacent uplands also decreased over thirty years and were correlated with the previous year's annual precipitation. Hence an increase in ET in the uplands did not appear to be responsible for the decrease in river flows in this study, leaving increased regional groundwater pumping as a feasible alternative explanation for decreased flows and deterioration of the riparian forest. The second research objective was to develop a new method of classification using very high-resolution aerial photo to map riparian vegetation at the species level in the Colorado River Ecosystem, Grand Canyon area, Arizona. Ground surveys have showed an obvious trend in which non-native saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) has replaced native vegetation over time. Our goal was to develop a quantitative mapping procedure to detect changes in vegetation as the ecosystem continues to respond to hydrological and climate changes. Vegetation mapping for the Colorado River Ecosystem needed an updated database map of the area covered by riparian vegetation and an indicator of species composition in the river corridor. The objective of this research was to generate a new riparian vegetation map at species level using a supervised image classification technique for the purpose of patch and landscape change detection. A new classification approach using multispectral images allowed us to successfully identify and map riparian species coverage the over whole Colorado River Ecosystem, Grand Canyon area. The new map was an improvement over the initial 2002 map since it reduced fragmentation from mixed riparian vegetation areas. The most dominant tree species in the study areas is saltcedar (Tamarix spp.). The overall accuracy is 93.48% and the kappa coefficient is 0.88. The reference initial inventory map was created using 2002 images to compare and detect changes through 2009. The third objective of my research focused on using multiplatform of remote sensing and ground calibration to estimate the effects of vegetation, land use patterns and water cycles. Climate change, hydrological and human uses are also leading to riparian, upland, grassland and crop vegetation changes at a variety of temporal and spatial scales, particularly in the arid and semi-arid ecosystems, which are more sensitive to changes in water availability than humid ecosystems. The objectives of these studies from the last three articles were to evaluate the effect of water balance on vegetation indices in different plant communities based on relevant spatial and temporal scales. The new methodology of estimating water requirements using remote sensing data and ground calibration with flux tower data has been successfully tested at a variety sites, a sparse desert shrub environment as well as mixed riparian and cropland systems and upland vegetation in the arid and semi-arid regions. The main finding form these studies is that vegetation-index methods have to be calibrated with ground data for each new ecosystem but once calibrated they can accurately scale ET over wide areas and long time spans.

Western riparian zones have undergone significant landscape changes over the past several decades, with introduced saltcedar (Tamarix spp.) as a crucial component of this transformation. Saltcedar, now a dominating presence along many western rivers, due to its high tolerance to drought, salinity and stress, is considered to be a high-water-use plant that can desiccate disturbed river systems. Where native and saltcedar plant communities occur together, it is important to understand water use patterns and the physiological responses of each species to environmental stress factors, as a way to project an eventual course of succession processes and management options at a given site. Stress and disturbance in the form of reduced stream flows and land use changes may influence these interactions. Understanding the conditions that allow for saltcedar dominance is critical in determining riparian water budgets, and developing effective management strategies. Sap flux sensors were used to measure the physiological response of co-occurring communities of saltcedar and native trees to these environmental stress factors during the pre-monsoon period in early summer, a time of maximum stress for riparian vegetation. The results suggest that native trees are still competitive with salt cedar so that a mixed plant community is likely to continue on the San Pedro River on the condition that current groundwater levels and river flows are maintained. If base flows and depth to groundwater continue to decline, this competitive balance between saltcedar and native trees likely could change.

Extensive coastal sabkhas in the northern Gulf of California in North America are colonized by Distichlis palmeri, an endemic perennial grass that produces a grain that was harvested as a staple food by native Cocopah people. Previous short-term trials have shown good vegetative growth but low grain yields. During outdoor trials under anaerobic saline soil conditions of paddy-style irrigation, D. palmeri exhibited high salt tolerance, grain and biomass production. Reproductive maturity was reached four years after initial establishment of plants from seed and a 1:3 mixture of male and female plants produced 231-310 g m⁻² of grain, with nutritional content similar to domesticated grains, confirming the feasibility of developing D. palmeri as a perennial grain and biomass crop for salinized soils and water supplies. Salicornia bigelovii Torr., a cosmopolitan annual coastal marsh succulent, produces seed with high oil content and has been suggested as a potential cash crop for fuel production from saline irrigation but its domestication and development into a cost effective commodity has been slow. A breeding and selection program for agronomic traits that will provide multiple landscape and ecosystem services that could enhance cost benefits of the agronomy of S. bigelovii was initiated during a two year period while producing seed for a pilot system at the Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. A concept for a saline landscape designed to consume and concentrate saline waste streams was developed and demonstrates the feasibility and potential to support agronomy of halophytes within a built landscape ecology akin to coastal marsh systems. Exploration and development of potential services halophytes could provide and field testing of selected halophytes for their potential to produce food, fuel, fiber and habitat under designed and managed domestication in our salinized soils with saline waste irrigation needs our continued investigation.

The phenomenon of plume persistence was observed for five federal Superfund sites by analysis of historical groundwater-withdrawal and contaminant-concentration data collected from long-term pump-and-treat operations. The potential factors contributing to plume persistence are generally recognized to include incomplete isolation of the source zone, permeability heterogeneity, well-field hydraulics, and non-ideal (rate-limited, nonlinear) desorption. However, the significance of each factor, especially the site-specific contribution is undetermined, which is very important for site development and management. One objective of this study is to quantify the impacts of different factors on mass-removal efficiency. Three-dimensional (3D) numerical models were used to simulate the impact of different well-field configurations on pump-and-treat mass removal. The relationship between reduction in contaminant mass discharge (CMDR) and mass removal (MR) was used as the metric to examine remediation efficiency. Results indicate that (1) even with effort to control the source, residual impact of source can still be a factor causing plume persistence, (2) the well-field configuration has a measurable impact on mass-removal efficiency, which can be muted by the influence of permeability heterogeneity, (3) in terms of permeability heterogeneity, both variance and correlation scale influence the overall mass-removal behavior, (4) the CMDR-MR relationship can be used to quantify the impacts of different factors on mass-removal efficiency at the plume scale. It has been recognized that the use of pump and treat for groundwater remediation will require many decades to attain site closure at most complex sites. Thus, monitored natural attenuation (MNA) and enhanced attenuation (EA) have been widely accepted as alternatives because of their lower cost and sustainable management for large, complex plumes. However, the planning and evaluation of MNA/EA applications require greater levels of characterization data than typically collected. Advanced, innovative methods are required to characterize specific attenuation processes and associated rates to evaluate the feasibility of MNA/EA. Contaminant elution and tracer (CET) tests have been proposed as one such advanced method. Another objective of this study is to investigate the use of modified well-field configurations to enhance the performance of CET tests to collect critical site-specific data that can be used to better delineate attenuation processes and quantify the associated rate coefficients. Three-dimensional numerical models were used to simulate the CET test with specific well-field configurations under different conditions. The results show that the CET test with a nested (two-couplet) well-field configuration can be used to characterize transport and attenuation processes by eliminating the impact of the surrounding plume. The results also show that applying select analytical mass-removal functions can be an efficient method for parameter estimation, as it does not require the use of mathematical transport modeling and does not require the attendant input data that are costly and time-consuming to obtain.