Soil moisture recharge was studied in quaking aspen and Gambel oak forest areas of central Utah. The rate, timing, and duration of the recharge period was observed. Soil moisture readings were taken periodically throughout the winter of 1966 -1967.
Soil moisture recharge begins in October and continues until May. The period of most rapid increase in recharge is between February and May. This corresponds to a rapid decrease in the zenith angle of the sun at the surface of the area and also to a decrease in cloud cover over the area.
Deep soils and high infiltration capacities prevent surface runoff from the area. Both detention storage and retention storage capacity of the soils are high.
Soil freezing was not present during the winter months. Some patchy soil freezing is found in the spring but it is not extensive enough to influence the recharge phenomenon.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTAHS/oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:etd-5909 |
| Date | 01 May 1968 |
| Creators | Boynton, James L. |
| Publisher | DigitalCommons@USU |
| Source Sets | Utah State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | All Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact Andrew Wesolek (andrew.wesolek@usu.edu). |
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