401-40 Assessment of Hillslope Terracing Effects On Vadose Zone Hydrology At Multiple Scales Using Ground-Based Lidar and Electromagnetic Induction.

Poster Number 1907

See more from this Division: S06 Soil & Water Management & Conservation
See more from this Session: General Soil and Water Management and Conservation: II
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Duke Energy Convention Center, Exhibit Hall AB, Level 1
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Mark Corrao1, Jan U. Eitel2, Meghan J. Wessel3, Tim Link2 and Robert Heinse4, (1)Water Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
(2)Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
(3)Plant Soils and Entomology, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
(4)Soil Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
In the semiarid Western U.S. legal constraints, engineering limitations and competing interests over surface water have encouraged further assessment of surface water hydrology/vadose zone interactions for watershed managers. Correlations between small-scale slope terracing and soil moisture were assessed using ground-based LiDAR and Electromagnetic Induction (EMI). The site is a north facing slope with Palouse silt loam soils continuously grazed throughout the growing season in northern Idaho. A 1cm by 1cm resolution scan was obtained with a green laser Leica Scan Station 2. Through the use of Cyclone and Point-to Grid software, the LiDAR point cloud was rendered into a high resolution digital surface model. Electromagnetic Induction scanning was used to map the electric conductivity within the site to a depth of 1.5 meters both parallel to and perpendicular to the site slope. A map of water content was then generated from these data using soil core samples and analysis at 0-5, 15-20, 30-35, 50-55 and 95-100cm of depth for site-specific calibration. Physical soil samples gathered throughout the site to a depth of 1m provided verification of EMI data. Correlations between LiDAR and EMI data were tested across the slope with respect to terrace morphology. Correlations between terrace presence/absence and soil moisture were also tested. Surface topography gathered by ground-based LiDAR, at smaller scales (1m and 1cm) than flight-based LiDAR (>1m), coupled with seasonal EMI data can provide further insight into our understanding of the spatial and temporal variability of soil moisture on micro-topographic hillslope features. With further detailed parameterizations of surface micro-topographic features and vadose zone hydrology the potential exists to further our understanding of watershed hydrologic yield and retention capacity for watershed modeling, thereby evolving soil and water conservation practices.
See more from this Division: S06 Soil & Water Management & Conservation
See more from this Session: General Soil and Water Management and Conservation: II