Effect of antecedent soil water content and rainfall regime on microrelief changes

Surface microrelief substantially affects surface sealing, runoff, and soil erosion processes on bare soils. Yet, the stability of microrelief for different antecedent soil water contents and rainstorms is not well understood. This study investigates the effect of surface microrelief and antecedent water content on the decay of microrelief under different rainstorm regimes. Two different rainstorm regimes were studied in laboratory experiments: continuous rainfall for a total amount of 60 mm applied at 30 mm/h intensity, and intermittent rainfall consisting of five successive rainstorms of 12 mm each, again with an intensity of 30 mm/h and separated by one week drying cycles. Rough, medium, and fine microrelief surface conditions representing different degrees of seedbed preparation were studied for three soils at antecedent soil water contents of 2–4% and 14–20%. Before and after rainfall, digital elevation models determining the surface microrelief were developed using a laser scanner with 2 mm grid spacing. The specific surface area calculated from microrelief data was used as an index to characterize microrelief. Microrelief stability increased with increasing initial roughness and was much higher for the antecedent wet soils than for the dry soils. Microrelief stability for the continuous rainstorm regime was higher than for intermittent rainfall. Differences in microrelief stability were mostly attributed to different aggregate stabilities. Additionally, the higher stability for the rougher microrelief surfaces was attributed to the lower drop impact density and splash density on the surfaces with larger specific surface area. Aggregate slaking due to air escape and rapid wetting was found to be responsible for the low microrelief stability at initially dry conditions.