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The effects of the rainy season and irrigation on soil water and oxygen in a seasonal forest in Panama

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Thomas A. Kursar ,
S. Joseph Wright  and
Ricardo Radulovich
Thomas A. Kursar
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
S. Joseph Wright
Affiliation:
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2072, Balboa, Republic of Panama
Ricardo Radulovich
Affiliation:
CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica
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Abstract

The effects of irrigation and the rainy season on soil gases, water and physical properties were studied in a lowland moist forest in Panama. Two control plots experienced a normal four-month dry season and two experimental plots were irrigated during the dry season.

The forest soils were well aerated. The average soil oxygen content at 20 cm never dropped below 15%. Irrigation in the dry season resulted in treatment effects on soil oxygen and water that persisted throughout the rainy season. The late rainy season soil oxygen content at 20 cm was 18.2% in the control plots and 16.8% in the irrigated plots. The late rainy season soil water content at 0–10 cm was 0.34 m3 m-3 in the control plots and 0.36–0.37 m3 m-3 in the irrigated plots. In the control plots, in the absence of any experimental manipulation, the soil physical properties changed within a single rainy season. Specifically, soil oxygen dropped and soil water increased during the eight-month rainy season.

The observed alterations in soil physical properties probably resulted from changes in soil structure and the abundance of large pores. The rainy season or irrigation may decrease soil porosity by dispersing aggregates of soil particles, whereas soil desiccation during the dry season may enhance the formation of aggregates and large pores. As a result, the irrigated soils held more water and were less permeable to gas and water than soils experiencing a normal dry season. We conclude that the dry season may play an important role in maintaining soil structure.

Keywords

dry seasonrainforestsoil atmospheresoil infiltration ratesoil oxygensoil structuresoil water content
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 11 , Issue 4 , November 1995 , pp. 497 - 515
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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