FP6 priority

1.1.6   Sustainable Development, Global Change and Ecosystems

1.6.3

Title of the proposal

The influence of extreme metheorological phenomena on soil water regime of lowland areas with respect to biodiversity

Institute

Slovak Academy of sciences, Institute of Hydrology
Racianska 75, 83 811 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Contact

Research subject for a potential FP6 project

Change of the hydrologic cycle on the Earth is closely connected to the climate change caused by global warming of the atmosphere. Some areas of countries (Slovakia) witness extreme maximum or minimum or lacking precipitation much more frequently. The first example results into floods and the second one into excessive soil drying. Water regime, which determines soil productive ability, depends on water inflow and outflow into or out of soil aeration zone. The water supply in the soil aeration zone is directly influenced by a water transfer through its upper and lower boundary. The upper boundary is the soil surface with or without plant canopy. It reacts directly on meteorological and climate conditions through changes of its hydrophysical characteristics.Quantification of changes of physical and hydrophysical characteristics of the surface layer of various soil types caused by extreme metheorological phenomena will be determined using physical laboratory methods and under field conditions and impact of the changes on water flows into soil at some selected lowland areas (of Slovakia) will be contribution of the project.Water store in soil aeration zone will be determined by monitoring of moistures in soil profile by neutron probe and groundwater tables that will be used fo calibration and verification of the mathematical models and for estimation of soil water regime with respect to biodiversity.Prospective changes of the soil water regime as a result of an impact of extreme metheorological phenomena and an impact of climate changes will be simulated by mathematical model GLOBAL or Hydrus ET according to the scenarios of climate changes.The extreme metheorological phenomena impact and the influence of climate changes on the soil water regime at typical lowland sites of Slovakia will analyse and quantify in respect of conservation and adaptation ecosystems and agricultural plants.

Recent international cooperation of the research team

RISSAC, Budapest, Hungary; West University, Mosonmagyarovar, Hungary; Institute of Agrophysics, Lublin, Poland; Institute of Water Problems, RAS, Moscow, Rusia, BOKU Vienna, Austria; Mendel University, Brno, Czech Republic; Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation, Praha, Czech Republic, Institute of Water Resources PAS, Gdansk, Poland

Proposer´s relevant publications related to the research subject

STEKAUEROVA, NOVAK, LICHNER: Position of infiltration and redistribution front in an unsaturated soil: numerical simulation and tracer technique measurements. Soil&Tillage Research, 51,1999,25-33.
STEKAUEROVA: Simulation of water movement in field soil. Environmental protection of soil and water resources (Ed. Halasi-Kun), Columbia university seminar procc., Vol.XXX, 1999, 141– 51.
SUTOR, STEKAUEROVA: Soil hydrophysical characteristics of Rye Island (south-western Slovakia). IH SAS, Bratislava, 2000, 170p.
SIMUNEK, HUANG, SEJNA, VAN GENUCHTEN, MAJERCAK, NOVAK, SUTOR: The HYDRUS ET Software package for simulating the one-dimensional movement of water, heat, and multiple solutes in variably-saturated media. Version1.1. U.S. Salinity Lboratory, USDA, ARS, Riverside, California and Institute of Hydrology SAS, Bratislava, Slovakia. IH SAS Bratislava, 1997.