[Effects of soil thickness on spatiotemporal pattern of soil moisture in catchment level]

Based on the fixed-spot observation, this paper analyzed the effects of soil thicknesses on the spatiotemporal pattern of soil moisture in the Wulongchi catchment of Danjiangkou, China. The soil moisture content increased soon after precipitation events, followed by a decline as the soil dried down, whilst its spatial heterogeneity exhibited an opposite pattern. The profile-averaged soil moisture content differed significantly with soil thickness. The soil with a thickness of 20 cm had lower profile-averaged moisture content whose variation trend was similar to that of precipitation and varied obviously among seasons; medium thickness (20-40 cm) soil had medium level of profile-averaged moisture content whose seasonal variation was moderately and affected by the characteristics of precipitation; while the soil with a thicknesses of > 40 cm had higher profile-averaged moisture content whose seasonal variation was relatively small. The profile distribution pattern of soil moisture was determined by the integrated effects of precipitation, evapotranspiration, and leakage, exhibiting increasing-type at semi-humid stage, waving-type at humid stage, and both of the two types at arid stage. There was a significant positive correlation between profile-averaged soil moisture content and soil thickness, and the correlation coefficient was 0.630-0.855. The moisture content in 0-15 cm soil layer had less correlation with soil thickness, but the moisture content in 20-55 cm soil layer was significantly correlated with soil thickness.