[Comparison on moisture dynamics of two different soil types in desert steppe]

Based on the positioning monitoring data from 2017 to 2018, we analyzed the spatial-temporal dynamic characteristics of moisture in two different soil types (sierozem and aeolian sandy soil) in the Yanchi desert steppe in the eastern Ningxia. The results showed that the rainfall in the study area was 208.2 and 274.8 mm in the growing season of 2017 and 2018 (May-October), respectively. The distribution of rainfall varied across different months. Except for the extreme rainfall event (129.6 mm) in May in 2018, rainfall in other months was lower than that in 2017. The seasonal dynamics of soil water content was roughly divided into two phases: compensation period (early May to early June) and fluctuation period (mid June to late September). The soil moisture of 0-20 cm layer had a pulse characteristic of rapid increase and decrease after rainfall, while that of the deep soil was relatively stable. The soil water content of sierozem showed a "rise-fall-liter" change with increasing soil depth. The saeolian sandy soil increased sharply from 0 to 60 cm then increased slowly, whereas soil water content gradually increased with increasing soil depth. In 2017, soil moisture in the soil profile (0-100 cm) of the sierozem was accumulated, and the aeo-lian sand soil was in the consumption type. In 2018, both soil water across the full profile in both soil types were the consumption type. The temporal stability of soil moisture of two soil types increased with increasing soil depth. The average soil water content of the whole sections of sierozem and aeolian sandy soil were 80-100 and 40-60 cm, respectively. The two soil types had different spatial and temporal distributions of soil moisture. Aeolian sandy soil was more affected by precipitation than sierozem. Precipitation would reduce the variability of soil moisture and change its temporal stability.