# Evidence of hillslope connectivity on Aleppo pine plantation by artificial stemflow experiments and preferential flow pathways detection using time-lapse ground penetrating radar surveys

Elisa Marras, Gersende Fernandes, Filippo Giadrossich, Ryan Stewart, Majdi Abou Najm, Thierry Winiarski, Brice Mourier, Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo, Alessandro Comegna, Antonio del Campo, et al.

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Elisa Marras, Gersende Fernandes, Filippo Giadrossich, Ryan Stewart, Majdi Abou Najm, et al. Evidence of hillslope connectivity on Aleppo pine plantation by artificial stemflow experiments and preferential flow pathways detection using time-lapse ground penetrating radar surveys. EGU general assembly 2023, Apr 2023, Vienne (Austria), Austria. 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-2830. hal-04856341

HAL Id: hal-04856341

https://hal.science/hal-04856341v1

Submitted on 26 Dec 2024

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# Evidence of hillslope connectivity on Aleppo pine plantation by artificial stemflow experiments and preferential flow pathways detection using time-lapse ground penetrating radar surveys

**Elisa Marras**<fnref n="1" />, Gersende Fernandes<fnref n="2" />, Filippo Giadrossich<fnref n="1" />, Ryan D. Stewart<fnref n="3" />, Majdi R. Abou Najm<fnref n="4" />, Thierry Winiarski<fnref n="2" />, Brice Mourier<fnref n="2" />, Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo<fnref n="2" />, Alessandro Comegna<fnref n="6" />, Antonio del Campo<fnref n="5" />, Laurent Lassabatere<fnref n="2" />, and Simone Di Prima<fnref n="6" />

The hydrological response of steep slopes catchments is strongly conditioned by the connectivity of subsurface preferential flows. The objective of this research is to investigate the role played by stemflow infiltration in subsurface water flow dynamics, focusing on a forested hillslope located in an Aleppo pine Mediterranean forest (Pinus halepensis, Mill.) located at Sierra Calderona, Valencia province, Spain. We combined stemflow artificial experiments with ground-penetrating radar (GPR) techniques as a non-invasive method to investigate stemflow-induced preferential flow paths activated by different trees and the related hydrological connectivity at the hillslope scale. Our observations allowed us to identify different dynamics associated with the initiation of stemflow and then lateral preferential flow, including the activation of connected preferential flow paths in soils that received stemflow water from different trees. These observations provided empirical evidence of the role of stemflow in the formation of lateral preferential flow networks. Our measurements allow estimations of flow velocities and new insight on the magnitude of stem-induced lateral preferential flow paths. The applied protocol offers a simple, repeatable and non-invasive way to conceptualize hillslope responses to rainstorms.

<footnote n="1">¹Nuoro Forestry School, Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Sassari, Via Colombo, 1, 08100, Nuoro, Italy (emarras1@uniss.it)</footnote>

<footnote n="2">²Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR5023 LEHNA, F-69518, Vaulx-en-Velin, France</footnote>

<footnote n="3">³School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, United State</footnote>

<footnote n="4">⁴Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States</footnote>

<footnote n="5">⁵Research Group in Forest Science and Technology (Re-ForeST), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camí de Vera, E-46022 València, Spain</footnote>

<footnote n="6">⁶School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences (SAFE), University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy</footnote>