Article accepted in Water Resources Research
An article authored by Trenton Franz in collaboration with Lizzie King on the use of EMI has been accepted for publication in WRR. Kelly and David Robinson (of the CEH in Wales) are co-authors.
Trenton’s initial field work using Electromagnetic Induction to map patterns and dynamics of soil moisture and event-scale water redistribution has just been accepted for publication in Water Resources Research. The article, “Coupling Vegetation Organization Patterns to Soil Resource Heterogeneity in a Central Kenyan Dryland Using Geophysical Imagery”, investigates two cases of soil resource heterogeneity that affect the organization of dryland vegetation patterns by expanding previous electromagnetic induction (EMI) imaging techniques. In the first case, Trenton and Lizzie examine the influence of soil depth as a control on soil resource availability on hillslopes in tree-grass systems in central Kenya. In the second case, they examine daily patch-interpatch scale moisture dynamics following two different sized rain events in a highly degraded landscape. With the aid of a numerical subsurface flow model, EMI and soil moisture data, Trenton and Lizzie have identified a possible positive feedback mechanism (“soil moisture halo effect”, cf. the angelic figure to the right) that may have contributed to the proliferation and two-phase pattern formation of a native succulent Sansevieria volkensii in degraded ecosystems of central Kenya.