CRYPTOGAM COVER AND SOIL SURFACE CONDITION - EFFECTS ON HYDROLOGY ON A SEMIARID WOODLAND SOIL

The response of infiltration to large changes in cryptogam cover was s tudied at three sites in a semiarid woodland in eastern Australia. The sites varied markedly in vegetation cover, soil physical condition, a nd degree of erosion, and represented a gradient from high condition ( class 1) to low condition (class 3). Infiltration was markedly higher on sites with a high surface condition, but changes in cryptogam cover had little effect on infiltration. Infiltration rate on the degraded class 3 surfaces showed a significant positive response to cryptogam c over. Differences in the hydrological responses to cryptogam cover are attributed to differences in soil physical properties, particularly p orosity and aggregate stability, and the different pathways by which i nfiltrating water accesses the soil profile. The results suggest that the role of cryptogam cover in controlling infiltration increases as s oil surface condition declines.