The soil surface characteristics of vegetation stripes in Northern Mexico and their influences on the system hydrodynamics - An experimental approach

Vegetation stripes were described in arid areas of Africa, Australia and Me xico. They depend on the local concentration of rain water after runoff. In Mexico, we described the soil surface characteristics of vegetation stripe s and performed rainfall simulations to analyze its hydrodynamic behaviour. Simulations were performed on plots characterized by the four soil surface features represented in the stripes. Four types of surface crusts were fou nd in the stripes, erosion, sedimentation, and two types of structural crus ts. The less vegetated plots had relatively impervious crusts with low prep onding rains and high constant runoff rates. On the contrary, the highly ve getated plot had a thin crust and abundant litter which allowed a high infi ltration rate. Runoff rates were positively related to rainfall intensity. Those relationships between surface characteristics and runoff determine th e fate of rain water and may allow the prediction of the amount of runoff f or a specific rain on a given plot. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.