Response of soil moisture variation to precipitation and mulching measures

Response of soil moisture to precipitation and mulching measures was investigated based on the continuous observation information in plots with no-mulching,straw-mulching and granule-mulching.The results show that individual rainfall event is difficult to infiltrate into up to 30cm depth from surface during the dry season, especially when soil moisture is lower than 20% at 30cm depth.As for the responsive time,at 30cm,it is the shortest in granule-mulching plot,followed by straw-mulching plot and longest in no-mulching plot.At 60 cm,shortest responsive time is observed in straw-mulching plot and longest in no-mulching.At 100cm,soil moisture increases first in granule-mulching plot and 10-h delay takes place in straw-mulching plot compared with that of straw-mulching and it's the slowest in no-mulching.The soil moisture at 30cm depth in nomulching plot is 0.13 and 0.07cm³/cm³ lower than those of granule- and straw-mulching.It indicates the mulching measure is good for the storage of soil moisture.Although infiltration ability at 60 cm is more powerful in straw-mulching plot than that in granule-mulching plot,the latter's ability of water conservation is better than the former's.