The differences of water balance components of Caragana korshinkii grown in homogeneous and layered soils in the desert–Loess Plateau transition zone

• Soil texture influences soil water movement and consequently impacts vegetable growth.
• Water balances were studied in homogeneous and layered soils with Caragana korshinkii stands.
• Actual transpiration was higher in layered soil than that in homogeneous soils.
• Layered soil is more favorable to C. korshinkii growth than homogeneous soils.

Soil texture greatly influences soil water movement, thus may affect the water balance and vegetation growth in the desert–Loess Plateau transition zone. This study is to determine if the water balance differs in homogeneous and layered soils with Caragana korshinkii stands in semiarid region. Soil water measurements up to 500-cm depth were taken in 2006 and 2007 on homogeneous sandy soil, homogeneous silt loam soil, and layered soil with sand overlying silt loam. HYDRUS-1D was used to simulate the soil water balance. The results indicated the annual water balance components were greatly affected by soil layering. The ratio of average actual evapotranspiration (ETa) to precipitation (P) during the two years in the layered soil was slightly lower than that in homogeneous soils. The ratios of annual actual transpiration (Tr) to evapotranspiration were 50.9%, 41.2% and 30.6% in layered soil, homogeneous sandy soil, and homogeneous silt loam soil, respectively. C. korshinkii grown in layered soil had deeper soil water recharge and higher Tr/ETa ratio, thus had more available water for transpiration than that in homogeneous soils. This study suggested the layered soil with sand overlying silt loam is more favorable to C. korshinkii growth in terms of water use than homogeneous soils in the desert–Loess Plateau transition zone.