Effects of material migration on the spatial distribution of topsoil moisture at the slope scale

Soil moisture is strongly spatially variable and scale dependent, but there is a lack of research focusing on factors that link soil actual evaporation to the spatial distribution of topsoil moisture at the slope scale. External factors (e.g., meteorological) have similar effects across entire slopes; hence, this paper instead explores the internal factors controlling differential soil actual evaporation. We consider the effects of historical rainfall on soil erosion, and adopt a combined approach encompassing slope investigations, a slope rainfall simulation experiment, slope erosion analyzed by 3D laser terrain scanning, and evaporation experiments. Along the runoff direction, we show that the relative topsoil clay content increases, but slope surface deformation and failure lead to a decrease in the relative content of clay in deposits located on the lower of slope. The original thickness of slope surface decreases in the upper part of the slope, due to particle migration, while the slope surface relatively far away from the upper part of the slope tends to be thicker, due to the accumulation of slope deposits. The actual evaporation of the topsoil relatively far from the upper part of the slope is significantly weaker (63%–72% probability), which may be related to the high clay content, dense soil structure, and high content of clay minerals. The topsoil evaporation also tends to weaken as overburden thickness increases. Here, we suggest that marked differences in the original thickness of the slope surface and in the properties of the topsoil caused by the migration and deposition of soil particles under successive years of rainfall erosion, are important factors controlling differences in topsoil actual evaporation in different parts of the slope. This understanding lays the foundation for the analysis of hydrological processes in different parts of a slope, which is crucial for the study of shallow slope mechanical behavior. • Material migration changes the original thickness of a slope surface and the topsoil properties • Soil evaporation is related to particle gradation and overburden thickness • Spatial variability of topsoil moisture at a slope scale is related to differences in evaporation intensity • Successive periods of rainfall erosion have important implications for changes in soil moisture