Zheng et al. (2026) Depth-dependent response functions and rainfall transition zones of soil-profile activation under varying antecedent moisture in the Shandian River Basin, northern China

Identification

• Journal: CATENA
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-23
• Authors: Shunsheng Zheng, Quanshan Liu, Ningbo Cui, Tianao Wu, Daozhi Gong, Shouzheng Jiang
• DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2026.110597

Research Groups

• College of Environmental Science and Engineering & Key Laboratory of Water Resources Utilization and Protection, Xiamen University of Technology, China.
• State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering & College of Water Resource and Hydropower, Sichuan University, China.
• Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China.

Short Summary

The study quantifies how rainfall events trigger soil-profile wetting in the Shandian River Basin, demonstrating that the probability of response decreases with depth and is strongly modulated by antecedent moisture.

Objective

• To estimate and analyze depth-dependent activation response functions and rainfall transition zones for soil-profile wetting under varying antecedent moisture conditions.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Shandian River Basin, northern China (utilizing 20 co-located rainfall and soil-moisture stations).
• Temporal Scale: Non-frozen periods between 2019 and 2022.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Linear mixed-effect logistic models and nonlinear generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs).
• Data sources: In-situ observations from 20 co-located stations, comprising 955 rainfall site-events.

Main Results

• Depth-Dependent Probability: The probability of soil moisture response decreased significantly with depth, from 0.685 at 3 cm to 0.173 at 50 cm.
• Storage Gain: Median synchronous storage gain (0–50 cm) ranged from 0 mm for small rainfall events to 12.90 mm for large events.
• Model Performance: GAMMs improved the leave-one-station-out AUC for the 50-cm monitoring layer (increasing from 0.789 to 0.806).
• Rainfall Requirements (at median antecedent moisture):
  • For Effective Wetting Depth (EWD) $\ge 10$ cm: $R{20}/R{50}/R{80}$ were 6.6/13.0/19.9 mm.
  • For EWD $\ge 20$ cm: $R{20}/R{50}/R{80}$ were 10.0/19.7/25.5 mm.
  • For 50-cm layer response: $R{20}/R{50}/R_{80}$ were 21.2/31.5/41.7 mm.
• Antecedent Moisture Sensitivity: Sensitivity was highest at the 50-cm depth; under dry conditions, $R_{50}$ decreased by approximately 3.58 mm for every $0.01 \text{ m}^3\text{m}^{-3}$ increase in antecedent moisture.

Contributions

• The research defines quantitative depth-dependent activation response functions and transition ranges, providing a better understanding of how rainfall translates into subsurface storage based on soil depth and prior wetness.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Zheng2026Depthdependent,
  author = {Zheng, Shunsheng and Liu, Quanshan and Cui, Ningbo and Wu, Tianao and Gong, Daozhi and Jiang, Shouzheng},
  title = {Depth-dependent response functions and rainfall transition zones of soil-profile activation under varying antecedent moisture in the Shandian River Basin, northern China},
  journal = {CATENA},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.catena.2026.110597},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2026.110597}
}