Relation between infiltration and stone cover on a semiarid hillslope, southern Arizona

Abstract

A knowledge of the spatial distribution of infiltration rates is essential to the application of realistic, distributed rainfall-runoff models in semiarid areas. One method of determining this distribution is to develop a predictive equation based on a readily observable surface property, such as stone cover. Previous studies of the relation between infiltration and stone cover on shrub-covered semiarid hillslopes have yielded both positive and negative correlations. It is suggested that positive correlations result where infiltration measurements are confined to areas between large shrubs. Negative correlations, on the other hand, reflect pronounced shrub-intershrub differences in infiltration and stone cover and are found where both shrub and intershrub areas are sampled.