Soil water repellency (SWR) is a common property of soils and has been reported from all inhabited continents. It is known that (hydrophobic) organic matter is the main cause of SWR, but there is still a lot to learn about the compounds involved and the causal mechanisms at the molecular (nano) scale. At the plot-scale there may be reduced water infiltration and at the ecosystem-scale spatial feedback mechanisms exist between vegetation and soil water, leading to nonlinear responses such as self-organized vegetation patchiness and regime shifts between ecosystem states.
Important detrimental effects of SWR include limited plant growth, and enhanced erosion, flooding and loss of nutrients and agricultural chemicals. Positive effects are increased aggregate and carbon stability, and reduced evaporation.
This session welcomes anyone interested in new insights on any aspect of SWR ranging from the mechanism underlying SWR to its consequences for the environment.