Is soil the soul of hydrology?
Is soil the soul of hydrology?
Soil hydraulic properties are central to the functioning of hydrological processes at the catchment scale. Tradition-ally, these properties are assumed to be primarily determined by soil texturea foundational assumption embedded in many hydrological theories and models. This contribution challenges that paradigm, proposing instead that vegetationand more broadly, the ecosystemplays a dominant role in shaping soil hydraulic properties. This shift in perspective suggests that soil hydrological behaviour may be inferred from vegetation characteristics. In this view, hydrological processes can be simulated without requiring direct measurements of soil properties, yet still grounded in physical principles. Furthermore, it implies that for hydrological models to remain predictive under environmental change, they must account for how vegetation dynamically adapts to water availability. The contribution illustrates this approach using simple conceptual hydrological models and how it connects to larger scale analyses
Fabrizio Fenicia; Hongkai Gao; H. G. Hubert Savenije
3rd International Workshop on Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Interaction (RootS2025)
1b. Site-scale hydrological processes within the RootS environmental domain" – Runoff and leaf interception"
https://doi.org/10.53243/RootS2025-17
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