Soil hydraulic conductivity and its influence on soil moisture simulations in the source region of the Yellow River——take Maqu as an example

Saturated hydraulic conductivity and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity which are influenced by soil are two important factors that affect soil water transport. In this paper, data supplied by the Chinese Academy of Sciences are used to determine true unsaturated hydrology values. Furthermore, in combination with observed, model simulation and experimental data, an improved saturated hydraulic conductivity parameterization scheme is carried out in CLM4.5 at a single point in the summer. The main results show that:(1) After improving saturated hydraulic conductivity in CLM4.5 through a parameterization modification, it is found that shallow layer soil moisture increases compared to the initial value; and(2) The numerical values of unsaturated hydraulic conductivities in the model are obviously larger than experimental values. By substituting the Brooks-Corey soil water characteristic curve into the Mualem model, the value of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is modified;(3) By using the modified value, it is found that the attenuating magnitude of simulated soil moisture caused by each rainfall event is reduced. The soil moisture variation in shallow layers(5, 10 and 20 cm) could be better displayed.