Water Repellence of Soils Related to Surface Dryness

SUMMARY Water repellent characteristics were noted in a range of soil types in the lower Cotter River Valley of the Australian Capital Territory. The water repellence occurred on areas where the ground cover was dry, and it increased with the amount of ground cover present. Infiltration rates of such areas, determined with an artificial rainfall apparatus, were substantially reduced by the presence of the dry ground cover. The water repellence disappeared after soaking rain and did not occur on bare soil areas. The same quantity of litter from both pine and eucalypt forests imparted approximately the same degree of water repellence to soils.