SCHRIFTENREIHE Institut für Pflanzenernährung und Bodenkunde ...

area (CAR) and wetness index (WI) (unlocal control) exhibited a significant
correlation with soil moisture for any soil water statuses (Table 4). The aspect,
and therefore the influence of solar radiation on soil moisture, was significant
only for the CG plot, where the topography was relatively flat. The relative
elevation was important at the grazed plots under dry conditions, while the slope
was a key factor at the ungrazed plots under wet conditions. Under wet
conditions, unlocal subsurface flow may mostly influence SWC (Grayson et al.,
1997), but this was not found for any grazing intensity. Thus topography had only
a minor effect on soil moisture distribution, which agrees with the findings of
Hébrard et al. (2006). This might relate to the local topographical conditions,
which is a smooth wide plain (relative height of 20-30 m with slopes