Date of Award

2006

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Program

Geography

Supervisor

Dr. Irena Creed

Abstract

Soil moisture of prairie potholes in Saskatchewan showed substantial natural variation in both space and time during the growing season of 2005. The purpose of this thesis was to discover if topography was important in the determining the distribution of soil moisture in these prairie potholes. Prairie potholes were divided into landform elements of similar geomorphic attributes, including shoulders, backslopes, footslopes and toeslopes. Soil moisture changes within and among landform elements were studied to determine if landform elements were related to soil moisture of the surface (0 — 5 cm) of soils. The nature of this relationship was studied under a representative range of climatic conditions, from dry to wet. Results showed that topography was an important factor in determining the spatial pattern of soil moisture on the landscape but the nature of this control changed in response to climatic variability.

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