Preliminary Study on the Classification and Types of Preferential Flow in the Dark Coniferous Forest Ecosystem of Gongga Mountain

Preferential flow indicates that an ordinary phenomenon of rapid and non-equilibrium transport of water and solutes happens in most of soil. It causes a latent pollution of ground and surface waters and affects runoff yield and concentration. This paper studies the preferential flow movement of the dark coniferous ecosystem of Gongga Mountain, sets up the classification of the preferential flow and discusses the types of preferential flow in the reached area. Results show that the perceptible type of the preferential flow in the young, mid-aged and over-mature is macroporous flow; it is finger flow or funnel flow in the mature forest soil and will gradually transform to macroporous flow as the soil layer is deeper. The purpose of this research is to analyze systemically the law of soil water movement of dark coniferous forest ecosystem of Gongga Mountain and to provide theoretical basis for the effective watershed management.