Impacts of the 2005-2006 Drought on Soil Water Content under a Tall Grass Prairie at Fort Reno, Oklahoma

This study examined changes in the seasonal pattern of soil water content under a tall grass prairie in central Oklahoma as a result of the 2005–2006 drought. The seasonal pattern of soil water content in the top 50 cm of the soil profile was minimally impacted by the drought, as this portion of the profile was recharged by sporadic precipitation events. However, no moisture reached the soil profile below 50 cm after June 2005, as all precipitation was intercepted and held by the top soil layer and rapidly consumed by evapotranspiration. The dry conditions in the lower soil profile have led to an agricultural drought in 2006 that may persist for some period after the precipitation returns to normal levels and until the lower portion of the soil profile is recharged to provide a moisture pool that prairie grasses can tap during the summer growing season.