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The improvement of water availability for plant growth is of major concern for successful rehabilitation in degraded (semi)arid rangelands This study investigates how rehabilitation techniques affected soil-wetting and soil water storage after a typical low-intensity winter rainfall event in the Succulent Karoo South Africa

We compared the impact of six rehabilitation treatments (brushpacks fertilizer dung hessian microcatchments and planting each applied with and without livestock exclusion) on soil water status after a typical winter rainfall event of 52 mm one year after treatment implementation We also recorded the impacts of the treatments on soil infiltrability and surface compaction

Treatment induced differences in soil infiltrability and compaction did not affect soil-wetting during the rainfall event since the rainfall rate was too low for the production of runoff Brushpacks and planting resulted in accumulation of water in the soils below these treatments probably by capturing wind-driven water droplets Soil water retention was prolonged by all treatments that shaded the soil (brushpacks dung hessian planting) One year of livestock exclusion did not affect any of the measured parameters significantly

This study highlights mechanisms through which rehabilitation measures may achieve an intensification of water pulses for plant growth under conditions of low-intensity winter rainfall (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved