Advances in research on the effects of micro-topography changes on surface hydrological processes

The surface water cycle is a key link in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) system, and micro-topography plays an important role in the process of rainfall redistribution. Here, we summarized the influence of micro-topography changes on surface hydrological processes and discuss the effects of micro-topography on overland flow, rainfall-infiltration, evapotranspiration, soil water transport, and feedback in SPAC systems. Previous studies regarding the effect of micro-topographic changes on surface hydrological processes were summarized and our understanding of the influential effect of micro-topography changes on runoff, infiltration, and evapotranspiration was advanced in this paper. We aimed at addressing the problems that the classification of micro-topography was unsystematic and that recent studies lacked thorough research into the coupling between micro-topography changes and surface hydrological processes. We proposed that micro-topography types should be divided according to different ecological types and micro-topography construction methods, and at the same time, combined with data from micro-topographic surveying tools and remote sensing technology, to define the micro-topographic scale more accurately. On this basis, long-term field observations should be combined with short-term lab simulations to reveal the coupling mechanism between micro-topography changes and surface hydrological processes and to establish the quantitative relationship between them by creating model, and quantifying micro-topographic improvement measures to efficiently regulate the regional precipitation redistribution process. Ultimately, this paper may provide a theoretical basis for regional water resource regulation.