Estimation of Soil Water Properties

ABSTRACT RELATIONSHIPS of soil water tension and hydraulic conductivity with soil water content are needed to quantify plant available water and to model the move-ment of water and solutes in and through soils. Field and laboratory measurement of these hydraulic soil proper-ties is very difficult, laborous, and costly. To provide the best estimates possible from previous analyses, a com-prehensive search of the literature and data sources for hydraulic conductivity and related soil-water data was made in 1978. From this search, data for 1,323 soils with about 5,350 horizons from 32 states were assembled. From the data, the Brooks and Corey water retention parameters, soil water retention volumes at 0.33 bar and 15 bar, total porosity, and saturated conductivities for the major USDA soil textures classes were developed. Also, relationships for predicting water retention volumes for particular tensions and saturated hydraulic conductivities based on soil properties are presented.

[1]  J. Bouma.  Use of Physical Methods to Expand Soil Survey Interpretations of Soil Drainage Conditions 1 , 1973 .

[2]  C. C. Hortenstine,et al.  DRAINAGE OF VERTICAL COLUMNS OF LAKELAND SAND , 1975 .

[3]  W. Staple.  Infiltration and Redistribution of Water in Vertical Columns of Loam Soil1 , 1966 .

[4]  L. Stolzy,et al.  Approximation of Field Hydraulic Conductivity by Laboratory Procedures on Intact Cores , 1972 .

[5]  C. Rose,et al.  Determination of hydraulic conductivity as a function of depth and water content for soil in situ , 1965 .

[6]  A. Lutenegger,et al.  Borehole Shear Test for Stiff Soil , 1978 .

[7]  W. E. Larson,et al.  Estimating soil water retention characteristics from particle size distribution, organic matter percent, and bulk density , 1979 .

[8]  R A Lohnes,et al.  Slope Angles in Friable Loess , 1968, The Journal of Geology.

[9]  G. Vachaud.  Determination of the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils from an analysis of transient flow data , 1967 .

[10]  L. J. Waldron,et al.  The shear resistance of root-permeated homogeneous and stratified soil. , 1977 .

[11]  D. R. Nielsen,et al.  Soil Capillary Conductivity: Comparison of Measured and Calculated Values , 1960 .

[12]  R. McCuen,et al.  Statistical analysis of the Brooks-Corey and the Green-Ampt parameters across soil textures , 1981 .

[13]  D. R. Nielsen,et al.  Soil Water Flux below a Ryegrass Root Zone1 , 1968 .

[14]  R. W. Skaggs,et al.  Upward Water Movement in Field Cores , 1976 .

[15]  R. D. Jensen,et al.  Effect of Temperature on Pressure Head-Water Content Relationship and Conductivity of Two Soils1 , 1972 .

[16]  R. R. Bruce.  Hydraulic Conductivity Evaluation of the Soil Profile from Soil Water Retention Relations1 , 1972 .

[17]  Curtis L. Larson,et al.  Modeling infiltration during a steady rain , 1973 .

[18]  D. R. Nielsen,et al.  The measurement and description of water flow through Columbia silt loam and Hesperia sandy loam , 1963 .

[19]  EVAPOTRANSPIRATION AND SOIL WATER MOVEMENT BENEATH THE ROOT ZONE OF IRRIGATED AND NONIRRIGATED MILLET (PANICUM MILIACEUM) , 1977 .

[20]  L. Stolzy,et al.  Effect of Stones on the Hydraulic Conductivity of Relatively Dry Desert Soils1 , 1975 .

[21]  E. Rawitz.  THE DEPENDENCE OF GROWTH RATE AND TRANSPIRATION RATE ON PLANT AND SOIL PHYSICAL PARAMETERS UNDER CONTROLLED CONDITIONS , 1970 .

[22]  W. Gerrard.  Effect of Temperature , 1976 .

[23]  R. H. Kesel,et al.  Slope Development on a Mississippi River Bluff in Historic Time , 1973, The Journal of Geology.

[24]  W. R. Gardner,et al.  UNSATURATED CONDUCTIVITY AND DIFFUSIVITY MEASUREMENTS BY A CONSTANT FLUX METHOD , 1962 .

[25]  R A Lohnes,et al.  Alternative Methods of Stabilizing Degrading Stream Channels in Western Iowa: Phase I , 1980 .

[26]  D. R. Nielsen,et al.  Field Measurement and Use of Soil‐Water Properties , 1969 .

[27]  G. C. Topp,et al.  Soil Water Hysteresis in Silt Loam and Clay Loam Soils , 1971 .

[28]  R. Jackson,et al.  Comparison of measured and calculated hydraulic conductivities of unsaturated soils , 1965 .

[29]  J. Bouma,et al.  Variability of Hydraulic Conductivity in Two Subsurface Horizons of Two Silt Loam Soils , 1976 .

[30]  Gaylon S. Campbell,et al.  A SIMPLE METHOD FOR DETERMINING UNSATURATED CONDUCTIVITY FROM MOISTURE RETENTION DATA , 1974 .

[31]  K. Terzaghi.  Theoretical Soil Mechanics , 1943 .

[32]  C. W. Robbins.  Hydraulic Conductivity and Moisture Retention Characteristics of Southern Idaho's Silt Loam Soils , 1977 .

[33]  W. J. Staple,et al.  Comparison of Computed and Measured Moisture Redistribution Following Infiltration 1 , 1969 .

[34]  Colin R. Thorne,et al.  Stream Channel Stability. Appendix D. Bank Stability and Bank Material Properties in the Bluffline Streams of Northwest Mississippi , 1981 .

[35]  Runoff responses to soil heterogeneity: Experimental and simulation comparisons for two contrasting watersheds , 1980 .

[36]  K. Terzaghi,et al.  Soil mechanics in engineering practice , 1948 .

[37]  Walter J. Rawls,et al.  Variation within Texture Classes of Soil Water Parameters , 1980 .

[38]  C. V. Bavel,et al.  Hydraulic Properties of a Clay Loam Soil and the Field Measurement of Water Uptake by Roots: I. Interpretation of Water Content and Pressure Profiles 1 , 1968 .

[39]  Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity from Cumulative Inflow Data1 , 1974 .

[40]  R. Green,et al.  Calculation of Hydraulic Conductivity: A further Evaluation of some Predictive Methods , 1971 .

[41]  Donald W. Taylor,et al.  Fundamentals of soil mechanics , 1948 .

[42]  R. J. Kunze,et al.  Factors Important in the Calculation of Hydraulic Conductivity1 , 1968 .