Estimation of effective infiltration rates in cracked soils

1982 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 659-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. N. Pandey ◽  
R. S. Pandey

Infiltration is the most important aspect in the hydraulics of surface irrigation, since the design of irrigation systems depends to a large extent upon the infiltration characteristics of the soil. Many workers have contributed to the theoretical understanding of the infiltration phenomenon (Kirkham & Powers, 1972). However, very little work is available on the evaluation of infiltration into cracked soils. Measurement of infiltration into these soils poses a special problem. Depending on the degree of cracking, a fraction of the water added on the soil surface flows down through cracks and goes to waste. The water flowing through the cracks does not contribute to the moisture storage of the soil profile which may subsequently be used by the crops. Also, infiltration rates measured using ring infiltrometers are erroneous. In order to have an efficient design for an irrigation system, realistic estimates of infiltration characteristics for this type of soil are essential. In the present paper an attempt has been made to estimate the effective infiltration rate into such cracked soils. The procedvire suggested has been tested under limited conditions and found useful under field conditions. However, extensive field testing under various soil conditions is necessary before it can be recommended for general use.

Author(s):  
Aneela Hameem Memon ◽  
Abdul Ghani Soomro ◽  
Reena Majid Memon ◽  
Bakhshal Khan Lashari ◽  
Muhammad Munir Babar ◽  
...  

  The agricultural lands are being affected due to groundwater (GW) quality issues. To address this worldwide problematic situation, various irrigation studies have been practiced to identify the effects on the soil conditions. The current study has been designed to assess the GW quality and soil salinity/sodicity by different irrigation techniques in the remote mountainous area of Jamshoro district at Gul Muhammad Khaskheli farm Thana Boula Khan. The experimental plot was designed under furrow, pitcher and poly ethylene bag irrigation system. These soil characteristics indicated that the drain-ability of the soil was high, with an infiltration rate of 1.60 cm/h and water holding capacity was low. Water samples were collected at each irrigation time from sowing to harvest. The soil understudy was non-saline (ECe < 4.0 dS/m) and non-sodic (pH < 8.0, SAR < 7.5 and ESP < 15.0) before crop sowing in all the three methods of irrigation at all the three sampling depths, i.e., 0-15 cm, 15-30 cm and 30-60 cm. Thus, the quality of water used for cultivation of ladyfinger/Okra crop under all irrigation methods was Class-I quality water.The investigated results shown that ECw (electrical conductivity of water) was < 1.5 dS/m, pH < 8.0, SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) < 10.0 and RSC (residual sodium carbonate) were non detective. After crop harvest changed a little bit, change was observed in the soil, i.e., under furrow and pitcher irrigation method, the ECe, SAR. and ESP (exchangeable sodium percentage) decreased in the wetted zone and increased at the wetted periphery. Under the polyethylene bag irrigation method, ECe, SAR and ESP decreased at depths 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm but these increased at lower depth, i.e., 30-60 cm after crop harvest. However, the soil remained non-saline and non-sodic.  


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1431-1457
Author(s):  
G. Lilbæk ◽  
J. W. Pomeroy

Abstract. Meltwater ion concentration and infiltration rate into frozen soil both decline rapidly as snowmelt progresses. Their temporal association is highly non-linear and a covariance term must be added in order to use time-averaged values of snowmelt ion concentration and infiltration rate to calculate chemical infiltration. The covariance is labelled enhanced infiltration and represents the additional ion load that infiltrates due to the timing of high meltwater concentration and infiltration rate. Previous assessment of the impact of enhanced infiltration has been theoretical; thus, experiments were carried out to examine whether enhanced infiltration can be recognized in controlled laboratory settings and to what extent its magnitude varies with soil moisture. Three experiments were carried out: dry soil conditions, unsaturated soil conditions, and saturated soil conditions. Chloride solution was added to the surface of frozen soil columns; the concentration decreased exponentially over time to simulate snow meltwater. Infiltration excess water was collected and its chloride concentration and volume determined. Ion load infiltrating the frozen soil was specified by mass conservation. Results showed that infiltrating ion load increased with decreasing soil moisture as expected; however, the impact of enhanced infiltration increased considerably with increasing soil moisture. Enhanced infiltration caused 2.5 times more ion load to infiltrate during saturated conditions than that estimated using time-averaged ion concentrations and infiltration rates alone. For unsaturated conditions, enhanced infiltration was reduced to 1.45 and for dry soils to 1.3. Reduction in infiltration excess ion load due to enhanced infiltration increased slightly (2–5%) over time, being greatest for the dry soil (45%) and least for the saturated soil (6%). The importance of timing between high ion concentrations and high infiltration rates was best illustrated in the unsaturated experiment, which showed large inter-column variation in enhanced ion infiltration due to variation in this temporal covariance.


1966 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Lawes

SummaryThe use of cultivation techniques to conserve rainfall, by preventing runoff, and to improve the soil surface infiltration rate, has produced spectacular increases in the yield of cotton on the Loess Plain soils of Northern Nigeria, where yields of the order of 2000 lb seed cotton per acre can now be produced regularly irrespective of the rainfall pattern. As yields of this level had not been obtained previously, it has been concluded that lack of soil moisture and poor soil aeration have in the past set a ceiling to seed cotton yields. The effects of these cultivation treatments on the two other major crops of the area, sorghum and groundnuts, have now been examined, and results from a series of field experiments over six seasons indicate that adequate soil moisture is essential to the production of high yields, but that the other soil conditions which are alleviated by these cultivations are not so critical for these two crops as they are for cotton. Reasons are suggested why spectacular increases in yield in response to the treatments are not generally to be expected with sorghum and groundnuts.


Irriga ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Mario Artemio Urchei ◽  
Carlos Ricardo Fietz

INFILTRAÇÃO DE ÁGUA EM UM LATOSSOLO ROXO MUITO ARGILOSO EM DOIS SISTEMAS DE MANEJO   Mário Artemio UrcheiCarlos Ricardo FietzEmbrapa Agropecuária Oeste, Caixa Postal 661, 79804-970 – Dourados, MSE-mail: [email protected] e [email protected]   1 RESUMO              Este trabalho objetivou caracterizar a infiltração de água em um latossolo roxo muito argiloso em dois sistemas de manejo (preparo convencional - PC e plantio direto - PD) e avaliar a adequação das equações de Horton e Kostiakov-Lewis para a estimativa da taxa de infiltração básica. O trabalho foi desenvolvido na área experimental da Embrapa Agropecuária Oeste, em Dourados, MS, durante os anos de 1994 e 1995. Em cada um dos sistemas foram realizados 25 testes de infiltração pelo método do infiltrômetro de duplo cilindro. Considerou-se como taxa de infiltração básica observada a média aritmética dos valores lidos após 120 minutos, enquanto sua estimativa foi feita pelas equações de Horton e de Kostiakov-Lewis. A taxa de infiltração básica, nos dois sistemas de manejo, ajustou-se à distribuição normal, de acordo com o teste de Kolmogorov-Smirnov, sem diferença entre as médias de 92,2 e 92,8mm h-1 (Tukey, 5%), para os sistemas PC e PD, respectivamente, consideradas muito altas. Esses valores apresentaram alta variabilidade nos dois sistemas, com coeficientes de variação de 78,6% para o PC e 83,5% para o PD. Apesar de as duas equações terem apresentado bom ajuste, os índices estatísticos evidenciaram que a equação de Kostiakov-Lewis é mais adequada para estimar a taxa de infiltração básica no latossolo roxo estudado.   UNITERMOS: Equações de infiltração, plantio direto, preparo convencional.   URCHEI, M. A.,  FIETZ, C.R.  WATER INFILTRATION IN AN OXISOL UNDER TWO CROPPING SYSTEMS   2 ABSTRACT   This work aimed to characterize water infiltration and evaluate the adequacy of Horton and Kostiachov-Lewis’s equations to estimate basic infiltration rate in an Oxisol under conventional tillage (CT) and no tillage (NT). The work was carried out over 1994 and 1995 in an experimental area of Embrapa Agropecuaria Oeste in Dourados city, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. For each  system  25  infiltration  tests  were  performed  by  the  double  ring infiltrometer method. Basic infiltration rates were  the average  of  infiltration measured  after  120 min of adding water on the soil surface. Estimation of basic infiltration rates has been performed by using Horton and Kostiakov-Lewis’s equations. Basic infiltration rates in both systems followed normal distribution according to Kolmogorov-Smirnov’s test. Average values for basic infiltration were 92.2 and 92.8 mm h-1 for CT and NT systems, respectively. No significantly different means have been observed  (P<0.05). The variation coefficients were 78.6% for CT and 83.5% for NT. In spite of two equations good adequacy, statistical indexes showed that Kostiakov-Lewis’s equation has been more fitted to estimate basic infiltration rates for the  studied Oxisol.  KEYWORDS: Infiltration equations, no tillage, conventional tillage.


2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Rodrigo-Comino ◽  
M. Seeger ◽  
J. M. Senciales ◽  
J. D. Ruiz-Sinoga ◽  
J. B. Ries

The vineyards of Ruwer-Mosel valley (Germany) cultivated on steep slopes showed a high spatial and temporal variability of hydrological dynamics. Forty two experiments were carried out using a Guelph permeameter in old and young vines to measure the infiltration rates, the hydraulic conductivity and the soil matrix flux potential. The essays were performed before (spring-summer) and after (autumn) the harvest with dry soil conditions and without soil tillage signals, and with humid soil conditions, signals of soil farming (wheel traffic and footprints) and a decrease of organic matter, respectively. In general, the results of the young vineyards were higher than the values of the old vineyards. Furthermore, all the rates increased after the harvest. For the young vineyards, the most elevated values were registered on the middle slope (398.5 mm h-1 infiltration rate, 89.2 mm h-1 hydraulic conductivity and 62.8 mm2 h-1 soil matrix flux potential). For its part, a decrease of the infiltration from the upper slope to the foot slope was observed (from 42.5 to 16.8 mm h-1). Hydraulic conductivity and soil matrix flux potential showed the same hydro-dynamic: from 13.2 to 5.4 mm h-1 and from 5.5 to 2.5 mm2 h-1, respectively. Finally, it was observed that the most correlated factor with these hydrological processes was the soil moisture content and the soil tillage practices.


2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1365-1374 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Lilbæk ◽  
J. W. Pomeroy

Abstract. Meltwater ion concentration and infiltration rate into frozen soil both decline rapidly as snowmelt progresses. Their temporal association is highly non-linear and a covariance term must be added in order to use time-averaged values of snowmelt ion concentration and infiltration rate to calculate chemical infiltration. The covariance is labelled enhanced ion infiltration and represents the additional ion load that infiltrates due to the timing of high meltwater concentration and infiltration rate. Previous assessment of the impact of enhanced ion infiltration has been theoretical; thus, experiments were carried out to examine whether enhanced infiltration can be recognized in controlled laboratory settings and to what extent its magnitude varies with soil moisture. Three experiments were carried out: dry soil conditions, unsaturated soil conditions, and saturated soil conditions. Chloride solutions were added to the surface of frozen soil columns; the concentration decreased exponentially over time to simulate snow meltwater. Infiltration excess water was collected and its chloride concentration and volume determined. Ion load infiltrating the frozen soil was specified by mass conservation. Results showed that infiltrating ion load increased with decreasing soil moisture as expected; however, the impact of enhanced ion infiltration increased considerably with increasing soil moisture. Enhanced infiltration caused 2.5 times more ion load to infiltrate during saturated conditions than that estimated using time-averaged ion concentrations and infiltration rates alone. For unsaturated conditions, enhanced ion infiltration was reduced to 1.45 and for dry soils to 1.3. Reduction in infiltration excess ion load due to enhanced infiltration increased slightly (2–5%) over time, being greatest for the dry soil (45%) and least for the saturated soil (6%). The importance of timing between high ion concentrations and high infiltration rates was best illustrated in the unsaturated experiment, which showed large inter-column variation in enhanced ion infiltration due to variation in this temporal covariance.


1971 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. KRISTENSEN ◽  
H. C. ASLYNG

The lysimeter installation described comprises 36 concrete tanks each with a soil surface of 4 m2. The installation is useful for plant growth experiments under natural conditions involving different treatment combined with various controlled water supplies. The ground installation is at least 20 cm below the soil surface and tillage can be done with field implements. The lysimeter tanks are provided with a drainage system which can drain the soil at the bottom (100 cm depth) to a tension of up to 100 cm. A constant ground-water table at less than 100 cm soil depth can also be maintained. The soil moisture content at different depths is determined from an underground tunnel by use of gamma radiation equipment in metal tubes horizontally installed in the soil. Rainfall is prevented by a movable glass roof automatically operated and controlled by a special rain sensor. Water is applied to the soil surface with a special trickle irrigation system consisting of a set of plastic tubes for each lysimeter tank and controlled from the tunnel. Fertilizers in controlled amount can be applied with the irrigation water.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Chusnul Arif ◽  
Budi Indra Setiawan ◽  
Satyanto Krido Saptomo ◽  
Hiroshi Matsuda ◽  
Koremasa Tamura ◽  
...  

Subsurface drainage technology may offer a useful option in improving crop productivity by preventing water-logging in poor drainage paddy fields. The present study compared two paddy fields with and without sheet-pipe type subsurface drainage on land and water productivities in Indonesia. Sheet-pipe typed is perforated plastic sheets with a hole diameter of 2 mm and made from high-density polyethylene. It is commonly installed 30–50 cm below the soil surface and placed horizontally by a machine called a mole drainer, and then the sheets will automatically be a capillary pipe. Two fields were prepared, i.e., the sheet-pipe typed field (SP field) and the non-sheet-pipe typed field (NSP field) with three rice varieties (Situ Bagendit, Inpari 6 Jete, and Inpari 43 Agritan). In both fields, weather parameters and water depth were measured by the automatic weather stations, soil moisture sensors and water level sensors. During one season, the SP field drained approximately 45% more water compared to the NSP field. Thus, it caused increasing in soil aeration and producing a more significant grain yield, particularly for Inpari 43 Agritan. The SP field produced a 5.77 ton/ha grain yield, while the NSP field was 5.09 ton/ha. By producing more grain yield, the SP field was more effective in water use as represented by higher water productivity by 20%. The results indicated that the sheet-pipe type system developed better soil aeration that provides better soil conditions for rice.


2010 ◽  
Vol 44-45 (2010-2011) ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
Michael Aide ◽  
Indi Braden ◽  
Neil Hermann ◽  
David Mauk ◽  
Wesley Mueller ◽  
...  

Abstract Controlled subsurface drainage irrigation systems promote crop productivity; however, these land management systems also allow an efficient pathway for the transport of elements from soils to surface water resources. The nitrate and macro-element effluent concentrations from tile-drainage involving a 40 ha controlled subsurface drainage irrigation system are described and compared to soil nitrate availability. Soil nitrate concentrations generally show an increase immediately after soil nitrogen fertilization practices and are sufficiently abundant to promote their transport from the soil resource to the tile-drain effluent waters. The data indicates that: (1) the transport of nitrate-N in tile-drain effluent waters is appreciable; (2) denitrification pathways effectively reduce a portion of the soil nitrate-N when the controlled drainage system establishes winter-early spring anoxic soil conditions, and (3) the best strategy for reducing nitrate-N concentrations in tile-drain effluent waters is adjusting N fertilization rates and the timing of their application. The development of bioreactors for simulating wetland conditions may further limit nitrate concentrations in surface waters because of soil drainage.


2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.L. Pikul ◽  
R.C. Schwartz ◽  
J.G. Benjamin ◽  
R.L. Baumhardt ◽  
S. Merrill

AbstractAgricultural systems produce both detrimental and beneficial effects on soil quality (SQ). We compared soil physical properties of long-term conventional (CON) and alternative (ALT) cropping systems near Akron, Colorado (CO); Brookings, South Dakota (SD); Bushland, Texas (TX); Fargo, North Dakota (ND); Mandan (ND); Mead, Nebraska (NE); Sidney, Montana (MT); and Swift Current, Saskatchewan (SK), Canada. Objectives were to quantify the changes in soil physical attributes in cropping systems and assess the potential of individual soil attributes as sensitive indicators of change in SQ. Soil samples were collected three times per year from each treatment at each site for one rotation cycle (4 years at Brookings and Mead). Water infiltration rates were measured. Soil bulk density (BD) and gravimetric water were measured at 0–7.5, 7.5–15, and 15–30 cm depth increments and water-filled pore space ratio (WFPS) was calculated. At six locations, a rotary sieve was used to separate soil (top 5 cm) into six aggregate size groups and calculate mean weight diameter (MWD) of dry aggregates. Under the CON system at Brookings, dry aggregates (>19 mm) abraded into the smallest size class (<0.4 mm) on sieving. In contrast, the large aggregates from the ALT system abraded into size classes between 2 and 6 mm. Dry aggregate size distribution (DASD) shows promise as an indicator of SQ related to susceptibility of soil to wind erosion. Aggregates from CON were least stable in water. Soil C was greater under ALT than CON for both Brookings and Mead. At other locations, MWD of aggregates under continuous crop or no tillage (ALT systems) was greater than MWD under CON. There was no crop system effect on water infiltration rates for locations having the same tillage within cropping system. Tillage resulted in increased, decreased, or unchanged near-surface BD. Because there was significant temporal variation in water infiltration, MWD, and BD, conclusions based on a single point-in-time observation should be avoided. Elevated WFPS at Fargo, Brookings, and Mead may have resulted in anaerobic soil conditions during a portion of the year. Repeated measurements of WFPS or DASD revealed important temporal characteristics of SQ that could be used to judge soil condition as affected by management.


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