scholarly journals Field scale variability of solute transport parameters and related soil properties

1997 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 801-811 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Lennartz ◽  
S. K. Kamra ◽  
S. Meyer-Windel
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Solute Transport ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Preferential Flow ◽  
Type I ◽  
Transport Parameters ◽  
Undisturbed Soil ◽  
Soil Hydraulic

Abstract. The spatial variability of transport parameters has to be taken into account for a reliable assessment of solute behaviour in natural field soils. Two field sites were studied by collecting 24 and 36 small undisturbed soil columns at an uniform grid of 15 m spacing. Displacement experiments were conducted in these columns with bromide traced water under unsaturated steady state transport conditions. Measured breakthrough curves (BTCs) were evaluated with the simple convective-dispersive equation (CDE). The solute mobility index (MI) calculated as the ratio of measured to fitted pore water velocity and the dispersion coefficient (D) were used to classify bromide breakthrough behaviour. Experimental BTCs were classified into two groups: type I curves expressed classical solute behaviour while type II curves were characterised by the occurrence of a bromide concentration maximum before 0.35 pore volumes of effluent (MI<0.35) resulting from preferential flow conditions. Six columns from site A and 8 from site B were identified as preferential. Frequency distributions of the transport parameters (MI and D) of both sites were either extremely skewed or bimodal. Log-transformation did not lead to a normal distribution in any case. Contour maps of bromide mass flux at certain time steps indicated the clustering of preferential flow regions at both sites. Differences in the extent of preferential flow between sites seemed to be governed by soil structure. Linear cross correlations among transport parameters and independently measured soil properties revealed relations between solute mobility and volumetric soil water content at time of sampling, texture and organic carbon content. The volumetric field soil water content, a simple measure characterising the soil hydraulic behaviour at the sampling location, was found to be a highly sensitive parameter with respect to solute mobility and preferential flow situations. Almost no relation was found between solute transport parameters and independently determined soil properties when non-preferential and preferential samples were considered separately in regression analyses. Future work should concentrate to relate integrated parameters such as the infiltration rate or the soil hydraulic functions to solute mobility under different flow situations.

scholarly journals Using Multivariate Geostatistics to Assess Patterns of Spatial Dependence of Apparent Soil Electrical Conductivity and Selected Soil Properties

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glécio Machado Siqueira ◽  
Jorge Dafonte Dafonte ◽  
Montserrat Valcárcel Armesto ◽  
Ênio Farias França e Silva
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Soil Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Multivariate Geostatistics ◽  
Northwestern Spain

The apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) was continuously recorded in three successive dates using electromagnetic induction in horizontal (ECa-H) and vertical (ECa-V) dipole modes at a 6 ha plot located in Northwestern Spain. One of the ECadata sets was used to devise an optimized sampling scheme consisting of 40 points. Soil was sampled at the 0.0–0.3 m depth, in these 40 points, and analyzed for sand, silt, and clay content; gravimetric water content; and electrical conductivity of saturated soil paste. Coefficients of correlation between ECaand gravimetric soil water content (0.685 for ECa-V and 0.649 for ECa-H) were higher than those between ECaand clay content (ranging from 0.197 to 0.495, when different ECarecording dates were taken into account). Ordinary and universal kriging have been used to assess the patterns of spatial variability of the ECadata sets recorded at successive dates and the analyzed soil properties. Ordinary and universal cokriging methods have improved the estimation of gravimetric soil water content using the data of ECaas secondary variable with respect to the use of ordinary kriging.

Root effects on soil water and hydraulic properties

Biologia ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Horst Gerke ◽  
Rolf Kuchenbuch
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Bulk Density ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Soil Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Soil Hydraulic ◽  
Root Effects

AbstractPlants can affect soil moisture and the soil hydraulic properties both directly by root water uptake and indirectly by modifying the soil structure. Furthermore, water in plant roots is mostly neglected when studying soil hydraulic properties. In this contribution, we analyze effects of the moisture content inside roots as compared to bulk soil moisture contents and speculate on implications of non-capillary-bound root water for determination of soil moisture and calibration of soil hydraulic properties.In a field crop of maize (Zea mays) of 75 cm row spacing, we sampled the total soil volumes of 0.7 m × 0.4 m and 0.3 m deep plots at the time of tasseling. For each of the 84 soil cubes of 10 cm edge length, root mass and length as well as moisture content and soil bulk density were determined. Roots were separated in 3 size classes for which a mean root porosity of 0.82 was obtained from the relation between root dry mass density and root bulk density using pycnometers. The spatially distributed fractions of root water contents were compared with those of the water in capillary pores of the soil matrix.Water inside roots was mostly below 2–5% of total soil water content; however, locally near the plant rows it was up to 20%. The results suggest that soil moisture in roots should be separately considered. Upon drying, the relation between the soil and root water may change towards water remaining in roots. Relations depend especially on soil water retention properties, growth stages, and root distributions. Gravimetric soil water content measurement could be misleading and TDR probes providing an integrated signal are difficult to interpret. Root effects should be more intensively studied for improved field soil water balance calculations.

scholarly journals Field and numerical study of chlorotoluron transport in the soil profile

2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 8) ◽  
pp. 333-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kodešová ◽  
J. Kozák ◽  
O. Vacek
Keyword(s):  
Adsorption Isotherm ◽  
Solute Transport ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Profile ◽  
Preferential Flow ◽  
Water Movement ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Transport Parameters ◽  
Four Square

The transport of chlorotoluron in the soil profile under field conditions was studied. The herbicide Syncuran was applied on a four square meter plot using an application rate of 2.5 kg/ha active ingredient. Soil samples were taken after 119 days to study the residual chlorotoluron distribution in the soil profile. HYDRUS-1D (&Scaron;imůnek et al. 1998) was used to simulate water movement and herbicide transport in the soil profile. Soil hydraulic properties and their variability were studied previously by Kut&iacute;lek et al. (1989). The solute transport parameters, like the adsorption isotherm and the degradation rate, were determined in the laboratory. The Freundlich and Langmuir equations were used to fit the experimental data points of the adsorption isotherm, and the affect of each type of adsorption isotherm equation on the solute transport was studied. The chlorotoluron concentrations in soil water tended to be higher for the simulation performed with the Freundlich isotherm then that of the model using the Langmuir isotherm. In both cases, the solution did not pass a depth of8 cm. The simulated chlorotoluron concentrations in soil samples were higher then the observed concentrations when the chlorotoluron degradation was assumed to be in soil water only. Assumption of the solute degradation in both in the solid and the liquid phase significantly improved the accuracy of the solution. The different characters of the simulated and observed chlorotoluron distributions can probably be attributed to the preferential flow of water and solute in the soil profile and by variability of the transport parameters.

Dependence of Soil Properties under Alpine Lichen Heath Community on the Soil Water Content and the Presence of Vaccinium vitis-idaea

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (7) ◽  
pp. 941-949
Author(s):  
M. I. Makarov ◽  
R. V. Sabirova ◽  
M. S. Kadulin ◽  
T. I. Malysheva ◽  
A. I. Zhuravleva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Heath Community

scholarly journals Soil Structure and Texture Effects on the Precision of Soil Water Content Measurements with a Capacitance- Based Electromagnetic Sensor

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-152
Author(s):  
Jasreman Singh ◽  
Derek M. Heeren ◽  
Daran R. Rudnick ◽  
Wayne E. Woldt ◽  
Geng Bai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Sensor Calibration ◽  
Soil Water Depletion ◽  
Undisturbed Soil ◽  
Water Depletion ◽  
Soil Moisture Sensors ◽  
Electromagnetic Sensor

HighlightsCapacitance-based electromagnetic soil moisture sensors were tested in disturbed and undisturbed soils.The uncertainty in estimation of soil water depth was lower using the undisturbed soil sample calibrations.The uncertainty in estimation of soil water depletion was lower than the uncertainty in volumetric water content.Undisturbed calibration of water depletion quantifies water demand with better precision and avoids over-watering.Abstract. The physical properties of soil, such as structure and texture, can affect the performance of an electromagnetic sensor in measuring soil water content. Historically, calibrations have been performed on repacked samples in the laboratory and on soils in the field, but little research has been done on laboratory calibrations with intact (undisturbed) soil cores. In this study, three replications each of disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from two soil texture classes (Yutan silty clay loam and Fillmore silt loam) at a field site in eastern Nebraska to investigate the effects of soil structure and texture on the precision of a METER Group GS-1 capacitance-based sensor calibration. In addition, GS-1 sensors were installed in the field near the soil collection sites at three depths (0.15, 0.46, and 0.76 m). The soil moisture sensor had higher precision in the undisturbed laboratory setup, as the undisturbed calibration had a better correlation [slope closer to one, R2undisturbed (0.89) &gt; R2disturbed (0.73)] than the disturbed calibrations for the Yutan and Fillmore texture classes, and the root mean square difference using the laboratory calibration (RMSDL) was higher for pooled disturbed samples (0.053 m3 m-3) in comparison to pooled undisturbed samples (0.023 m3 m-3). The uncertainty in determination of volumetric water content (?v) was higher using the factory calibration (RMSDF) in comparison to the laboratory calibration (RMSDL) for the different soil structures and texture classes. In general, the uncertainty in estimation of soil water depth was greater than the uncertainty in estimation of soil water depletion by the sensors installed in the field, and the uncertainties in estimation of depth and depletion were lower using the calibration developed from the undisturbed soil samples. The undisturbed calibration of soil water depletion would determine water demand with better precision and potentially avoid over-watering, offering relief from water shortages. Further investigation of sensor calibration techniques is required to enhance the applicability of soil moisture sensors for efficient irrigation management. Keywords: Calibration, Capacitance, Depletion, Irrigation, Precision, Sensor, Soil water content, Structure, Uncertainty.

scholarly journals Separation of soil and canopy reflectance signatures of Mid German agricultural soils

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (No, 7) ◽  
pp. 296-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Behrens ◽  
K. Gregor ◽  
W. Diepenbrock
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Soil Reflectance

Remote sensing can provide visual indications of crop growth during production season. In past, spectral optical estimations were well performed in the ability to be correlated with crop and soil properties but were not consistent within the whole production season. To better quantify vegetation properties gathered via remote sensing, models of soil reflectance under changing moisture conditions are needed. Signatures of reflected radiation were acquired for several Mid German agricultural soils in laboratory and field experiments. Results were evaluated at near-infrared spectral region at the wavelength of 850 nm. The selected soils represented different soil colors and brightness values reflecting a broad range of soil properties. At the wavelength of 850 nm soil reflectance ranged between 10% (black peat) and 74% (white quartz sand). The reflectance of topsoils varied from 21% to 32%. An interrelation was found between soil brightness rating values and spectral optical reflectance values in form of a linear regression. Increases of soil water content from 0% to 25% decreased signatures of soil reflectance at 850 nm of two different soil types about 40%. The interrelation of soil reflectance and soil moisture revealed a non-linear exponential function. Using knowledge of the individual signature of soil reflectance as well as the soil water content at the measurement, soil reflectance could be predicted. As a result, a clear separation is established between soil reflectance and reflectance of the vegetation cover if the vegetation index is known.

scholarly journals Preferential flow of surface‐applied solutes: Effect of lysimeter design and initial soil water content

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Williams ◽  
Oscar Coronel ◽  
Scott J. McAfee ◽  
Laura L. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
Preferential Flow ◽  
Initial Soil
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