Spatial variability of field-measured soil-water properties

D. R. Nielsen, J. W. Biggar, K. T. Erh
1973 Hilgardia  
Infiltration and redistribution of water following an irrigation was studied, and the work was replicated at 20 locations on a 150hectare plot of land. Hydraulic conductivity was measured as a function of soil-water content at 30.5 cm depth intervals to a depth of 182.9 in twenty 6.5-meter-square plots randomly established over a 150-hectare field. Tensiometers installed at 30.5, 61.0, 91.4, 121.9, 152.4, and 182.9 cm were used to measure hydraulic gradients. Soil-water contents were
more » ... from soil-water characteristics obtained from six soil cores taken from each of the above depths for each plot. Variations in soil-water content were found to be normally distributed with depth and with horizontal distance throughout the field, while values of the hydraulic conductivity were found to be log-normally distributed. The correlation between hydraulic conductivity during steady-state infiltration and the clay fraction was significant at the 1 per cent level. Several equations for predicting water movement and retention under field conditions are examined.
doi:10.3733/hilg.v42n07p215 fatcat:zxmu7undgjetxpmv5pyt35m4uy